Great movies, but you still should read the book
This is a list of movies i liked, but even when you have seen it, it's worth reading the book.
For sure, it's not complete, but i will add when some more comes to my mind. So, be free to make suggestions, i will appreciate.
Note:
For sure, it's not complete, but i will add when some more comes to my mind. So, be free to make suggestions, i will appreciate.
Note:
- The authors i added in the comments, means the author of the original novel
- The order of this list is random and has no further meaning
List activity
2.2K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
29 titles
- StarsGérard DepardieuOrnella MutiJean RochefortEdmond Dantes is unjustly sent to prison for 18 years. He escapes to reclaim his fiancée Mercedes and revenge against his nemesis, Mondego.A great classic novel, and one of the best escapee stories at all.
author: Alexandre Dumas - DirectorRichard LesterStarsOliver ReedRaquel WelchRichard ChamberlainA young swordsman comes to Paris and faces villains, romance, adventure and intrigue with three Musketeer friends.There are a lot of Musketeer movies, in my opinion this is the best of them all. I loved this book as a kid and i read it with a minimum of three times. Sometimes you have movies that can be compared to the novels they are based on. But there is still no realization which can match up with the book.
author: Alexandre Dumas - DirectorRichard LesterStarsMichael YorkRaquel WelchOliver ReedThe Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter.Maybe not as good as the "The Three Musketeers", but to complete the story of the novel, still worth watching it.
author: Alexandre Dumas - DirectorRichard FleischerStarsKirk DouglasJames MasonPaul LukasA ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.Both, movie and novel, classics you can't pass.
author: Jules Verne - DirectorJohn HustonStarsGregory PeckRichard BasehartLeo GennThe sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain's self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.The novels title is "Moby-Dick" or "The Whale". If you want to read the book, it would be benicial for you to know the bible.
author: Herman Melville - DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsDan O'HerlihyJaime FernándezFelipe de AlbaThe classic story of Robinson Crusoe, a man who is dragged to a desert island after a shipwreck.This novel is a must for all lovers of novels, of course it is deemed to be the first english novel at all.
author: Daniel Defoe - 1975– 4 eps8.3 (95)TV Mini SeriesStarsMatthias HabichHerbert TiedeChristian QuadfliegThe idyllic life of the simple-minded Simplicius Simplizissimus is destroyed with the outbreak of the Thirty Years War, leading him on an adventurous journey.Another classic. This novel is deemed to be the first german picaresque novel at all. I could imagine not everyone gets comfortable with the unexpurgated version, but there is also an expurgated version for kids.
author: Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen - DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.The first "real" fantasy novel, at least if you are thinking about dwarves and elves when you hear the word fantasy.
author: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien - DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenViggo MortensenWhile Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.author: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodViggo MortensenIan McKellenGandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.author: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGösta EkmanEmil JanningsCamilla HornThe demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.Another german classic.
author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJon FinchFrancesca AnnisMartin ShawA ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.When i come up with Goethe, i have to add Shakespeare aswell. There are many movies, i for myself liked this one most.
author: William Shakespeare - DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.This movie is also a realization of the "Macbeth" story. I added it in addition to the 1971 version, of course it's very different because of the dissimilar culture area.
author: William Shakespeare - DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaRentarô MikuniDepicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.The novel is known as "Miyamoto Musashi" or just "Musashi" and this movie is the first of three movies which are known as the "Samurai Trilogy". Miyamoto Musashi was a famous samurai who invented fighting with two swords and wrote the book "The Book Of Five Rings".
author: Yoshikawa Eiji - DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto returns to Kyoto after years of absence. After a series of fights against the Yoshioka School, he challenges its master to a duel.Part II of Samurai.
author: Yoshikawa Eiji - DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.Part III of Samurai.
author: Yoshikawa Eiji - StarsRichard ChamberlainToshirô MifuneYôko ShimadaAn English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in the complex political games in feudal Japan.To stay with japanese culture, the next movie has the same title as the novel: Shogun. The author wrote that book knowing a lot about asian culture, but it's written for a western audience .F.e. the love story is really western style, maybe except for the unlucky ending.
author: James Clavell - StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.In my opinion one of the greatest love stories ever. Don't reserve yourself in reading the english original. Even as foreign english speaker with a great lack in english it was not that hard to understand as i imagined.
