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When the Screen got it Right

 


This is my list of what I consider to be the best adaptations of science fiction/fantasy books to screen. These are in no particular order because if I tried to rank them, my rankings would change with my moods or what I had last seen or other unimportant motivators. Also, this is my list. It is not your list. Your list is going to be different than mine, and that’s okay. This is not a list of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy films (though some of them are on this list). It is not a list of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy books that have been made into films. This list is all about how good the adaptation was. As excellent as it is, you won’t find 2001: A Space Odyssey on the list because the film and the book were a joint project. The film was not an adaptation of the book. In order for it to be on my list I had to have both read the book and seen the movie or series. So, much as I loved the movie The Martian, I can’t put it on my list because I haven’t read Andy Weir’s book (note to self: read The Martian).  There are a lot of great films that fall into this category. So, of those that I have read and seen, here is the list:

 

A Boy and His Dog (1975) based on the novella by Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison knew a thing or two about social satire, and the filmmaker L.Q. Jones make sure to maintain that element in the story. In fact, I watched this film as part of a sociology class in college. Even though this movie was not a great success at the box office, it inspired others, namely the Mad Max series, the video game Fallout and I think certain aspects of Firefly.  In this post-apocalyptic tale, the film stays fairly true to the novella. The same . . . interesting ending is in both. A boy loves his dog.

 

Blade Runner (1982) based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Phillip K. Dick.

This one is quite a bit different from the book. But Ridley Scott knows how to tell a tale cinematically. And not every well written book translates well into film. Scott and the screenwriters wove a mix of original material and new material into a taut cohesive mindblower.

 

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003) based on the trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.

People had been trying to make films about Tolkien’s work for decades, and it just didn’t work. The story was so grand in scope that it came to be considered unfilmable. Good thing nobody told that to Peter Jackson. He managed to capture the grandeur and scope of the original story, keeping in the most important parts. (I am less impressed with his adaptation of The Hobbit).

 

Total Recall (1990) based on the Story “We Can Remember it for you Wholesale” by Phillip K. Dick.

Yes, another Phillip K. Dick story. Hollywood loves making movies of his work, but they don’t always do a good job adapting them. I could have put Minority Report on this list, which is a good looking movie, but the short story is so superior to the movie (it actually made sense) that I just couldn’t do it. Total Recall however is an entertaining thriller. The movie does a good job of taking what could have been complex concepts and makes them understandable.

 

Soylent Green (1973) based on the novel Make Room, Make Room by Harry Harrison.

Director Richard Fleischer and screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg take Harrison’s story, setting and situation and completely rework it. The movie is a different kind of story from the book. The book is more introspective, exploring the personal costs for living in an overpopulated world.  The Movie is more focused on the Police officer played by Charleton Heston, and a conspiracy. But it works. I have to say, I think Edward G. Robinson gives the finest performance of his long career in this, his final movie.

 

Game of Thrones (Television series 2011 to 2015-ish) based on the first five books of The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

I am ignoring the last two or three seasons because those books haven’t come out yet. So just judging this series as far as the books go, it is an excellent adaptation. They do take a lot of liberties with the story and move events around so it is hard to pick an exact point where the series leaves the books behind. I don’t always agree with the choices made by the show runners, but overall it is a compelling and thrilling adaptation of the first five books of the series. (I had some big-time problems with the final season, but for the reasons mentioned above, the final few seasons are not part of this list.)

 

The Thing (1951) Based on the novella Who Goes There? By John W. Campbell

Quite a bit different than the novella, it is nonetheless a tense nail-biter. I did an earlier blog about it. The John Carpenter version from 1982 is much closer to the original story and I have heard it is excellent, but I have not seen the whole thing, just bits and pieces of it, so I can’t put it on my list yet (Note to self: watch Carpenter’s The Thing)

 

Annihilation (2018) based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer

In this one, the book is definitely better than the movie. But they did a good job of bringing out that creepy feel that is in the book.

 

Dave (1993)

Yes, the movie with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. They don’t credit him, but I am going to say they got the idea for this movie from Robert A. Heinlein’s novel Double Star. I also suspect the movie Moon Over Parador (1988) was inspired by the same story, but again, no credit to Heinlein. Dave is the superior movie of the two. Even though it removed all of the sci-fi aspects, I am going to include it on the list.

 

The Fly (1986) based on the short story by George Langelaan

I like the 1986 movie better than the 1958 movie. David Cronenberg knows how to get all weird and twisty. It’s kind of his thing. He injects the right mix of horror and pathos into this frightening tale. Jeff Goldblum never looked so good, or so bad.

 

That is my list (so far). This being said, there are a large number of great science fiction and fantasy stories that have been make into terrible movies and television. Still others that have been made into movies that are just okay. Maybe I should do a list of those: “Books that deserved better!” But I probably won’t. Just trust the fact that usually (not always) the book is better than the movie, and keep reading.


Star Liner

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