King Movie Adaptations

[Matt]

Even though Misery was the top runner for a long time...the Shawshank Redemption has my vote for sure.

[She-Oy]

Shawshank for non-horror, but Pet Semetary for scaring the pee out of me.
I'd also like to give special recognition to The Green Mile.

[Baradin]

Shawshank, hands down. Tho I do have a special place for The TV Miniseries The Stand. (IT could have been there, but Molly Ringwald? Really?)

[Grillslinger]

Secret Window....and so far, The Mist looks promising.

[Matt]

I can't wait for The Mist. That one and "The Long Walk" have always been two of my most favorite shorts.

[Fall of Gilead]

Green Mile for me. 1408 looks very cool.

[Rjeso]

So hard to choose between Shawshank and Green Mile.

Oh, and let's not forget Maximum Overdrive! ;)

[fernandito]

You know what sucks? Desperation is my favorite non-dark tower King book and I think that they really f'd up the movie.

[Odetta]

Shawshank

[MonteGss]

I had no idea that The Long Walk was made into a movie...I'll have to check that out. I liked that story.

It's really hard to choose between Misery and Shawshank. I'm gonna go with Misery cuz it was "traditional horror Stephen King."

[John Blaze]

I had no idea that The Long Walk was made into a movie...I'll have to check that out. I liked that story.

It's really hard to choose between Misery and Shawshank. I'm gonna go with Misery cuz it was "traditional horror Stephen King."

My favorite adaptation so far was Green Mile.

I notice the title of the thread is, "What WASyour favorite movie"

I believ from watching the trailers that 1408 is going to blow them out of the water. Yes, they changed some stuff, but it was a short story, and needed more substance.

As soon as this movie come out I will be in here to update my favorite movie choice.

btw, the trailer is on youtube already. It's awesome.

[MonteGss]

:(

I haven't read 1408. It's on my SK booklist.

[Aaron]

There actually isn't a movie of The Long Walk yet, but it is in the works. Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist) has optioned it, and says that he plans on doing it sometime in the future. The article where he discusses it can be found here. (http://www.liljas-library.com/showinterview.php?id=38)

[Aaron]

As for my faves, I also would have to say Shawshank, although Stand By Me is right up there, too. As far as an actual horror film, I'm going to say Pet Sematary and The Shining (Kubrick).

[VolsToTheWall]

Shawshank is definitely my fave, I've watched that many, many times. I do also love Stand By Me as well.

[OchrisO]

I'm going to risk jeers by saying 'It." Even though it was way different than the book, Tim Curry still makes one hell of a Pennywise. I'm a much better one, though:
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g118/polkacore/pennywise.jpg

Ok, not really.

[sai delgado]

i loved shawshank, pet sematary for creeping me out and the shining for making me laugh so much :lol:

[funky dredd]

Shawshank for me.

[LadyGan]

So hard to choose between Shawshank and Green Mile.

Yeah, same here.

[pol]

There actually isn't a movie of The Long Walk yet, but it is in the works. Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist) has optioned it, and says that he plans on doing it sometime in the future. The article where he discusses it can be found here. (http://www.liljas-library.com/showinterview.php?id=38)

It would be impressive if this could be done right....particularly in light of all this "reality TV" we are inundated with.

To date my vote is for Shawshank...am impressive read and a great movie.

[Ruki]

dolores claiborne with stand by me not far behind.

[Darkthoughts]

Stand By Me - its one of my favourite films regardless.

[Matt]

Dang!! I forget about that one sometimes.

I'm still on Shawshank but that one is up there with Misery and the Green Mile

[She-Oy]

Yeah, Stand By Me is probably better than Green Mile and just as good as Shawshank...it's classic, even people who don't like King like those movies.

[kithereal]

Shawshank Redemption is in my top 10 movies of all time.

and Stand BY Makes me cry so hard...and laugh so much....
may fav line..( by memory ...not acurate I am sure )

Alright, alright, Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog, what's Goofy?

KIT

[Chassit]

The Stand
Jack Nicholson plays such a great fuckin psycho heheheh

[OchrisO]

The Stand
Jack Nicholson plays such a great fuckin psycho heheheh

Indeed he does. I have an awesome poster of the "Here's Johnny" scene from the movie hanging above my computer monitor.

