I’m not much of a television watcher, but I fancied a movie last night so I checked out Netflix and discovered an entire section full of book to movie adaptations. There’s a huge selection of adaptations, maybe 50 or more and I intend on watching a great many of them. I know that many of you are also fond of a good adaption, so I’ve put together a list of what I consider to be the top ten adaptations currently available.
They’re not all new movies, or books, but they are all available on Netflix. While country restrictions, all of these movies are available on Netflix US, but you may find limitations depending on where you are in the world.
Love, Rosie
Love, Rosie, or Where Rainbows End by Cecilia Ahern was made into a movie in 2014 and stars Lily Collins, and the delectable Sam Clafin, soon to be seen in Me Before You. As the book is mainly written in the form of correspondence I wasn’t sure how this was going to work, but it’s bloody brilliant and unashamedly soppy.
Read the book first?
The Wolf of Wall Street
This was pretty much the most talked about movie of 2014, and if you missed the hype when it was released, it’s now available on Netflix. Adapted from the memoir of Jordan Belfort and his time as a Wall Street broker.
Read the book first?
World War Z
Brad Pitt! What’s not to love? Actually quite a bit it seems if you’re a fan of the book. Released in 2013 World War Z is now available on Netflix, and while it’s received rave reviews, fans of the book did have some criticisms.
Read the book first?
Look Who’s Back
This Hitler parody was made into a movie late last year in its original German. I really loved the book, but recommended it to mixed reviews. If you found the humour and satire a little too subtle in the translation then you won’t miss it in the movie! It’s subtitled, but if you don’t mind that (you’re a reader after all), then you’re going to love this! It starts off very much like the book, but veers wildly from the plot while keeping the main elements, so you won’t want to be too critical.
Read the book first?
The Kite Runner
This book is hauntingly beautiful, and the film is pretty true to the story. There are more subtitles here as not all of the movie is in English, but it’s a great story and a really great adaptation.
Read the book first?
Still Alice
This was a favourite of our book club last year and was released as a movie in late 2014 to critical acclaim and many, many industry awards. A really great book to movie adaption, highly recommended.
Read the book first?
Red Dragon
Fans of Hannibal Lecter will know that Red Dragon is the prequel to Silence of the Lambs. It’s been out a while, released in 2001 and while it didn’t do quite as well as The Silence of the Lambs, it’s worth a watch if you’re a fan of the books.
Read the book first?
Jack Reacher
Lee Child fans will be thrilled to know that Jack Reacher, an adaptation of the novel One Shot is now available on Netflix. Released in 2012 and featuring Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher it received some great reviews when released.
Read the book first?
Jakob the Liar
This Robin Williams title has been around a while, and stars Robin Williams as Jewish shop owned Jakob. The original book is Jacob the Liar, or Jakob der Lugner, a little known German book, published in 1969.
Read the book first?
Eat, Pray, Love
Eat, Pray, Love was a 2006 memoir by American author Elizabeth Gilbert, released in 2010 as a movie starring Julia Roberts. If you missed the hype when this was released then it’s a pretty good adaptation and it’s now available to watch on Netflix.
Read the book first?
So that’s it, ten book to movie adaptations to inspire a Netflix binge. Have fun!
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Jack Reacher? Are you high? Dear Lord, I have no idea how you could ever recommend that a 5’6″ dude play a 6’5″ man and think that fans of the book might think the movie is okay. For the record, we completely disagree. Never, ever watch the movie Jack Reacher. Read a book.