There’s nothing worse, well there are a lot of things worse, but it’s really infuriating when you read a really good book and they make a rubbish movie out of it. That warm fuzzy feeling you had for the book evapourates because some Hollywood producer/director failed to capture the essence of the book. I mean, it really shouldn’t be that difficult should it? You’ve got a good story, surely that should be the main ingredient for a good film?

Well apparently not. There are countless good stories that haven’t transferred well to the big screen. One of my favourites (or non-favourites) is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières. What an awesome book! It gets off to a slow start, possibly a little too poetic for my taste, but it’s different, a little bit quirky and by the end I couldn’t put it down. I was even reading it on the tube on the way to work (and I only had one stop to get to work!). However when the film came out it failed to deliver. I’m not a big fan of Nicholas Cage anyway (Captain Corelli must take the prize for the most miscast role ever) but the film failed all-round. Apparently epic books set over many years are very difficult to translate into 2 hour films.

Another example is The Da Vinci Code. Hugely popular not just because of a great story but also the controversy it spawned, the going-through-the-motions film version was a real let-down. Despite having Tom Hanks playing the lead role the film is so unrealistic, as they scamper from bizarre locations making preposterous escapes, that I now have lost the love for Dan Brown books, which is not really his fault at all.

But not all is lost. There are many films that have only helped to enhance a good book. One of my all-time favourites is American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. The film version, directed by Mary Harron and starring Christian Bale (also of Captain Corelli fame) seems to be an exact extension of the book, often taking much of the dialogue word for word. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S Thompson, also follows this approach. The hilarious, drug fuelled conversation between Raoul Duke and Dr Gonzo is often lifted straight out of the book, and Terry Gilliam, the film’s director, is outstanding in doing the book justice with his film classic.