It’s always an interesting surprise when I watch a movie or a tv show, and then realise afterwards that it’s actually based on a book. Quite often, I’ll go back afterwards and read the novel to see where the inspiration came from. That’s what I did with The Princess Bride, and also with Inkheart. It’s all the better when I read the novel behind a good movie and realise that the book is just as amazing. However, there are still quite a few iconic book/movie combinations where, so far, I’ve only seen the movie. Today I thought I would share five of them.
Jurassic Park | Michael Crichton
The Jurassic Park movies never fail to awe me every time I watch them. The very first Jurassic Park movie in particular is simply amazing, even all these years later. But, if I’m being very honest, I actually didn’t realise until quite a few years after watching these movies that they’re actually based on novels by Michael Crichton. Of course, having discovered that fact now, I’m eager to read these novels and find out what inspired this amazing series of movies.
Stardust | Neil Gaiman
I knew Stardust was a book before I ever watched the movie, but I’ve never really read much Neil Gaiman, though I’ve always intended to give his books a go. I did enjoy the movie version of Stardust the one time I watched it, and definitely plan on both watching it again, and catching up with the novel. And probably a lot of his other books too, because I feel like Neil Gaiman is one of those authors I should probably give a read at some point.
Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone | J. K. Rowling
To be honest, I’ve never actually read any of the Harry Potter books. I should probably do that at some point, especially as a fantasy author. It feels like one of those series I should have read. But I have watched most of the first Harry Potter movie. Someone else was watching it and I came in and out, so I missed the beginning and a little bit in the middle, so I only have a hazy grasp of what was going on exactly, but it seemed good. I’ll have to finish the movies, and read the book series one of these days.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy | Douglas Adams
The movie version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is one of my all-time favourite movies. The humour is fantastic, the story is wacky, and it’s epically quotable. I’ve been told by reliable sources (aka, one of my sisters) that the books are just as good, and I have also been informed that there are several of them, which means the fun will go on for a lot longer than a single movie. So these are definitely high on my list of books to catch up on when time allows.
iRobot | Isaac Asimov
I’ve rather a soft spot for anything about androids. It’s such an interesting concept to ponder, what would happen if people invented robots so intelligent that they actually gained consciousness. And this movie is so so good. I know Isaac Asimov is supposed to be an awesome sci-fi writer, so one of these days I’m planning on catching up on some of his books. If the novel is anywhere near as good as the movie, I’ll be very happy.
What movies based on books do you still need to read the novels for? Have you read any of these books or seen any of these movies? What movies based on books would you recommend I check out?
