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What Are Some Great Films Not Adapted from Books?

When films are adapted from books, more often than not, I tend to find the books a lot more enjoyable. So I have skipped watching a lot of films in the hope of reading the books later.

So what are some great films not adapted from books? Or what are some films that are significantly better than the book they were adapted from?

murkeyindividual2 ,

Synecdoche, New York Being John Malkovich Unicorn Wars Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Mad God House (1977) Susperia Videodrome

Jumi ,

Rambo - First Blood

Moobythegoldensock , (edited )

Book adaptation.

Jumi ,

It’s not

Moobythegoldensock ,

Yes, it is. It’s adapted from First Blood, by David Morrell.

Also, the movie wad just called First Blood, not Rambo - First Blood. You’re confusing the title with the first sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II.

InisSieferI ,

Christopher Nolan has done some good big movies not based on existing book or IP: Memento, Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet.

InLikeClint ,
@InLikeClint@kbin.social avatar

Interstellar is in my top 5 favorite movies. Fuckin' blew my mind the first time I saw it.

random_character_a ,
@random_character_a@lemmy.world avatar

It’s the music and sound design. F’n masterpiece.

theragu40 ,

It’s maybe the best theater movie I’ve ever seen.

It’s just completely overwhelming in that setting.

Nioxic ,

But… op asked for “good” movies.

Tenet is terrible.

Silviecat44 ,

So is interstellar (mumblemumbleCORNmumble)

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

Star Wars.

IDK why I sometimes hear that Lucas derived the movies from some old book series; that’s bullshit. All the books came after the movies.

quinnly ,

I think Star Wars is a great example of an original film that’s endlessly familiar. It took so many old fantasy tropes, western tropes, war movie tropes, a hefty dose of Kurosawa, and made something that almost anyone can relate to while still being completely alien.

PerCarita ,
@PerCarita@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

You might be interested in reading “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell. Also read the whole discourse and criticisms surrounding the work.

PerCarita ,
@PerCarita@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

The story was beat per beat inspired by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Campbell’s metaphorical inmost cave was translated into Luke literally going to a cave in Empire Strikes Back.

Not to take anything away from Lucas’ creativity, of course. But to me it was quite obvious that he read or at least was aware of Joseph Campbell’s theory of stories and that Lucas read Frank Herbert’s Dune

EmoDuck ,

My pet peeve is when people say a story with is hero’s journey is just a rip-off of another hero’s journey. Campbell didn’t invent or discover it, the story structure was used a lot before him and was known as the medicin jurney. He just wrote a book about it

PerCarita ,
@PerCarita@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

He didn’t invent it, but he did try to flatten every story into this masculine take of a heroic life, some screenwriters took this to heart and then we got Luke in the cave.

Sometimes I go through weeks of intensively reading mangas or go back to the Greek mythologies, Homer, Apuleius, and enjoy how different the story beats in these cultures are compared to, well, my boring person’s American hegemony entertainment.

miss_brainfart ,
@miss_brainfart@lemmy.ml avatar

Free Guy, just for being the first original IP in I don’t even know how long

PerCarita ,
@PerCarita@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

I was truly, genuinely, surprised at how much I enjoyed the philosophy of Free Guy. At first, I thought it was just a feel-good movie, popcorn flick, but I was happy to be able to go to the cinema during Covid, middling, middling, middling, and, lo, by the end the movie had completely won me over. IT IS ABOUT HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OUR LIVES, regardless of our place in the cosmos.

I wished it had gone deeper into the ethics of creating conscious AIs, but that would have been too much to ask for that kind of movie. That same year I watched Dune in the cinema, and I kind of like them both. Almost equally, but in different ways. About 6 months later, I went back for The Matrix Resurrections and was sorely disappointed. Free Guy should have been The Matrix 4.

freamon ,

Star Wars is interesting in that it’s a big franchise IP that isn’t an adaption of a book or comic

jeffw ,
@jeffw@lemmy.world avatar

Adopted from a couple older movies, like Kurosawa’s hidden fortress, among others

maegul ,
@maegul@lemmy.ml avatar

Yea, in the case of Star Wars, there’s a lot of borrowing from old ideas and mythological forms as well as the samurai and western genres that I’m not sure it entirely counts … it probably sits in its own little category of sort of fairy tale literature brought to film, which is an achievement in its own right.

