Like 'The Giver'? Here Are the Best Book-to-Film Adaptations Currently Streaming on Netflix
Opening this weekend is the big screen adaptation of Lois Lowry’s The Giver. The 1993 Young Adult novel has quickly become a favorite among readers in the 20 years since it’s been published. While the adaptation is getting mixed reviews, there have been a number of stellar film adaptations that have surpassed readers' expectations. With that in mind, we oriented our Netflix streaming guide around the best of book-to-film transformations.
Of Total Film’s 50 Greatest Book Movie Adaptations, we found 10 options worth streaming, plus a bonus: The Hunger Games — a film that relates purely based on the idea of being a dystopian novel turn big budget movie starring pretty young things.
Trainspotting (1996) based on the 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh
Starring: Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "Different story threads are told in the novel by a variety of characters, whereas Renton is the sole narrator in the movie."
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) based on the 1988 novel by Thomas Harris
Starring: Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "Lecter’s line of movie dialogue: 'I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti' was originally in the novel '...a nice Amarone.' Not huge, we’ll admit, but for one of the film’s most quoted lines — it’s a biggie."
The English Patient (1996) based on the 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, and Kristin Scott Thomas
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "The love story between Hana and Kip is the central romance of the novel, whereas in the movie, they are underplayed and the less prominent tale of the Patient takes centre stage."
American Psycho(2000) based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Starring: Christian Bale and Jared Leto
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: " The body count shown onscreen is considerably less than in the novel - including the painstaking details of the deaths. Bateman’s first murder of the homeless man and his dog is far more brutal."
Sophie’s Choice (1982) based on the 1979 novel by William Styron
Starring: Meryl Streep
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "While onboard the train to Auschwitz, the book describes Sophie’s frustration at daughter Eva’s sniffling nose, whining and upset due to being ill. This detail hints definitively at the reason behind her final choice - whereas in the film the scene is absent."
Midnight Express (1978) based on the 1977 book by Billy Hayes
Starring: Brad Davis
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "The real-life account transcribed in the book depicts his escape as being from another prison Hayes was transferred to - he did not kill the head guard before making his exit."
The Graduate (1967) based on the 1963 novel by Charles Webb
Starring: Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "One of the film’s notable asides, between Benjamin and a family friend when he is asked about plastics, wasn’t in the novel."
Sense and Sensibility (1995) based on the 1811 novel by Jane Austen
Starring: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, and Colin Firth
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "The two siblings’ inherent character traits; sense and sensibility, are switched in the movie."
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) based on the 1955 novel by Patricia Highsmith
Starring: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cate Blanchett
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "Cate Blanchett’s character, Meredith Logue, was created specifically for the movie."
Forrest Gump (1994) based on the 1986 novel by Winston Groom
Starring: Tom Hanks and Robin Wright
Total Film's greatest change from book to film: "In the novel, Forrest embarks on a NASA mission with an astronaut and an ape named Sue which ends when they crash land back to Earth and get captured by cannibals. This entire sequence was (unsurprisingly) not featured in the movie."
Bonus: The Hunger Games (2012) based on the 2008 novel by Suzanne Collins
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson
[Photo Credit: The Weinstein Company]