 |
Movies Based on Books 
Read the Book Before You See the Movie. Which is better? You decide. Start browsing our year-by-year lists of movie adaptations of classic novels. See the menu on the right.
Upcoming Movies Based on Books
What Should I be Reading?
Each year an average of thirty novels are made into movies for the big screen. Authors watch tensely as their stories are filtered through the hands of screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, and studio chiefs. If they're lucky, these film adaptations do the original story justice. However,
it is often the case that the book is significantly better than the movie. Here, we present upcoming movie adaptions of classic novels to keep you up-to-date on what books are being adapted for the big screen. See the right column for yearly movie and a novel listings.
 (Buy Book)
| DEAR JOHN (2010) (Army, College, Tragedy, Love, Illness, Adaptation)
 
PLOT: John Tyree (Channing Tatum) meets UNC student Savannah Lynn Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) while he is home on leave from the army. They share two fleeting summer weeks together before he returns to active duty. John can't wait to come home for good, but then September 11th happens and he reenlists. Will Savannah wait for John, or will the tragedy lead to a change in her relationship with her close friend Tim (Henry Thomas), who pines for her? The movie is based on the Nicholas Sparks novel. AUTHOR:
Nicholas Sparks
|  (Buy Book)
| TAKING OF PELHAM 123, THE (2009) (Subway, Hostages, Ransom, Redemption, Adaptation)
PLOT: Four men seize a New York City subway train and hold its passengers hostage. Their leader, Ryder (John Travolta), tells subway dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) that he wants his ransom money or he'll start killing passengers. Ryder's demands are simple, but his true plan is much more ingenious. AUTHOR:
John Godey
|  (Buy Book)
| NEW MOON (2009) (Vampire, Forbidden Love, Werewolf, Teen, Adaptation)
PLOT: The second installment in the Twilight saga, New Moon continues the story of the forbidden love between Edward the vampire and Bella the human. After Bella is nearly bitten by a member of Edward's family, Edward decides to leave Bella and the town of Forks. Bella is left with a broken heart as her friendship with Jacob the wolf grows stronger. AUTHOR:
Stephenie Meyer
|  (Buy Book)
| PRIEST (2010) (Priest, Kidnap, Vampires, Hunt, Adaptation)
PLOT: Based on a series of graphic novels, the movie adaptation tells the story of a priest (Paul Bettany) who disobeys church law in order to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece. Cam Gigandet also stars as a sheriff who is part vampire. He teams up with the priest to save the girl. AUTHOR:
Min-Woo Hyung
|  (Buy Book)
| INKHEART (2009) (Fantasy, Books, Escape, Adaptation)
PLOT: A young girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, her aunt, and a storybook's hero. This movie based on a book stars Brendan Frasier and Paul Bettany. AUTHOR:
Cornelia Funke
|  (Buy Book)
| SHUTTER ISLAND (2009) (Psychological, Thriller, Visions, Prison, Adaptation)
PLOT: Shutter Island, off Massachusetts's coast, is an army facility turned hospital for the criminally insane. When a beautiful-and certifiably crazy-patient escapes, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), are called in to investigate. Embroiled in uncertainties and mystery, the two soon learn there's much more at stake than simply finding one missing woman. AUTHOR:
Dennis Lehane
|  (Buy Book)
| PRECIOUS (2009) (Teen, Pregnant, Overweight, Abuse, Education, Confidence, City, Adaptation)
PLOT: Harlem teen Claireece Precious Jones endures unimaginable hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. She is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. Starring Mo'Nique and Mariah Carey. AUTHOR:
Sapphire
|  (Buy Book)
| CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (2009) (Animation, Scientist, Food, Inventor, Adaptation)
PLOT: After many odd inventions, a scientist trying to solve world hunger invents a way to turn water into food. Soon, it begins to rain hamburgers and meatballs, among other tasty favorites. The movie version is from Sony Pictures Animation and features the voices of Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Bruce Campbell, and James Caan. AUTHOR:
Judi Barrett