[VolsToTheWall]

Jack Nicholson plays such a great fuckin psycho heheheh

He sure does, but that character doesn't seem like too much of a stretch for him does it? :lol:

[Fall of Gilead]

What? no one's picked The Running Man? :lol:

[Mordred Deschain]

Shawshank is my favorite, but I gotta say I'm a old school fan, and I love the Shinning!

[ZoNeSeeK]

Stand By Me is definitely my favourite :)

[Jean]

We already have Your Favorite King Movie Adaptation thread, but I believe there's a lot to be said about those which are not necessarily favorite, too.
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

[Storyslinger]

I think a lot more could have been done with The Stand

I understand that it was a long movie to begin with, but i still wanted more, sorry, thats just me

[ZoNeSeeK]

Desperation


sucked


balls

:D

I didnt realise how badly that could be fucked up, it had no atmosphere or anything :/

[Letti]

To sum up: most of them are awful. If I were in King's shoes I would cry after those films.

[Girlystevedave]

Desperation


sucked


balls

:D

I didnt realise how badly that could be fucked up, it had no atmosphere or anything :/


I completely agree with you. That movie was totally butchered.

[Odetta]

I loved Tim Curry as Pennywise, but other than that, IT could have been much scarier.

[Storyslinger]

I thought they left too much out in Desperation, which ruined it, but i Thought the casting for David, Johnny and Steve was done well. On the note of IT, that movie was a total flop on the scary scale, It might even be better if the redid it

[Jimmy]

The Mist seems to be shaping up well.

[Storyslinger]

Yep, it looks like it has the potential to break the cycle of bad

[Heather19]

I'm still hoping that they'll finally get going with a remake of It. That's my favorite King story and I'd love to see it get a better movie than what was previously released.

[ZoNeSeeK]

I thought they left too much out in Desperation, which ruined it, but i Thought the casting for David, Johnny and Steve was done well. On the note of IT, that movie was a total flop on the scary scale, It might even be better if the redid it

I hated the whole David Carver bible bashing crap in it. Using BibleGod for deus ex machina?

L
A
M
E

[Storyslinger]

I'm still hoping that they'll finally get going with a remake of It. That's my favorite King story and I'd love to see it get a better movie than what was previously released.

We think alike

[Mattrick]

I think we can all agree considering cast and budget, that Dreamcatcher was by far the worst of them all.

[Ikilledthecrimsonking]

i loved Shawshank Redeption all other king movies where okay at best

[Darkthoughts]

Didn't you like Stand By Me IKTCK?

[Daghain]

I liked Shawshank, Stand By Me, hell, I even liked the original Shining (not the remake, sorry). Also Delores Claiborne and Misery.

[Ikilledthecrimsonking]

DarkThoughts your right i totally forgot about Stand By Me and The Green Mile. Thanks i almost said that those movies were bad

DT you can call me Colin instead of IKTCK

[Mattrick]

Yes, Misery was excellent. James Caan was amazing in it.

Looking forward to The Mist.

[Darkthoughts]

DT you can call me Colin instead of IKTCK

Cool, thanks! I'm Lisa :)

Daggers, who was in Dolores Claiborne?

[alinda]

Delores was played by Kathy Bates, wow that woman can act!

[Daghain]

Yeah, Kathy Bates rocks! She was totally scary! She's great in Dolores Claiborne too - and James Caan as the writer in Misery is really cool. :D

[RUBE]

I was just thinking that no one ever seems to bring up Hearts in Atlantis, either as being good or bad. It seems to be forgotten. I think it was a decent movie but not on scale with The Green Mile,The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me or The Shining. Also, a lot of his early movies are ignored. I just watched Pet Semetary again and rather enjoyed it.

[ZoNeSeeK]

I didnt mind it so much, i thought it was ok, but i havent read the book so :) *runs*

Stand By Me is probably my favourite King movie

[Daghain]

Eh, written or film, Hearts in Atlantis is so-so for me.

LOVED Pet Sematary, though!

[Storyslinger]

I didnt mind it so much, i thought it was ok, but i havent read the book so :) *runs*

Stand By Me is probably my favourite King movie

WHOO, I love that movie

[fernandito]

I'm still hoping that they'll finally get going with a remake of It. That's my favorite King story and I'd love to see it get a better movie than what was previously released.
We think alike

Although I think we can all agree that Tim Curry was f*cking superb in his portrayal of IT. :)

[Storyslinger]

You say true

[Odetta]

Tim Curry is pretty damn good in every role, in my opinion!

