100 Movies based on 100 Classic Great Books
I decided to take Easton Press' list of 100 Great Books and find movies that were made of them. Here are the results. May be a work in progress. In no way am I saying that the movies were the best adaptation of the books, mind you. Always read the book first :-)
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- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsKirk DouglasJames MasonPaul LukasA ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsDemi MooreGary OldmanRobert DuvallAn affair between a young woman and a pastor has disastrous consequences.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFredric MarchMiriam HopkinsRose HobartDr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
- DirectorJoel TrudgeonStarsAlan MichaudTony BakerRhiannon HansenHenry David Thoreau purchases a house in Los Angeles to get away from distractions and write his memoirs and reflections. Little does he know that his house is actually a portal to hell. Henry, his mailman, a psychotic security officer, two religious fanatics, a fallen priest and his neighbor must defeat the minions of hell and save the world.So they turned it into a horror flick.
- StarsTed DansonMary SteenburgenJames FoxAn Englishman returns after nine years abroad and tells strange stories of the tiny people of Lilliput, the giants of Brobdingnag, the flying island Laputa and the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsGregory PeckRichard BasehartLeo GennThe sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain's self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.
- DirectorCharles VidorJohn HustonStarsRock HudsonJennifer JonesVittorio De SicaAn English nurse and an American ambulance driver on the Italian front during World War 1 fall in love, but the horrors surrounding them challenge their romance to the limit.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsAudie MurphyBill MauldinDouglas DickTruncated adaptation of Stephen Crane's novel about a Civil War Union soldier who stuggles to find the courage to fight in the heat of battle.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsNeel SethiBill MurrayBen KingsleyAfter a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, a man-cub named Mowgli embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of panther Bagheera and free-spirited bear Baloo.
- StarsArmand AssanteGreta ScacchiIsabella RosselliniFollows Odysseus on his wanderings back to Ithaca following the Trojan War.
- DirectorKen AndersonStarsPeter ThomasMaurice O'CallaghanLiam NeesonJourney with Pilgrim as John Bunyan's famous allegory leaps from its pages to a movie.
- DirectorJoseph StrickStarsBosco HoganT.P. McKennaJohn GielgudStephen Dedalus is a young man growing up in Ireland in the early part of the twentieth century. His search for knowledge and understanding, and the decline of his family's circumstances, lead him to revelations on the nature of art and politics. His personal renaissance makes him feel unwelcome in his own country, and forces him to decide whether to leave and accept exile, or to stay and fight.
- DirectorHerb FreedStarsWilliam ForsytheMarina SirtisNigel HaversA scientist in the rain forest squares off against a land developer while trying to solve some unexplained deaths of his workers. An archaeologist, who's researching the jungle ruins of an extinct local tribe, might know more.Only thing I could find - title only. Nothing made of the Milton Book
- StarsMili AvitalAlan BatesJames FrainTo cure a Prince's murderous madness, Scheherezade tells him a series of wondrous stories.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsToby IrvineRalph FiennesJason FlemyngA series of events change the orphaned Pip's life forever as he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman.
- DirectorNorbert CarbonnauxStarsJean-Pierre CasselPierre BrasseurDaliah LaviThe film is based on Voltaire story "Candide, or Optimism" (1759), transferred to the twentieth century, during the Second World War, about the love of Cunégonde and Candide.
- DirectorTyrone GuthrieAbraham PolonskyStarsDouglas CampbellEleanor StuartRobert GoodierThe land ruled by King Oedipus is plagued by ill-fortune and the people are promised relief by the gods if the slayer of the former king is apprehended and punished. This does not bode well for King Oedipus and his Queen. (Performed in masks by the Stratford, Ontario, Shakespearean Festival Players.)
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'HaraCedric HardwickeIn 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsDaniel Day-LewisMadeleine StoweRussell MeansThree trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
- StarsSebastian KochTim RothNeve CampbellA young man is taken aboard a seal-hunting vessel helmed by the cruel captain Wolf Larsen.
- DirectorJean-Paul RappeneauStarsGérard DepardieuAnne BrochetVincent PerezFamed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsHugh GriffithLaura BettiNinetto DavoliPasolini's artistic, sometimes violent, always vividly cinematic retelling of some of Chaucer's most erotic tales.