|  (Buy Book)
| MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH, THE (2009) (Alienated Youth, Drugs, Sexuality, College Grad, City, Adaptation)
PLOT: Based on Michael Chabon's novel, the film chronicles the defining summer of a recent college graduate who crosses his gangster father and explores love, sexuality, and the enigmas surrounding his life and his city. Starring Sienna Miller, Mena Suvari, Peter Sarsgaard, Nick Nolte. AUTHOR:
Michael Chabon
|  (Buy Book)
| VELVETEEN RABBIT, THE (2009) (Toy Animal, Rabbit, Boy, Friendship, Love, Adaptation)
PLOT: The Velveteen Rabbit lives in the nursery with all of the other toys, waiting for the day when the Boy (as he is called) will decide to play with him. In time, the shy Rabbit becomes friends with the tattered Skin Horse, the wisest resident of the nursery, who reveals the goal of all nursery toys: to be made "real" through the love of a human. Featuring the voices of Jane Seymour, Tom Skerritt, and Ellen Burstyn. AUTHOR:
Margery Williams
|  (Buy Book)
| SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2009) (Poverty, Game Show, Slums, Torture, Love, Adaptation)
PLOT: An impoverished Mumbai teen, portrayed in the movie by Dev Patel, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while he is being interrogated, events from his life are shown which explain why he knows the answers. Also starring Anil Kapoor. AUTHOR:
Vikas Swarup
|  (Buy Book)
| HOTEL FOR DOGS (2009) (Children, Dogs, Hotel, Family, Brother Sister, Adaptation)
PLOT: Andi (Emma Roberts) and her brother Bruce (Jake T. Austin), who love dogs but live with an aunt who's allergic, turn an abandoned house down the block into a hotel for dogs. As more and more tenants move in, the secret eventually gets too big to keep. The children's story is an obvious Holocaust parable about a sibling duo of dog lovers, who rescue strays from execution at the hands of Gestapo-like dog catchers. AUTHOR:
Lois Duncan
|  (Buy Book)
| KILLSHOT (2009) (Witness Protection, Hitman, Killer, Husband and Wife, Adaptation)
PLOT: Beautiful Carmen Colson (Diane Lane) and her ironworker husband Wayne (Thomas Jane) are placed in the Federal Witness Protection program after witnessing an "incident". Thinking they are finally safe, they are targeted by an experienced hit man (Mickey Rourke) and a psychopathic young upstart killer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). The ensuing struggle will test Carmen to the limit. AUTHOR:
Elmore Leonard
|  (Buy Book)
| NOT EASILY BROKEN (2009) (Marriage, Car Accident, Temptation, Adaptation)
PLOT: After years of disagreeing on what true happiness, success, and love really are, Dave (Morris Chestnut) and Clarice Johnson have finally reached a breaking point in their marriage. After Clarice is injured in a car accident, Dave begins to realize that her physical injuries aren't the only thing that needs healing. Diverging lives and new temptations further test their relationship. AUTHOR:
T. D. Jakes
|  (Buy Book)
| ASSOCIATE, THE (2010) (Legal, Thriller, Law Firm, Yale, Lawsuit, Adaptation)
PLOT: Starring Shia Labeouf, The Associate is based on John Grisham's legal thriller, which centers on a student who is about to graduate from Yale Law School. The young man is manipulated into accepting a job at a prestigious law firm and given privileged information about a multibillion-dollar lawsuit. AUTHOR:
John Grisham
|  (Buy Book)
| CORALINE (2009) (3D, Stop Motion, Animation, Alternate World, Get Back Home, Adaptation)
PLOT: The 3D animated movie Coraline is based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman. It tells the story of a young girl who walks through a door in her house that leads her to an alternate world. If you're thinking Narnia, you'd be wrong. Coraline is a much darker story, from the director of A Nightmare Before Christmas. Coraline features the voices of Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. AUTHOR:
Neil Gaiman
|
Classic Movies Based on Books
Past Film Adaptations of Classic Novels
Books Just Added - Our archive of movie adaptations is always growing. Here,
we present memorable movies from the past that have recently been added to our database of movies based on novels. Whether you are familiar with the film version or not, experience the story
in it's most classic form, and then enjoy the filmmaker's vision of the author's work.
