36 On-Screen Adaptations That Managed To Live Up To The Expectations Of The Book Fans

"It's an overwhelming, perfume-filled poem of a movie that completely grabs the essence of the book."

Every reader knows that when it comes to book-to-screen adaptations, all bets are off. Sometimes, they can be a letdown, but here are the retellings that you, the avid readers of our Community, thought did the original stories justice!

1. Holes (2003)

Buena Vista Pictures

"There's only one answer and it's Holes."

—google_112706733778149358688

"It's the closest reflection of source material I've ever seen and both the book and movie are soooo good."

—amandac4103107d2

youtube.com

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Summit Entertainment

"I really loved the book and movie equally, I thought they used the perfect actors."

—chasingrabbits

"It's amazing how good book-to-movie adaptations turn out when the author is heavily involved (or in this case wrote the screenplay)."

—megank1499

youtube.com

3. Normal People (2020)

BBC Three / RTÉ One

"It is one of the few on-screen adaptations where the book and the series actually complement each other. Whatever makes you feel like it was missing in the book, the adaptation gives us the closure needed, plus don’t even get me started with the chemistry between Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones."

—giovanapaesm

youtube.com

4. Perfume (2004)

Metropolitan Filmexport

"It's my favourite book, and the film did so well at sticking to the material despite the fact it can’t have been an easy job."

—teashirt

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5. The Outsiders (1983)

Warner Bros.

"The book by S.E. Hinton was amazing and the movie was so well done!"

—onedirection822

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6. Pride and Prejudice (1995)

BBC

"In my opinion, this version was much better than the film, and much more faithful to the book."

—alicebloom1

"This was the perfect adaptation."

—deviahappy

youtube.com

7. Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003)

Lions Gate Films

"Great book, beautiful and perfect movie. Scarlet Johansson looks just like the real picture that the fictional book was written about."

—stormwatcher

youtube.com

8. A Discovery of Witches (2018-2022)

Sky One

"This television show is SPOT ON with the book."

—angelaf4c3acf0ac

"It's based on the All Souls book series. There are a few changes and some beautiful additions. I've read the series I don't know how many times, watched the first season a few times, and the consensus is that they're wonderfully matched. I gotta agree. I highly recommend both!"

—kawthara

youtube.com

9. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

HBO

"The seasons based on the books were amazing."

—emilyf4a6fb358d

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10. Trainspotting (1996)

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

"It's got to be on this list!"

—sarahquinney

youtube.com

11. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Buena Vista Pictures

"I feel like it perfectly illustrated the book – there were really only a couple of tiny things that were left out. Also, the actors all did such an amazing job. It was a beautiful movie."

—bree-nb

youtube.com

12. The Cider House Rules (1999)

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

"There are some big changes from the book, but I am 100% fine with it because the essence remains the same, John Irving wrote the screenplay, and there were some things in the book that work in a book, but would not have worked in a movie."

—wasteoftime149

"John Irving totally deserved the Oscar for the screenplay; he made such great editing choices to pare the book and its subplots and cast of characters down into a digestible, not-overly-complicated film that still captures the heart of the story."

—melissan40168c557

youtube.com

13. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Universal Pictures

"If Gregory Peck isn't a perfect Atticus Finch....."

—vickys7

"I love that book and there could not be a better movie adaptation. Gregory Peck WAS the perfect Atticus."

—stormwatcher

youtube.com

14. A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Netflix

"The movies crammed in the storylines, but the show does it justice. It’s funny, it’s dark, and is arguably better than the books."

—vivilehner

youtube.com

15. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Paramount Pictures

"It is by far one of the best book-to-movie adaptations!"

—lisay431ca7184

youtube.com

16. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Universal Pictures

"I watched the film, then a friend gave me the book to read when I was in hospital. Every single scene did the book justice."

—daniellec4f6bc201e

youtube.com

17. The Green Mile (1999)

Universal Pictures

"Perfection."

—itswisa

"I thought was absolutely perfect. I watched it for the first time not long after reading the book and I just thought it was all exactly as I had imagined it."

—emmanwilliamson

youtube.com

18. Les Misérables (2018-2019)

BBC

“There are loads of adaptations of Les Mis, but I feel like this series managed to tell the interwoven stories in a detailed way that’s often missed from other versions. Victor Hugo’s original novel is so long and so intricate, but I think this version did a great job of knowing which parts to focus on. Plus, the cast was great!” 

–hanifahrahman

youtube.com

19. The Virgin Suicides (1993)

Paramount Pictures

"It's an overwhelming, perfume-filled poem of a movie that completely grabs the essence of the book."

—jsitdig16

youtube.com

20. Looking for Alaska (2019)

Hulu

"The cast was perfect, everything looked almost precisely like I’d imagined while reading the book, and the depth they added to side characters like Dr Hyde and the Eagle made it even better. The soundtrack also slaps."