[Jimmy]

Can anyone recommend the version of Umney's Last Case from the TNT Nightmares and Dreamscapes mini?

I like William H. Macy, and ULC is one of my favorite short stories. I don't want to see it unless it's of any quality though.

Thanks!

[Heather19]

Can anyone recommend the version of Umney's Last Case from the TNT Nightmares and Dreamscapes mini?

I like William H. Macy, and ULC is one of my favorite short stories. I don't want to see it unless it's of any quality though.

Thanks!

Personally, I didn't care for it. They changed the story around quite a bit. So if you see it, just be prepared for that, otherwise you might be kinda disappointed.

And feverish, I completely agree. Tim Curry was the only good thing about IT.

[CRinVA]

How about Storm of the Century? No preconceived notions based on the written story as it was written for the TV Miniseries! I really liked it and still think that Andre Linoge is one of the best SK Bad Guys!

[Ikilledthecrimsonking]

it was a decent movie but not on scale with The Green Mile,The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me or The Shining.

the Shining was a terrible king adaptation it would have been great if the book wasn't so good though

[Erin]

What about Firestarter? I haven't seen the movie for years, but I remember liking it when I did.

Oh, and I was really ticked in the Cujo movie that

They let the kid live. That was the most emotional thing about the book.

[Ikilledthecrimsonking]

i never even knew fire starter was a movie

[Randall Flagg]

Drew Barrymore was the child in Firestarter.

[Erin]

She was just so adorable as a little kid that it's hard to resist liking movies she was in.

[Matt]

I agree on Cujo and Drew Barrymore is like sweetest muffin ever!! :wub:

[Ikilledthecrimsonking]

i didnt think cujo was a sweet muffin

[Ruthful]

To sum up: most of them are awful. If I were in King's shoes I would cry after those films.

Agreed.

I didn't think The Stand was that bad though, especially for something directed by Mick Garris.

I watched about half of the first episode in the miniseries a few months ago-for the first time since it originally aired-and thought it held up pretty well.

Other than that there've only been about half a dozen or so cinematic adaptations that I enjoyed watching.

[Heather19]

Stand by Me is my favorite film of his. I was watching a documentary the other night about him, and it mentioned that movie. They were talking to a friend of his, and they were saying how he got so emotional after watching the film for the first time, that he had to leave the theater and be by himself for a little bit, because it brought back so many memories.

[Ruthful]

I agree with an earlier poster who brought up Hearts in Atlantis. I think that's one of the more overlooked adaptations, one which is pretty good when viewed in context-I know a lot of Tower junkies didn't like the fact that it was compressed, and left out key details about the Low Men for the consumption of a broader audience, but I thought overall it was a decent film. Then again, any movie starring Anthony Hopkins can't be all that bad.

[Jean]

Then again, any movie starring Anthony Hopkins can't be all that bad.
Of course it can... remember Legends of the Fall... or The Silence of the Lambs...

I have just watched Firestarter. Nothing too great, nor too especially bad. The book, too, although I like it, never impressed me either way (note also that it hasn't yet made either hate- or love-list of King books here). The Charlie/Rainbird line was ok (and in the book it was really good), the rest just so-so. But what shocked me deeply is that at the end she went to The New York Times instead of Rolling Stone. It f***ed up the whole idea, didn't it????

[Darkthoughts]

Legends of The Fall...oh man, that film was so atrocious even Brad Pitt getting his kit off couldn't save it :P

[Jean]

Atrocious. A very good word. It was the first time I saw Brad Pitt, and I remember asking my wife, who is that guy with a pancake face? If we want to go on with this conversation, however, we'll have to move it to General Movie Discussion. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

[Darkthoughts]

I think we should - I have alot to say to the detriment of that film :D

[Grillslinger]

I thought Secret Window was fantastic.

[Storyslinger]

Yeah, that was pretty good.

[Jean]

Right now I am watching Riding the Bullet. About halfway through. We've already had a suicidal attempt, crows, wolves, mental disorder, crazy punks, roadkills, and more than a dozen hallucinations; now we are at a gloomy-looking cemetery.

And the story was so neat... so elegant... so fucking humane...

[Still Servant]

I don't think anybody mentioned Carrie. That was good.