TheRaven ,
@TheRaven@lemmy.ca avatar

Don’t forget Dune

maegul ,
@maegul@lemmy.ml avatar

As an influence … for sure!

jeffw ,
@jeffw@lemmy.world avatar

Directly stole characters from samurai films too. 2 characters in Hidden Fortress act exactly like R2 and C3PO

I’m sure there are other examples

eestileib ,

The spear fight in HF was really cool.

Terevos ,
@Terevos@lemm.ee avatar

Almost all ‘new’ ideas borrow from old ideas. If we don’t count Star Wars, then there’s nothing we can count.

maegul ,
@maegul@lemmy.ml avatar

It’s not just about borrowing from older ideas, it’s about the extent to which star wars was knowingly channeling a certain kind of story structure that has old cultural roots.

The Lion King would be a similar-ish example. It’s basically Hamlet, which Shakespeare based on an older Viking story (AFAIU) … so it’s just one of those stories that’s out there.

None of which is to criticise Star Wars, just to argue that it stands separate somewhat.

PerCarita ,
@PerCarita@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

The Hero With A Thousand Faces

Moobythegoldensock ,

It was a heavily influenced film, though: Flash Gordon + Hidden Fortress + dogfighting reel with a dash of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

freamon ,

I’m vaguely aware of those influences, but decided to answer OP’s question very literally (there’s no ‘New Hope’ book that anyone can check out after seeing the first film)

theragu40 , (edited )
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Donnie Darko
  • The Big Lebowski
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
  • In Bruges
  • The Matrix
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • Ocean’s Eleven
  • Indiana Jones original trilogy
  • Get Out
  • Bladerunner (a book, apparently)
  • Bladerunner 2049
  • 28 Days Later
  • American Beauty
  • The Usual Suspects
  • Gladiator
  • Schindler’s List (also a book??)
  • Saving Private Ryan
  • There Will Be Blood (dammit, a book!)
niktemadur ,

Gonna get pedantic here:

Blade Runner is based on “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep” by Philip K Dick.
There Will Be Blood is based on “Oil” by Sinclair Lewis.
Both were acclaimed in their own right before the film adaptations.

Okey dokey then… carry on!

theragu40 ,

Completely fair!

JoeyJoJoJuniour ,

Also Schindlers List was a book first

aleph ,
@aleph@lemm.ee avatar

Anything by Martin McDonagh, especially

  • In Bruges
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  • The Banshees of Inisherin
aleph ,
@aleph@lemm.ee avatar

Also, just thought of some others that aren’t based on books but have quite a literary feel:

  • Tár
  • The VVitch
  • There Will Be Blood
Indie59 ,

There Will Be Blood is loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s “Oil”

aleph ,
@aleph@lemm.ee avatar

Thanks for the heads-up, I wasn’t aware of that.

I’ll still keep it on the list as it’s an amazing movie anyway 😄

dimspace ,
@dimspace@lemmy.world avatar

Or what are some films that are significantly better than the book they were adapted

One of my favourite books, High Fidelity. I think I am in the age range and demo it was written for, so much rings true. When I heard there was a film coming out I was so excited, and then I read it was being moved from London and re-set in Chicago, and my heart sank.

Boy was I wrong. John Cusack was great, Todd Louiso was histerical, and it was Jack Black’s breakout performance. (I honestly am not sure he has been funnier since)

And the Chicago setting 100% worked, better than London would have

quinnly ,

Fargo. Even the “true story” that it’s based on never happened.

Pat ,

Brazil is one of my favourite movies. AFAIK it's not based on a book. It is frequently compared to 1984, but it's not based on it. Just similar themes of a totalitarian dystopia.

GFGJewbacca ,

Any film made by Christopher Guest and Wes Anderson. Every one of them are gems.

colourlessidea ,

Maybe this is controversial - I really like Wes Anderson’s films but they’re more of a visual treat than anything else.

HobbitFoot ,

The visuals are a major reason to watch them. There is more, but the visuals are big.

Naminreb ,

Reservoir Dogs

wilberfan ,
@wilberfan@lemmy.world avatar

BOOGIE NIGHTS. An original screenplay, although inspired by some real people and incidents.

Fafner ,
@Fafner@yiffit.net avatar

Crank and Shoot em’ Up.

Both are just a wild ride start to finish.1i

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