- DirectorJames A. FitzPatrickThe Essays Of Ralph Waldo Emerson
- DirectorJane CampionStarsNicole KidmanJohn MalkovichBarbara HersheyAn American girl inherits a fortune and falls into a misguided relationship with a gentleman confidence artist whose true nature, including a barbed and covetous disposition, turns her life into a nightmare.
- DirectorStan LathanStarsAvery BrooksKate BurtonBruce DernThe life of an aging black slave, Tom, and the people with whom he interacts.
- DirectorFraser C. HestonStarsCharlton HestonChristian BaleOliver ReedThe treasure seeking adventures of young Jim Hawkins and pirate Captain Long John Silver.
- CreatorJohn HawkesworthStarsJeremy BrettDavid BurkeRosalie WilliamsSherlock Holmes and Dr Watson solve the mysteries of copper beeches, a Greek interpreter, the Norwood builder, a resident patient, the red-headed league, and one final problem.
- StarsDeborah MaclarenA documentary about Charles Darwin's struggle writing his theory of evolutionOrigin of The Species
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsPeter O'TooleSophia LorenJames CocoThe funny story of mad but kind and chivalrous elderly nobleman Don Quixote who, aided by his squire Sancho Panza, fights windmills that are seen as dragons to save prostitute Dulcinea who is seen as a noblewoman.Don Quixote
- DirectorDennis LeeStarsRyan ReynoldsWillem DafoeEmily WatsonThe Taylor family is devastated by an accident that takes place on the day their matriarch is due to graduate from college -- decades after leaving to raise her children.Collected Poems by Robert Frost
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppChristina RicciMiranda RichardsonIchabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.
- DirectorJoy BatchelorJohn HalasStarsGordon HeathMaurice DenhamA successful farmyard revolution by the resident animals vs. the farmer goes horribly wrong when the victors create a new tyranny among themselves.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
- DirectorTony BrittenStarsTim BellSimon ButterissJudi DaykinCharles Marlow and George Hastings set out for Liberty Hall, the home of the Hardcastles, whose daughter Kate Marlow being pressured into marrying. On their way, they meet Kate's brother Tony who decides to play a practical joke on them.
- DirectorGary SiniseStarsJohn MalkovichGary SiniseRay WalstonA nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyMatthew MacfadyenBrenda BlethynSparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsYul BrynnerMaria SchellClaire BloomDrama based on Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's homonymous novel about the proud Karamazov family in 1870s Russia.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsHugh JackmanRussell CroweAnne HathawayIn 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsBrad PittEric BanaOrlando BloomAn adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.The Iliad by Homer
- DirectorJust JaeckinStarsSylvia KristelShane BriantNicholas ClayAfter a injury leaves her husband paralysed, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsJim CaviezelGuy PearceChristopher AdamsonA young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend", escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
- DirectorLeslie LibmanLarry WilliamsStarsPeter GallagherLeonard NimoyTim GuineeIn a futuristic totalitarian utopian society, babies are created through genetic engineering, everyone has a predestined place in society and their minds are conditioned to follow the rules. A tragic outsider jeopardizes the status quo.
- DirectorRobert ChenaultHal SutherlandStarsBill CosbyKeith HamiltonJere FieldsAesop's Fables was a 1971 thirty-minute made for television fantasy movie starring Bill Cosby as Aesop, produced by Lorimar Productions.Yes, Cosby is in this. Sorry.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsPeter O'TooleJames MasonCurd JürgensAfter being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself.
- StarsRichard EastonDylan BakerColm FeoreThe story of the renowned American polymath.The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsOliver ReedRaquel WelchRichard ChamberlainA young swordsman comes to Paris and faces villains, romance, adventure and intrigue with three Musketeer friends.
- StarsBryan MageeMartha NussbaumPolitics And The Poetics by Aristotle
- DirectorBarbara Willis SweeteStarsJennifer LaneRussell BraunAnn MonoyiosDido and Aeneas is a dance adaptation of Henry Purcell's 1689 eponymous opera, based on Virgil's famous tale of Aeneas' affair with Dido, the Queen of Carthage on his way to founding Rome.The Aeneid by Virgil
- DirectorSophie BarthesStarsMia WasikowskaRhys IfansEzra MillerBored in her marriage to a country doctor and stifled by life in a small town, the restless Emma Bovary pursues her dreams of passion and excitement, whatever they may cost.