—vsoldf

"The screen adaptation was so good. I read the book multiple times, and when I saw they were making a show from it I was excited, but I didn't get my hopes up in case it went bad. But that ending made me cry so much harder than the book did – even though I knew it was coming, it still hurt so badly. It was so beautifully done and did what happened (no spoilers here) so much justice in making it so impactful."

—hamburgler

youtube.com

21. Me Before You (2016)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"I wasn't sure about Emilia Clarke as Louisa but I fell in love with the way she played her, she fit the character exactly."

—staceyleighk

youtube.com

22. The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Sony Pictures Releasing

"I thought the movie was very good, I even liked the ending of the movie better than the book ending."

—a43920c533

youtube.com

23. White Oleander (2002)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read and the movie was beautifully done. It would be impossible to perfectly capture the lyricism of the book, but they did bring the story and characters to life."

—chrisa443ec9017

youtube.com

24. Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Memento Films International

"Seeing that Italian summer and scenery and the tension and chemistry between Elio and Oliver brought the intensity of the characters in the book to life. The book and movie complement each other so much!"

—androidwithelectricsheep

"It made me tear up like no other book and movie has ever done. Luca Guadagnino did an amazing job casting Elio and Oliver. Surely I'd have loved to see when they meet some years later, but damn the details and the place and everything about the movie was awesome."

—sonali3000

youtube.com

25. The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

Searchlight Pictures

“The writing and casting were perfect, and even though there were some big changes, I felt like it generally stayed true to the original novel and paid a great homage to Dickens.”

–hanifahrahman

youtube.com

26. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Orion Pictures

"It's a classic film for a reason. I expected the book to be miles better, like books so often are, and I was surprised to find myself thinking that as good as the book was, the film was easily its equal, and possibly even superior. The film captures the characters and the tone of the book so perfectly that I would almost say not to bother reading the book."

—alanamuir

youtube.com

27. The Princess Bride (1987)

Interaccess Film Distribution/Vestron Pictures

"Not as many people know that it was actually a book first. In the book, the author interrupts the story with a bunch of asides, and the movie translated that flawlessly into the scenes with the kid and his grandpa telling him the story."

—elcie27

"It's such a great book-to-film translation. It didn't remove a lot, but the parts it did omit were justified. The casting was perfect. The screenplay was perfect. It was loyal to the book while still being its own project."

—colleend9

youtube.com

28. Of Mice and Men (1992)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

"It was so good and I never see it mentioned anywhere!"

—PHM8

youtube.com

29. Good Omens (2019-present)

Amazon Prime Video / BBC Two

"There were some big changes here and there, but I think they make the on-screen translation work even better, especially as the series was written by Neil Gaiman too. It perfectly captured the essence of the novel and it made me laugh just as much."

–hanifahrahman

youtube.com

30. Outlander (2014-present)

Starz

"It's been very well done, and the books are fantastic. I’m so glad they made it a series instead of editing it into a movie. It’s cast pretty well, too. Claire is perfection!"

—amysmith1

youtube.com

31. My Brilliant Friend (2018)

HBO

"It's sooooooo good. Definitely the best book-to-screen adaptation I’ve ever seen, but I don’t see many people talk about it!"

—katestruthers

youtube.com

32. Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

New Line Cinema

"Those films are complete cinematic masterpieces that hold up incredibly well 20 years later. They stay mainly true to the books and add to the story and imagery that Tolkien created."

—lauram403c29da7

youtube.com

33. Shadow and Bone (2021-present)

Netflix

"It was surprisingly accurate to the books, and combining it with Six of Crows really elevated the original Shadow and Bone story."

—sankta-alina

youtube.com

34. The Hunger Games (2012-2015)

Lionsgate Films

"Even though there are a lot of scenes they didn’t include in the movies, i feel like the ones they did include were really extraordinary and with the outstanding performances of Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence, (especially in Mockingjay 2) they were able to portray the Capitol, the games, and the messed up society they lived in perfectly."

—aranzadelapuente

"Might be oversaid at this point, but I think Catching Fire is one of the best book-to-movie adaptations out there."

—dxdavis888

youtube.com

35. Matilda (1996)

Sony Pictures Releasing

"I think the movie is better than the book."

—CallMeCrazy

youtube.com

36. His Dark Materials (2019-2022)

HBO

"It does a fantastic job of bringing The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman to life!"

—jessicam459241a60

"The cast is perfect, they’ve kept true to the story and the main themes, and the soundtrack/locations/CGI are all amazing!"

—nightfury123

"My favourite book series of all time. The adaptation is been flawless."

—keeperk21

youtube.com

Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Don't forget to tell us your favourite book to screen adaptations!