We love a good story, and most of them are just a shelf away from becoming the next big thing to appear on your screens. 

Don’t be fooled. Amongst the flashy camera kit and glowing Macs, lies the page turning, dog earring bookworms of CH Towers. We love a good story, and most of them are just a shelf away from becoming the next big thing to appear on your screens. 

We’ve all heard the line, ‘the book was way better than the film’ and there’s a certain smugness when you’ve tackled both mediums. 

With that in mind, here’s a few of our favourite book to big screen adaptations.

Fight Club

Chuck Palahniuk 1996 / David Fincher 1999

Synopsis
Unhappy with his capitalistic lifestyle, a white-collared insomniac forms an underground fight club with Tyler, a careless soap salesman. Soon, their venture spirals down into something sinister.

The first rule about Fight Club. You do not talk about Fight Club (or write blogs…?)

Well, it’s worth breaking the rules to talk about this late 90s classic. Also, it’s Assistant Producer Lauren’s all-time favourite film so definitely needs a mention. 

It’s the quickest book to film adaption on the list, with only three years between publication and the film release! Implementing very minor differences between the book and film, ‘Fight Club’ is a somewhat harrowing depiction of the capitalist lifestyle and the gruelling effects it can have on mental health. Norton presents the narrators state of mind, using an array of unusual stylistic approaches – most famously, the interspersed frames of Tyler’s character before he appears in the film. 

One line summary?
A firm cult classic.

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott, 1868 / Greta Gerwig, 2019

Synopsis
While the March sisters enter the threshold of womanhood, they go through many ups and downs in life and endeavour to make important decisions that can affect their future.

This all-time classic has graced our screens for the past 100 years, in the form of both film and TV. But recently we got to experience Greta Gerwig’s interpretation, alongside an iconic, modern cast. Blending the character of Jo March with Louisa May Alcott herself, we are shown a non-linear narrative that uses key contrasting events, offering a front row seat to this heart-warming story. 

One line summary?
An oldie but a goodie.

The Shining

Stephen King, 1977 / Stanley Kubrick, 1980

Synopsis

Jack and his family move into an isolated hotel with a violent past. Living in isolation, Jack begins to lose his sanity, which affects his family members.

Fancy yourself a few sleepless nights? We’ve got you covered. Endless mazes, bloody elevators, and creepy identical twins are just a few horrors The Overlook hotel has to offer. 

But you won’t find half of the recognisable features in the pages of King’s novel. In fact, the author famously dislikes Kubrick’s adaptation. A good example of the brutality of Hollywood and how cutting corners (and book chapters!) is needed when condensing 450 pages into a 2-hour screenplay.

One line summary?
All work and no play (makes us very entertained).

Fantastic Mr Fox

Roald Dahl, 1970 / Wes Anderson, 2009

Synopsis

Mr Fox, a family man, goes back to his ways of stealing, unable to resist his animal instincts. However, he finds himself trapped when three farmers decide to kill him and his kind.

Dahl and Anderson are known for their quirky styles of writing, so some might say they are the perfect Author/Auteur duo! 

As with most young fiction, the story had to be significantly lengthened to create a feature film. Bringing in new characters, family dynamics and the odd pop culture reference to inject Anderson’s more notable techniques. Nonetheless, it’s a ‘fantastic’ stop motion masterpiece in which the styles and mise-en-scene have inspired the director’s later films.

One line summary?

I guess it’s just…different!

The Lovely Bones 

Alice Sebold, 2000 / Peter Jackson, 2009

Synopsis

Susie, a 14-year-old girl, gets murdered. But she refuses to move on since she has unfinished business. Her spirit continues to watch over her family trying to reveal her murderer's name to them.

A young Saoirse Ronan, and the brilliant Stanley Tucci star in this eery coming of age story with a devastating twist. 

The film does a great job at jarring the audience by incorporating Susie’s colourful dream world within the bleak 1970s reality, surrounding the rest of the family. This otherworldly presence is further emulated through the choice of camera techniques, making every scene feel suspenseful.

One thing to note is that Jackson strays far from Sebold’s narrative on many occasions, so we’d class this as a film ‘inspired by’ rather than word for word.

One line summary?

Not for the faint hearted.