- DirectorJulio Ponce PalmieriStarsKim AllanChristian BakoDavid BurfootAfter the death of his father, a man must learn how to maintain his power and enlists the aid of two very unique forces.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsMia WasikowskaMichael FassbenderJamie BellA mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghJulie ChristieDerek JacobiHamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
- DirectorAlan CookeStarsPeter O'TooleShelagh McLeodNancy KerrThe standard My Fair Lady (1964) story, with a provocative rendition by Peter O'Toole. He knows how to talk, but does he know how to behave towards a lady?
- DirectorRod HardyGeorge MillerStarsPierce BrosnanWilliam TakakuPolly Walker1703: Robinson Crusoe has to leave Scotland for a year, but after months sailing, a storm wrecks his ship. He ends up as only survivor on a desolate island.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsLeonard WhitingOlivia HusseyJohn McEneryWhen two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsCharlotte RamplingAlan BatesTushka BergenAbandoned by her lover, the aristocratic Madame Lubov Ranevskaya returns to Russia, only to see her fragrant cherry orchard in full bloom: a painful reminder of her dire economic state and the imminent foreclosure of the enviable property.
- DirectorVictor CookMike DisaSangjin KimStarsGraham McTavishVanessa BranchSteve BlumDante journeys through the nine circles of Hell -- limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery -- in search of his true love, Beatrice.
- StarsHal LindenIn an age of intrigue and vice, he was a voice of morality and virtue. 2,500 years after his death, he is revered as one of the great teachers in history. Confucius's name is synonymous with ageless wisdom. His teachings are credited with helping spur East Asia's current "economic miracle." Travel to China's troubled feudal era to learn Confucius's dramatic story, from his childhood in poverty and his long road to enlightenment to his years as a celebrated teacher. Leading scholars reveal why his message of "five virtues" was not always accepted by the leaders of the day. And interviews with a direct descendant provide a personal glimpse into Confucius's legend. Explore the life and legacy of Confucius the ancient sage whose timeless message remains influential to this day.The Analects of Confucius by Confucius
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsKevin KlineMichelle PfeifferRupert EverettLovers' lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty, and... love.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRobin WilliamsRobert Sean LeonardEthan HawkeMaverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.Collected Poems by William Butler Yeats, Dickinson, Keats, Browning
- DirectorOliver ParkerStarsBen BarnesColin FirthRebecca HallA corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty eternally, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
- DirectorMira NairStarsReese WitherspoonRomola GaraiJames PurefoyGrowing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsFranco CittiNinetto DavoliJovan JovanovicAn adaptation of nine stories from Boccaccio's "Decameron".
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsRay WinstoneCrispin GloverAngelina JolieThe warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel, who is terrorizing Denmark, then Grendel's Mother, who begins killing out of revenge.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyJude LawAaron Taylor-JohnsonIn late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.
- DirectorDenison CliftStarsMilton RosmerJessie WinterSara SampleA cashier and his wife suffer ten years of poverty to replace a lost necklace before learning it was fake.
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsRod TaylorAlan YoungYvette MimieuxA man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
- StarsJames LaurensonJohn BennettAnthony BateAdaptation of Ivan Turgenev's novel about two young men and their families in 19th century Russia.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsTim RothJohn MalkovichIsaach De BankoléA trading company manager travels up an African river to find a missing outpost head and discovers the depth of evil in humanity's soul.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsAudrey HepburnHenry FondaMel FerrerNapoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia, including his disastrous 1812 invasion, serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.
- StarsLeif AndersSam MercurioKarl OtterThe historical drama details the Roman military campaigns against the barbarians. It shows how continuous wars depleted resources, a key factor in the fall of the Empire.The History of Early Rome by Livy
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnJoan BennettPaul LukasA chronicle of the lives of sisters growing up in 19th-century New England.
- StarsDamien ThomasJoanne PearcePatrick RyecartBased on the novel by Sir Walter Scott, THE TALISMAN is a Crusades story of heroism, love and intrigue. Sir Kenneth, a bold Scottish knight, finds himself involved in political machinations and court intrigue as he discovers that enemies are not always who they seem to be.
