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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?

investorsexchange ,
@investorsexchange@lemmy.ca avatar

V for Vendetta is a great movie and is better than the graphic novel.

Fondots ,

I like both a lot, they’re both very much a product of the times, places, and people that created them.

The movie being very much a reaction to Bush-era US politics through the perspective of the Wachowskis, and the comic a reaction to Thatcherism through Alan Moore’s eyes

There are definitely parallels to be drawn between the two contexts, and the same overall story with some tweaks works well for both.

Being a millennial in the US, the movie definitely resonates with me a little more deeply, but my inner anarchist wishes they kept a little more of Moore’s vision intact, though V just giving a lecture on anarchy in the middle of the movie probably wouldn’t translate well to the silver screen.

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.

AceFuzzLord ,

It’s a recent animated film, but I enjoy The Legend of Hei.

It’s an animated Chinese film based on an animated web series of a similar name about a little cat spirit trying to find a home and ending up on a long journey.

Nonameuser678 ,
@Nonameuser678@aussie.zone avatar

Charlie Kaufman’s work comes to mind. But he adapted a lot of stories he wrote as novels.

Annihilation is one as well I’d say. Even though it’s based on one of my favourite books, the movie did a good job of taking the premise / vibe and making it into something quite original. The book is definitely better by far, but I respect the artistic direction of the movie.

SpaceNoodle ,

Especially “Adaptation,” right?

IWantToFuckSpez ,

Forrest Gump is apparently better than the book. I haven’t read it but the people who did unanimously agree that the protagonist in the book is too much of an asshole.

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)

counselwolf ,

Edge of Tomorrow is based on a japanese book or Manga (I forgot which came first) called All You Need is Kill.

The manga was good, but the movie adaptation was just much much better. The mimics were designed differently and the plot differed enough to make a significant boost.

Mothra ,
@Mothra@mander.xyz avatar

I’ve seen the movie and really liked it, I’ve also read the manga and liked it. I wouldn’t say there is a better one, but they are very different, both satisfactory in their own ways and the cultural differences really show in both formats.

maegul ,
@maegul@lemmy.ml avatar

2001 Space Odyssey might be an interesting candidate here, just because of the way in which the book and film were more or less born together and diverged in their own separate ways, though the genesis of the whole thing was apparently in a short story by AC Clark that I know nothing about.

jeffw , (edited )
@jeffw@lemmy.world avatar

Memento. Technically was an unpublished short story rewriten for the screen.

Some Wes Anderson stuff: isle of Dogs, Grand Budapest Hotel (loose influence), Royal Taenbaums

M (1933)

Short Term 12

Shawshank is based on a short story too

Interrogation (1989)

Funny Gaes (1997 version!!!)

A lot of Powell and Pressbruger’s stuff… Red Shoes, Colonel Blimp

Coen bros stuff-Fargo (strongly recommend this), O Brother Where Art Thou (inspired by Homer, but a bit different from the book lol), Big Lebowski

Just a few to start you with. I basically pulled some fine examples across cinema history. I ignored a lot of great silent stuff, especially the comedy. If you reply to this one day, I’m sure I can follow up with more refs!

Chef_Boyargee ,

Monuments Men is arguably way better than the book. The movie humanized the content and made it more approachable.

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)

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 😄

luthis ,

Fight Club. I’ve read the book, the film was … different and better in some ways. Very much not a disappointment.

Sunshine. This might be my favourite movie. It’s excellent. Space done right. Not from a book.

u202307011927 , (edited )
@u202307011927@feddit.de avatar

Fightclub is a movie that’s adapted from a book. OP asked for movies like your second answer. Guess that’s why you’re being downvoted

Obviously I misread

Mothra ,
@Mothra@mander.xyz avatar

Hang on, in the last paragraph OP says if you know of a movie that is better than the original source book/comic, then it qualifies as a suggestion

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