author: Jane Austen - DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsLyudmila SavelevaVyacheslav TikhonovSergey BondarchukThe Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.To be honest, reading russian novels i sometimes get confused with the russian names, especially when you have a concentration of characters like in this novels. But for me it was worth the brainwork, i loved it.
author: Leo Tolstoi - DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.To stay in the east, we switch from russia to poland and from the past to the future. I for myself prefer to read a book after i've seen a movie. Against this rule, if you don't know both of them, i would suggest do it otherwise on this occasion. The reason is, the endings are very similiar (whats unusal for science fiction movies, very often the ending is different). I can recommend both, movie and book, to non fiction fans too. Thats because of science fiction from the east are mostly not about future technology (and fighting), this one is about psychologie (generally spoken).
author: Stanislaw Lem - DirectorMichael RadfordStarsJohn HurtRichard BurtonSuzanna HamiltonIn a totalitarian future society, a man, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love."Big Brother is watching you!" I'm sure, more people know this sentence than the book where it come from. Like "Solaris" it's not about technology, "1984" is about society. This book is really strong stuff and can make you doubt about humanity. In my opinion this is a book that everybody should red.
Unlike as in "Solaris" the ending of the novel and the movie is very different (but leads to the same conclusion).
author: George Orwell - DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.You love he movie but don't know the novel yet? Then you know which book you have to buy: "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (Since the movie you can often buy it as "Bladerunner" also). The whole story is very different, to tell the truth, i never saw a movie that was compared to a novel that was THAT different. Try it out!
author: Philip K. Dick
PS: There are many more good movies based on Dick's writings, but i don't wanted to post that much of one author or one genre. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.No, i don't mean the book "Alien" that is based on this movie. I mean the novel "The Voyage of the Space Beagle". To be honest, in the movie isn't even a credit for this novel, but after a legal dispute, the author of the novel was given 50.000 $ US. I realized this after reading the novel and started researching, of cause i thought: Hey, that was "Alien". The alien story is only one of 4 parts in the novel and the alien in the novel is more powerful (and "red like a devil", not black).
author: A. E. van Vogt - DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsCasper Van DienDenise RichardsDina MeyerHumans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.Unlike the Science Fiction movies before, this one is about technology and war. In the novel you learn more about the frame of that "attack on earth", to be straight, humans are the bad guys, expanding throughout space fighting against alien races. There is also more use of technology (like tanks, mechwarriors and so on). If you like novels about fighing in the future, this is your novel.
author: Robert A. Heinlein - DirectorDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanVirginia MadsenFrancesca AnnisA Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.I know, this movie is not the movie i would set in any top 10. But i really love it. Why? Of course i love the novel, and watching the movie remembers me on reading the book. The people i know who read this book are splitted in two groups. One of them is bored to death, the other is totaly fascinated. If you are a member of the second group, there are good news: This movie is not more than the story of the first book (out of six). And it gets better and better. I recommend this novel to all those who love epic science fiction and have an addiction to megalomania.
author: Frank Herbert - DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.A very depressing movie based on a very depressing novel. The novel is more surrealistic and told from the view of the huge indian guy. I enjoyed both very much, movie and novel.
author: Ken Kesey - DirectorTom TykwerStarsBen WhishawDustin HoffmanAlan RickmanJean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.To be honest,this movie isn't one of my favorites. I enjoyed it, thats for sure. But i saw the movie after reading the book, and this book is really great, so there is no other way than beeing disappointed watching the movie afterwards.
author: Patrick Süskind - CreatorDavid BenioffD.B. WeissStarsEmilia ClarkePeter DinklageKit HaringtonNine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.A well written and complex fantasy story for adults with many surprises. I read a lot of fantasy books and was bored of fantasy, of course after a while i had the feeling it is always the same. A family member told me to read this one and i started half hearted to read it ... and wasn't able to put the book aside after a dozen pages. The book(s) contain some new ideas, charakters which aren't seperated clearly into good guys and bad guys and it contains brutality like you imagine it about medieval history. Sometimes you hate a specific character and sometimes you like the same charakter for his acting. I never experienced that with such intensity before in any book.
author: George R. R. Martin - DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsNoah HathawayBarret OliverTami StronachA troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.Compared to Games of Thrones, this book is not only for adults. It's a coming-of-age novel with a philosophic touch like all novels written by that author. I also would recommend "Momo" which was also realized as a movie.
author: Michael Ende