- DirectorIan SharpStarsJustine WaddellJason FlemyngOliver MilburnA free-spirited yet naive country girl is caught between her wealthy, manipulative "cousin" Alec and the handsome, educated farmer Angel Clare in this Victorian tragedy from novelist Thomas Hardy.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodHugh HarmanRudolf IsingStarsRichard ArlenRoscoe AtesWilliam AustinIn Victorian England a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland populated by even more fantastic characters.
- DirectorTod BrowningKarl FreundStarsBela LugosiHelen ChandlerDavid MannersTransylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsCornel WildeMichael RennieDebra PagetDuring the 11th century, Persian poet Omar Khayyam's lover marries the Shah but the Shah, whose life is threatened by a sect of assassins, appoints Omar royal advisor.The Rubáiyát Of Omar Khayyám by Omar Khayyám
- DirectorJean-Daniel VerhaegheStarsCarole BouquetKim Rossi StuartJudith GodrècheIn 1827, Berthet, the son of a craftsman and a young seminarian, was tried and sentenced to death for murdering his former mistress, the wife of a notable who had hired him as tutor to his children.
- DirectorJack ConwayRobert Z. LeonardStarsRonald ColmanElizabeth AllanEdna May OliverA pair of lookalikes, one a former French aristocrat and the other an alcoholic English lawyer, fall in love with the same woman amidst the turmoil of the French Revolution.
- StarsBryan MageeMyles BurnyeatPlato's The Republic
- DirectorBrian YuznaStarsMark FrostIsabel BrookJennifer RopeA man sells his soul to the devil to gain superpowers and avenge his girlfriend's brutal murder. When he realizes that the price is the soul of his new love interest, he turns on the devil.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsAlbert FinneySusannah YorkGeorge DevineThe romantic and chivalrous adventures of adopted bastard Tom Jones in 18th-century England.
- StarsBurt ReynoldsJames WoodsEdward HerrmannWitness the birth of the American republic.The Federalist Papers
- DirectorGiles FosterStarsBen KingsleyJenny AgutterPatrick RyecartWhen a respectable weaver is wrongfully accused of theft, he becomes a virtual hermit until his own fortune is stolen and an orphaned child is found on his doorstep.
- DirectorChristopher WalkerStarsMelvyn Bragg
- DirectorMark ZwonitzerStarsClayton BoydSaluda CampChris CooperWalt Whitman (1819-1892) is today one of the most-recognized figures in American literary history: poet, patriot and faithful advocate of democracy. His name graces shopping malls, highway rest stops, and local high schools.
- DirectorPeter UstinovStarsRobert RyanPeter UstinovMelvyn DouglasWhen a kind-hearted sailor is made to join an English vessel at war in 1797, he finds himself caught between devotion to his crewmates and obedience to their hated, cruel master-at-arms.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVincent PricePeter LorreBoris KarloffA magician, who has been turned into a raven, turns to a former sorcerer for help.Tales of Mystery And Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsRobert TaylorElizabeth TaylorJoan FontaineA knight seeks to free the captive King Richard and put him back on the throne.
- DirectorLouis KingStarsAkim TamiroffGladys GeorgeWilliam HenryPaul Kriza is a cashier of a bank in a small town, the happy husband of Anna, and the father of four children. He is sent to New York to deliver some securities for the bank. There, he is tagged as easy prey by a con-game gang, and accomplice Mary Brown proves that he certainly is. The next morning, he wakes up to discover that he has been robbed of the securities, and when he confronts the gang, he is hit on the head and taken out to be left on a railroad track. He comes to and struggles with the henchman who is killed when a train roars by. Paul escapes, but his watch is found and he is reported as the dead man. But he cannot return home.Don't think the film has anything to do with the book, but all I could find. The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
- DirectorJames FrancoStarsJames FrancoTim Blake NelsonScott HazeA look at the trials and tribulations of the Compson family, living in the Deep South during the early 20th century.
- DirectorMenahem GolanStarsCrispin GloverVanessa RedgraveJohn HurtA modern day adaptation of Dostoyevsky's classic novel about a young student who is forever haunted by the murder he has committed.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsMatt DamonHeath LedgerMonica BellucciWill and Jake Grimm are traveling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which requires true courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsTony RandallEddie HodgesArchie MooreMark Twain's 1851 story about two runaway friends, a fostered white boy and an escaped black slave, who sailed on a raft down the Mississippi River in search of freedom and adventure.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
- StarsDaniel RadcliffeTrevor EvePauline QuirkeA gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.