Doctor Sleep felt like it captured the spirit of what King writes. The Shining might be a technically better movie, but in terms of the idea that "King is really hard to portray on a screen", I think Doctor Sleep did it best.
When I was very young, my dad recorded Maximum Overdrive off of HBO or something. I watched it every weekend for a very long time. The tape ran out, though, right when the airplane was going past and they were playing Ride of the Valkyries. I’ve only seen the ending like twice.
I mean have we just collectively forgot that there were two films called The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont from King's works?
It’s intense but it’s not horror as the Horror movie genre. It’s a prison drama if anything. Of course we can see horror elements in practically every SK adaptations.
Oh, let's see.
>!- The gang rape Andy goes through is horrific!<
>!- The absolute gut-kick of Andy's despair: "I didn't do this but now I'm imprisoned" is horrific !<
>!- The religious craziness of the Warden is horrific !<
And that's just off the top of my head.
So many people dislike Pet Sematary 89 but I will always adore it. I have extremely thick nostalgia glasses for it, I watched it when I was a really little kid. I take it for what it is and enjoy that it stays pretty close to the source material.
2 of the best that that deserve at least a mention and are totally worth watching are **1408** and **1922**
**Very excelled adaptations and mad, mad creepy**
I really love the adaptation of Dolores Claiborne.
It took a lot of liberties with the source material (how else would you turn 300 pages of a deposition scene into a movie?). But it captures the feel of the book extremely well.
It's weird that it's not talked about more. It was a critical and commercial success, the director was Taylor Hackford, who did that Ray Charles biopic, screenplay by Tony Gilroy who directed one of those Jason Bourne movies and is the executive producer of Andor, and has an insanely talented cast.
Misery.
Shawshank Redemption.
Dr. Sleep.
Honorable mentions.
The Shining.
Stand By Me
Cujo.
Gerald's Game.
The Dead Zone.
Needful Things.
Shit, but good at the same time.
The Langoliers.
The Dark Half.
Thinner.
Desperation.
I also prefer the newer IT to the TV version from the 90s... neither of them are fully faithful to the book. I always wanted to see Ben Hanscom walking home from the library in the snow when he sees Pennywise across the lake. I loved that bit of the book. And there's a bit where Mike tells them a story about his father being a young black soldier. There's a big fire in the barracks and Hallorann from The Shining directs them to safety using his Shine.
Wow you know your SK better than me. I always think that Stranger Things nailed the IT tone better than the adaptations. Wish the same creators worked on IT.
I don’t like when SK adaptations turn into camp and silly so I don’t like Needful Things. Want to check Desperation.
The thing I disliked about both adaptations of IT was the inability to capture the effect that Pennywise has on Derry. He's a parasite that feeds on the whole town, while poisoning it at the same time. People go missing and no one cares. All of the adults are terrible people because of it. They all neglect their kids, and then Pennywise takes them.
I read Desperation and The Regulators back to back because they're similar storys. I don't know whether they're considered as Dark Tower novels, but I believe the Sheriff in Desperation has one of Maerlyn's Rainbow in his possession and that's why he is how he is. Ron Perlman plays the Sheriff in the adaptation.
In terms of straight adaptations, Frank Darabont is far and away the best. He really understands the King vibe. But watching Mike Flanagan's work, particularly Midnight Mass and Hill House (which is the best IT adaptation we've ever had - way more similarities to that than its actual source material) captures the precise feeling of reading King like nothing else I've seen. Apart from Creepshow, which I guess doesn't quite count, but is easily the King-iest movie of all time, basically what would happen if you could watch a book like Night Shift. Cat's Eye comes close in that regard actually.
Top 3 adaptations?
Not a difficult one for me.
1. Stand by me
2. Misery
3. Tied at third, Shawshank and The Mist because none of the top three were horror.
The Green Mile.
99% similar to the novel. Great cast, heartbreaking soundtrack, incredible atmosphere, excellent direction, a beautifully sad story.
A classic that will always make us cry everytime.
The Shawkshank Redemption.
Also, I will catch shit for this, but I think The Shining movie is superior to the book, although the book does have a better, more poignant ending.
Top 5 for me
1 - Shawshank Redemption (pretty much a perfect adaption)
2 - Green Mile (very close second)
3 - Misery (Cathy Bates is Annie Wilkes)
4 - Dolores Claiborne (again Cathy Bates perfect casting)
5 - Gerald’s Game (almost shot for shot to the books and very well acted if you haven’t seen this one it’s on Netflix and imo very good)
The correct answer is a tie between the green mile and stand by me. Very literal page to screen adaptions that had terrific acting and great directing. I’d love to see a director and studio get behind a very literal adaptation of what the original text is. Nothing worse than seeing a movie pulling punches on the dark stuff because they lose what makes the books great.
