Books that should be (better) movies

I've expressed my opinion about turning books into movies several times in this blog. (For it as long as you changes are omissions rather than additions.) I've also mentioned that I love remixes, covers and parodies in music. As such it might be unsurprising that there are several works of literature that have been turned into movies that need to be redone. Either they were well done, but done fifty years ago or they were never done well in the first place.

1. Noble House

Noble House is the fourth book chronologically in James Clavell's Asian Saga. After they made Sho Gun into a successful mini-series the decision was made to put the other novels on the screen as well. The 1988 miniseries staring a youngish Pierce Brosnan and isn't bad so much as it's just not good. The point of a mini-series is that you don't have to cut major subplots and characters. The miniseries however does just that. The biggest reason to update the film, however is because of just how dated it seems.

2. Tai Pan
Two Clavell novels right off the bat. While Nobel House was a pretty well done miniseries, Tai Pan was simply not very good. It was cast with a bunch of supporting actors. Many of the members of this cast have gone on to long careers, but few leading roles. A youngish Kyra Sedgwick and Janine Turner are probably the biggest names in the whole cast and both have relatively small roles. This is my favorite of the Asian Saga books and as such I'd like to done right. Big name cast, big budget for the effects and a screenplay that really gets at the complexities of the plot.

3. 1984
I just reread this George Orwell classic this summer after retrieving my copy from my parent's house. While reading it I could imagine the kinds of scenes and cinematography that could make this novel into a really effective movie. The movie version released in 1984 (coincidence?) starred John Hurt, Suzanna Hamilton, and Richard Burton. It got good reviews and still scores a 7 out of 10 on IMDb. I don't think I've ever seen it. The reason I think it needs a remake would be to revitalize the story and put in the effects that Orwell's widow objected to in the earlier version.

2. Ivanhoe
This is another of my favorite novels and one that begs to be turned into a three hour epic directed by Peter Jackson and starring Sean Bean or Daniel Craig or James Purefoy. The 1952 version had some big names and seems to have been done well and A&E did a mini series version that wasn't bad but wasn't as good as it could have been.

1. Gunga Din
The 1939 version based on Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem is one of my favorite movies. The casting is incredible. The story is both epic and personal. The cinematography is (especially for the time) amazing. The story has been retold several times :1961's Sergent's 3 and 1999's Three Kings being the most famous. Each of those versions took Kipling out of India which is why this story needs a remake. The story needs an epic remake - a period piece with great special effects and a cast as talented and exciting as Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sam Jeffe and Joan Fontaine.


As long as Hollywood insists on remaking crappy movies and TV shows and turning crap like Twilight into movies, they could look for better sources.