8 classic books that need to be adapted into movies
A brilliant book-to-movie adaptation is something to be heralded because turning a great work of literature into a cinematic masterpiece is no easy task. For starters, the screenwriter and director must translate what is essentially a medium with only one feature: words. Of course, there is imagery, dialogue, description, action and more, but all these are at the behest and mercy of someone responsible for turning them into an audio-visual artefact.
When an adaptation is made well, it can illuminate themes hitherto unforeseen in the source text. Stanley Kubrick was a master at this, and most of his films were novel adaptations. Take, for instance, his final cinematic offering, Eyes Wide Shut, famously starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Moving Arthur Schnitzler’s Dream Story to a contemporary New York City setting revealed to us the underlying sexual depravity that lies in restless slumber in the hidden shadows of the middle-class elite.
On the other hand, when an adaptation is made poorly, it enrages fans of the source text, who claim it to be sheer blasphemy that any director got their grubby hands on such a definitive text. Take David Lynch’s much-maligned adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune as the most infamous example. In the 1980s, Lynch did not have the technology to give Herbert’s sprawling sci-fi epic the attention it deserved, nor did he have the time – desperately trying to cram too much into just one film. By contrast, Denis Villeneuve‘s recent adaptation of the novel was well met by critics and public audiences alike, with a bigger budget, far better technology and a swathe of ultra-talented actors to boot.
Today is National Book Lovers Day in the UK, so to celebrate, we’re going to take a look at some famous books that – with the proper care, attention and budget – could be made into some of the finest pieces of cinema the world would ever witness.
8 books that need to be adapted into movies:
Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy
Arguably one of the best-written books of all time, it was championed early on by American literary critic Harold Bloom. Blood Meridian is set at the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s. It follows ‘the kid’ as he joins a gang led by John Joel Glanton and antagonist Judge Holden as they scalp groups of indigenous settlers.
Filling the role of Judge Holden ought to be interesting; he is seven feet tall and just about the most eloquent speaker in all of literature. Numerous attempts have previously been made to turn the film into cinema, including Ridley Scott and James Franco, but none have yet succeeded.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers
A gorgeously sad memoir by author Dave Eggers, in which both of his parents die of cancer-related illnesses, and he is entrusted with raising his little brother Christopher.
New Line Cinema had bought the rights to adapt the novel into a film, and a screenplay was written by Nick Hornby. But in 2007, Dave Eggers said that his book was unlikely ever to be made for the big screen, as New Line’s option on the film had expired.
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
The memoirs of the legendary American man of letters during his time as a struggling writer in 1920s Paris. The book features vignettes with many other cultural figureheads of the ‘Lost Generation’, including Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein.
In 2009 it was reported that Hemingway‘s granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway, had acquired the rights to adapt the book into a film, though it has never seen the light of day. A television series was also touted but is too yet to be seen.
Walden – Henry David Thoreau
A book that serves as a philosophical reflection on eschewing the temptations of modern technology and living in simplicity in a natural setting instead. Thoreau spent two years living in a cabin near Walden Pond in Massachusetts, and the book tells the story of his time there.
It would be great to see a film adaptation, like Into The Wild, only less stereotypical and more philosophical. A video game was made in the 2010s based on Walden, and so too was a 1968 experimental film made by Jonas Mekas, but as of yet, no direct adaptation has been produced.
Q – Luther Blissett
A complex novel written by four Italian authors under the collective pseudonym Luther Blissett – a name borrowed from the former AC Milan and Watford FC striker of the same name. The novel tells of the Protestant reformation in the 16th Century.
Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame once said: “Oh, it’s fucking ace! But my missus, that’s her specialist field, so she’s been explaining it to me all the way through. Medieval church carnage. It’s mental. I want to get it made into a film. That’s my next mission.” However, Yorke has not yet had the chance to adapt the novel for the screen.
2066 – Roberto Bolano
A vast, sprawling novel tells of an elusive German author and the academics who devote their lives to studying him. At the same time, the book informs us of a series of femicides taking place in the city of Santa Teresa in north Mexico.
The book has actually been adapted for the stage by Spanish director Alex Rigola. It was then shown in 2016 in Chicago, and later that year, Julien Gosselin adapted the novel into a massive 11-hour stage production. However, no one has hitherto produced a film version.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert M. Pirsig
Pirsig wrote a fictionalised autobiography that was first published in 1974. Pirsig is a philosopher by trade, and the book features many philosophical discussions of the nature of technology, morality and happiness whilst he travels from Minnesota to California on a motorbike with his son, Chris.
It was reported that Pirsig had actually been keen on making a film based on his book, but only if it was entirely on his terms. It’s a great shame that we have never been able to see the product of his desire. It may well have looked like a philosophical version of Easy Rider.
The Longest Cocktail Party – Richard DiLello
First published in 1973, The Longest Cocktail Party is an account of the history of the Beatles‘ multimedia company Apple Corps, their breakup as a band and the start of each of their solo careers. The title refers to the national press’ habit of entertaining celebrities with expensive drinks.
Michael Winterbottom had been rumoured to be adapting DiLello’s book for the big screen, but that was back in 2011, and nothing has been mentioned since. While the Fab Four have had more than their fair share of screen time, it would have been interesting to see the account of an ‘insider’.
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