 (Buy Book)
| GEORGE WALLACE (1997) (Politics, Segregation, Alabama, Divorce, Adaptation)
PLOT: This epic bio directed by John Frankenheimer stars Gary Sinise as American politician George Wallace. The four-term Alabama Governor is best known for his pro-segregation attitudes during the American desegregation period, convictions he modified later in life. Wallace also ran for U.S. President four times, running as a Democrat three times. Angelina Jolie stars as Cornelia Wallace, George's second wife whom he also divorced. AUTHOR:
Marshall Frady
|  (Buy Book)
| READER, THE (2008) (WWII, Nazi, Affair, Sex, Older Woman, War Crimes, Adaptation)
PLOT: The Reader, which gained popularity after being an Oprah's Book Club selection, tells the story of law student Michael Burk, who is reunited with his former lover Hanna (Kate Winslet) as she defends herself in a Nazi war-crime trial, post WWII. Michael's long, obsessive affair with the older woman Hanna began when Michael was 15, and it's been nearly a decade since they've spoken. Will his lingering feelings for his former lover help him to overlook her unspeakable war crimes? AUTHOR:
Bernhard Schlink
|  (Buy Book)
| DUCHESS, THE (2008) (18th Century, Devonshire, Scandal, Marriage, Affair , Adaptation)
PLOT: A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life. The Duchess falls passionately in love with an ambitious young politician after putting up with her husband's live-in mistress. The movie adaptation stars Keira Knightley as the Duchess. Actor Ralph Fiennes portrays her husband, the Duke of Devonshire. AUTHOR:
Amanda Foreman
|  (Buy Book)
| HAUNTING, THE (1963) (Horror, Supernatural, Haunted House, Suspense, Adaptation)
PLOT: Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a long history of violence, death, and insanity. With him are the skeptical young Luke, who stands to inherit the house, the mysterious and clairvoyant Theodora and the insecure Eleanor, whose psychic abilities make her feel somehow attuned to whatever spirits inhabit the old mansion. Soon, the ghostly presence in the house manifests itself in horrific and deadly ways. AUTHOR:
Shirley Jackson
|  (Buy Book)
| LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008) (Horror, Vampire, Friendship, Love, Morality, Murder, Adaptation)
PLOT: Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire. Eli needs to drink other people's blood to live. How much can one person overlook a loved one's wrongdoing? The movie, based on the book by Swiss author John Ajvide Lindqvist, took top honors at the Tribeca Film Festival. AUTHOR:
John Ajvide Lindqvist
|  (Buy Book)
| TRUE BLOOD (2008) (Vampire, Society, Discrimination, Telepathy, Louisiana, Adaptation)
PLOT: The HBO television series follows Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a barmaid living in Louisiana who can read people's minds. Her life is turned upside down when the Vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) walks into her place of employment two years after vampires 'came out of the coffin' on national television. AUTHOR:
Charlaine Harris
|  (Buy Book)
| CITY OF EMBER (2008) (Underground, Ancient City, Technology, Light, Friendship, Adaptation)
PLOT: For generations, the people of the underground City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing ... and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever. Starring Bill Murray and Tim Robbins. AUTHOR:
Jeanne Duprau
|  (Buy Book)
| GOLDEN COMPASS, THE (2007) (Orphan, Parallel Universe, Kidnap, Talking Animals, Adaptation)
PLOT: In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization known as The Magisterium. The movie, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, bares the name of the first novel in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass round out the series of books. AUTHOR:
Philip Pullman
|  (Buy Book)
| HOUSE (2008) (Horror, Killer, Vacation, Trapped, Haunted House, Adaptation)
PLOT: The horror movie House is based on the book by authors Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. Two couples vacationing in Alabama are pursued by a maniac killer. They flee deep into the woods and take refuge in an old house that has been vacated for years, or so they think. They soon discover that they are not alone and that the killer has purposely lured them to this house. It seems that the killer and the house are somehow working together. They try to leave, but the house won't let them. AUTHOR:
Ted Dekker
|  (Buy Book)
| ANGEL (2007) (Teenager, Poverty, Author, Success, Adaptation)
PLOT: The movie is based on the novel by Elizabeth Taylor (not the famous actress). Fifteen-year-old Angel (Romola Garai) writes stories that allow her to escape the poverty around her and retreat to a world of romance. She knows she is different, that she is destined to become a feted authoress, owner of great riches and of Paradise House. After reading The Lady Irania, publishers Brace and Gilchrist are certain the novel will be a success, in spite of—and perhaps because of—its overblown style. But they are curious as to who could have written such a book. Also starring Sam Neill. AUTHOR:
Elizabeth Taylor
|
A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever.
~Martin Farquhar Tupper
|
|
|