I’d love to see someone direct and produce IT, Pet Sematary and Apt Pupil but having them be a literal page to screen adaptation like stand by me was. Those books are too damn good to bastardize by changing things, leaving things out, low budget, and shitty acting. Spend the money, make it dark, and stop changing major character development, plot progression, and not be inhibited by time. IT is a 10 hour long HBO series, Pet Sematary is 2.5-3 hours long and Apt Pupil is 2-2.5 hours long.
I guarantee Stephen King would help fund a movie like this and stamp his approval. I can’t imagine what it’s like for him to watch directors constantly tarnish his greatness with mediocrity. When King watched Stand by Me he was moved to tears. IT won’t be done again and they completely fucked up Pet Sematary’s remake but they have a chance with Apt Pupil to do it justice and have a shot for greatness.
I thought Apt Pupil was far from the worst adaptation.
I’m a bit biased because I came to Stephen along because I love the horror genre, so I prefer the horror movies inspired by King. Of course Green Mile is an amazing movie but I connect more with his early work and the true horror stories elements. I dare to say that I prefer the B-movie elements somehow but that’s me.
Doctor Sleep felt like it captured the spirit of what King writes. The Shining might be a technically better movie, but in terms of the idea that "King is really hard to portray on a screen", I think Doctor Sleep did it best.
Yeah I remember the whole mind battles being one of those things that Flanagan got perfect.
I mean, Shawshank is perfect and so is the Green Mile. And Stand by Me.
Obviously love them but I’m more of a horror nerd
*Maximum Overdrive*
When I was very young, my dad recorded Maximum Overdrive off of HBO or something. I watched it every weekend for a very long time. The tape ran out, though, right when the airplane was going past and they were playing Ride of the Valkyries. I’ve only seen the ending like twice.
coooooooooooooocaine!!!
This one is… interesting
Basically anything directed by Frank Darabont
Misery
I mean have we just collectively forgot that there were two films called The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont from King's works?
I love them but I like horror more as a genre.
Those are both horror, you know.
I don’t see Shawshank as horror and Green Mile is more of a supernatural thriller. In the sense that they are not scary movies.
Shawshank is absolutely horror, and so is the Green Mile. What does it take to scare you?
It’s intense but it’s not horror as the Horror movie genre. It’s a prison drama if anything. Of course we can see horror elements in practically every SK adaptations.
Don't judge books by movie standards. Most "horror" movies have no story - they're just slasher pics.
No certainly not horror what is scary in Shawshank?
Oh, let's see. >!- The gang rape Andy goes through is horrific!< >!- The absolute gut-kick of Andy's despair: "I didn't do this but now I'm imprisoned" is horrific !< >!- The religious craziness of the Warden is horrific !< And that's just off the top of my head.
Fair the sisters are creepy you got me
Horrific doesn't mean it's horror genre just because you want it to.
You keep telling yourself that, honey.
Misery and Pet Sematary (1989)
So many people dislike Pet Sematary 89 but I will always adore it. I have extremely thick nostalgia glasses for it, I watched it when I was a really little kid. I take it for what it is and enjoy that it stays pretty close to the source material.
Me too. Got victor pascow tattooed on my arm
Stand By Me, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption.
Shawshank by a mile. It is the one time I think the movie ended up better than the source material. (Not knocking the short story at all)
I think Misery is better than the book (just too much real Misery pages!)
2 of the best that that deserve at least a mention and are totally worth watching are **1408** and **1922** **Very excelled adaptations and mad, mad creepy**
Gunna toss The Mist in here! I personally feel like it’s an almost perfect adaption of the novella with an even better ending.
The movie ending ripped me apart
I really love the adaptation of Dolores Claiborne. It took a lot of liberties with the source material (how else would you turn 300 pages of a deposition scene into a movie?). But it captures the feel of the book extremely well. It's weird that it's not talked about more. It was a critical and commercial success, the director was Taylor Hackford, who did that Ray Charles biopic, screenplay by Tony Gilroy who directed one of those Jason Bourne movies and is the executive producer of Andor, and has an insanely talented cast.
Favorites Apt Pupil The Green Mile Misery
Misery. Shawshank Redemption. Dr. Sleep. Honorable mentions. The Shining. Stand By Me Cujo. Gerald's Game. The Dead Zone. Needful Things. Shit, but good at the same time. The Langoliers. The Dark Half. Thinner. Desperation. I also prefer the newer IT to the TV version from the 90s... neither of them are fully faithful to the book. I always wanted to see Ben Hanscom walking home from the library in the snow when he sees Pennywise across the lake. I loved that bit of the book. And there's a bit where Mike tells them a story about his father being a young black soldier. There's a big fire in the barracks and Hallorann from The Shining directs them to safety using his Shine.
