Page to Screen: The best book to movie adaptations to read and watch during lockdown

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Page to Screen: The best book to movie adaptations to read and watch during lockdown Posted On 09 February 2021

We’re all looking for ways to pass the time during this lockdown. How about a double-header by reading the book before watching the film…

We all know the old adage, the book is better than any screen adaptation, however, is this always true? A great way to pass the time this lockdown is to read the book before watching the film. The bonus to this is A) The amount of time it will take, and B) The amount you will take from the movie after reading the book.

Stardust

Stardust is a 1999 fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman. The story begins in 1839 and most of it happens seventeen-years later. The story follows Tristan Thorn, who promises the girl he loves he will collect a fallen star for her if she will be his sweetheart. He has to leave his home and enter the Faerie world, where he finds the star who is actually a beautiful woman called Yvaine.

Pursued by enemies, the story unfolds in a delightfully funny and fantastical way. In 2007, Matthew Vaughn who directed films such as Kingsman, X-Men: First Class and Layer Cake, adapted the book with a stellar cast including Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Robert De Niro, Ben Barnes, Michelle Pfeiffer and many more. The film received positive reviews and is a great way to start this challenge.

Stardust is available to watch on NOWTV and Sky.

Fight Club

Here’s an oddity. A film that became a cult classic, that few people knew was originally a book. If you have read none of Chuck Palahniuk’s work, then be prepared for a blistering attack on modern life and our obsession with materialism, while being bombarded with his own unique style of writing.

In 1999, David Fincher, who also directed Se7en, Zodiac, Gone Girl, Mindhunter, and Alien 3, took the reins on the movie adaptation. He enlisted A-listers Brad Pitt and Ed Norton, alongside a young Jared Leto and an ageing Meatloaf, to create a movie like no other. It quickly became a cult classic and a vibrant look at the end of the 21^st century.

Fight Club is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

All you need to do now is find the book – we’d recommend Abebooks.com – get stuck in and don’t watch the movie until you’ve finished.

Part Two coming Thursday.