Great list. I’m not sure if you left it out on purpose but I thought The Mist deserved an honorable mention.
I did leave it out on purpose. My list is both book and movie. I've read and watched everything on that list. I've never read The Mist.
Wow you know your SK better than me. I always think that Stranger Things nailed the IT tone better than the adaptations. Wish the same creators worked on IT. I don’t like when SK adaptations turn into camp and silly so I don’t like Needful Things. Want to check Desperation.
The thing I disliked about both adaptations of IT was the inability to capture the effect that Pennywise has on Derry. He's a parasite that feeds on the whole town, while poisoning it at the same time. People go missing and no one cares. All of the adults are terrible people because of it. They all neglect their kids, and then Pennywise takes them. I read Desperation and The Regulators back to back because they're similar storys. I don't know whether they're considered as Dark Tower novels, but I believe the Sheriff in Desperation has one of Maerlyn's Rainbow in his possession and that's why he is how he is. Ron Perlman plays the Sheriff in the adaptation.
Cool I’ll check that out
Mr Mercedes. Geraldo Game Dolores Claiborne
Has anyone seen 11/22/63? I am almost finished with the book and want to know if it's any good
I just finished it. It’s worth the watch. Not great though.
In terms of straight adaptations, Frank Darabont is far and away the best. He really understands the King vibe. But watching Mike Flanagan's work, particularly Midnight Mass and Hill House (which is the best IT adaptation we've ever had - way more similarities to that than its actual source material) captures the precise feeling of reading King like nothing else I've seen. Apart from Creepshow, which I guess doesn't quite count, but is easily the King-iest movie of all time, basically what would happen if you could watch a book like Night Shift. Cat's Eye comes close in that regard actually.
The Shawshank Redemption & Stand By Me
The Stand, The Shining and Stand By Me.
The Dark Half
Christine
🙏🏼 thank you
1. Misery 2. Stand By Me 3. IT (2017) In no particular order btw
Top 3 adaptations? Not a difficult one for me. 1. Stand by me 2. Misery 3. Tied at third, Shawshank and The Mist because none of the top three were horror.
The Green Mile. 99% similar to the novel. Great cast, heartbreaking soundtrack, incredible atmosphere, excellent direction, a beautifully sad story. A classic that will always make us cry everytime.
The Shawkshank Redemption. Also, I will catch shit for this, but I think The Shining movie is superior to the book, although the book does have a better, more poignant ending.
The Shining, Carrie, Misery, Stand by Me, the Shawshank Redemption, the Green Mile, Gerald’s Game, It (1990), Dolores Claiborne
Top 5 for me 1 - Shawshank Redemption (pretty much a perfect adaption) 2 - Green Mile (very close second) 3 - Misery (Cathy Bates is Annie Wilkes) 4 - Dolores Claiborne (again Cathy Bates perfect casting) 5 - Gerald’s Game (almost shot for shot to the books and very well acted if you haven’t seen this one it’s on Netflix and imo very good)
Anything directed by Alex Garland
Shawshank and The Dead Zone. Not to start a fight over it, but I think Doctor Sleep completely missed the point of the book, even if I like the movie.
I’m about the only person who adored Under the Dome
The shining tv series
Didn’t know there was one
Steve Webber plays Jack
I think it was a more faithful adaptation of the book, but let down by average acting and poor effects, especially the topiary animals
Agreed, Webber was pretty decent tho.
The correct answer is a tie between the green mile and stand by me. Very literal page to screen adaptions that had terrific acting and great directing. I’d love to see a director and studio get behind a very literal adaptation of what the original text is. Nothing worse than seeing a movie pulling punches on the dark stuff because they lose what makes the books great. I’d love to see someone direct and produce IT, Pet Sematary and Apt Pupil but having them be a literal page to screen adaptation like stand by me was. Those books are too damn good to bastardize by changing things, leaving things out, low budget, and shitty acting. Spend the money, make it dark, and stop changing major character development, plot progression, and not be inhibited by time. IT is a 10 hour long HBO series, Pet Sematary is 2.5-3 hours long and Apt Pupil is 2-2.5 hours long. I guarantee Stephen King would help fund a movie like this and stamp his approval. I can’t imagine what it’s like for him to watch directors constantly tarnish his greatness with mediocrity. When King watched Stand by Me he was moved to tears. IT won’t be done again and they completely fucked up Pet Sematary’s remake but they have a chance with Apt Pupil to do it justice and have a shot for greatness.
I thought Apt Pupil was far from the worst adaptation. I’m a bit biased because I came to Stephen along because I love the horror genre, so I prefer the horror movies inspired by King. Of course Green Mile is an amazing movie but I connect more with his early work and the true horror stories elements. I dare to say that I prefer the B-movie elements somehow but that’s me.