As far as recent movies are concerned, I thought Secret Window was good and 1408 wasn't horrible.

I was trying to think of some other King books/short stories that could get the big screen treatment and I couldn't really think of anything.

I think I did hear The Cell might get made into a movie. That could be pretty good.

[Ruthful]

I don't think anybody mentioned Carrie. That was good.

Although, as with The Shining, we should qualify that by specifying that we're discussing THE ORIGINAL version of Carrie, not any of the execrable remakes done with King's imprimatur.


As far as recent movies are concerned, I thought Secret Window was good and 1408 wasn't horrible.

I think I'm the only person here who's never seen Secret Window.

I agree with you about 1408, which was probably the scariest King movie aside from The Shining and Cat's Eye.


I was trying to think of some other King books/short stories that could get the big screen treatment and I couldn't really think of anything.


The Man in the Black Suit

Survivor Type-you can never have enough cannibalism.

The Ten O'Clock People-you can never have enough futuristic, dystopian, nightmarish scenarios involving draconian anti-smoking laws and demons.

[Storyslinger]

I was shocked when I found out that one of my favorite King short stories was a film. Apartently, The Road Virus Heads North is a 21 minute film. Anyone seen it?

[Heather19]

They released it as part of Nightmares & Dreamscapes that TNT put out last summer. If it's not that one that you're referring to, then it's probably a dollar baby that someone made.

[Storyslinger]

Yeah thats probably it, did you see it?

[SKSM]

It's has done back in 2004 as a Dollar Baby by Dave Brock.
http://www.stephenkingshortmovies.com/goto.php?movies/road_virus_heads_north.php

[Heather19]

I saw the Nightmares & Dreamscapes one, it was pretty good. You should be able to rent it if you haven't seen it yet.

[Storyslinger]

Thanks

[BeDaN]

Alright so the other night my kids were playing on the computer and I was just about to put them to bed, well I had on the Chiller channel because they've been having King's movies on all week and "It" was starting. So I told them to finish whatever game they were playing because it was bedtime, well it got to the part with Georgie and my son and daughter came away from the computer because they caught a glimpse of Pennywise and they were just glued to the TV from then on.

Well I got a little idea in my head so I let them finish watching that part of the movie. I pulled them aside and I told them about talking to strangers and taking gifts from strangers, and how sometimes people may seem nice but you never know and bad things can happen. Well needless to say that part spooked them a bit, not much but enough to get my point across. So for the last day they've been telling everyone they know not to talk to strangers, even if they look like a funny clown and have balloons. So the moral of the story is. . . Stephen King is a great tool to teach your kids! Well not always but that part worked for me and for them. I don't think they'll talk to or take something from strangers ever again.

[The Lady of Shadows]

:lol:

maybe we should get him to travel to schools and do the "Mr. Do Safety Lecture"!

[BeDaN]

:lol:

maybe we should get him to travel to schools and do the "Mr. Do Safety Lecture"!

lmao, I would pay top dollar to see the looks on the parents faces.

[Hornet of Death]

That's cool.

Pennywise spooked my like hell when I was a kid.

[Ves'Ka Gan]

Hahaha that's awesome!

[BlainetheMono]

That scene at the beginning of the movie when pennywise bares his fangs at Georgie (and subsequently eats/kills him) scared the $h!t out of 10 year old me. My dad let me watch the entire mini-series (he got some sort of perverse humor out of scaring me I think) and I was afraid to go into the bathroom by myself for awhile (think blood coming from the sink et al in Bev's house). We didn't even have a sewer system in my small Indiana town, we had a septic tank on our farm, so there was no reason to believe that a killer clown was gonna spring from my toilet and eat me, but it still freaked me out. thought y'all might enjot that tidbit

[BeDaN]

LOL ya, I'd say it was one of the better movies/mini-series' based off one of King's books. I let the kids watch it up until that scene was over, now they keep asking me if Pennywise is gonna come if they're naughty. Hehe

[Ves'Ka Gan]

I watched that miniseries probably a hundred times before I was 12 yrs old. My Dad was the more liberal parent you might say...

[Jackie]

Wow thats a great story and idea :lol:

[Ka-tet]

Priceless :P

Im sure your kids learnt a valuble lesson from sai king on that point ^.^

[razz]

when i was in third grade they had the Langoliers on, and those things that looked like flying meatballs with TEEF (the langoliers?) gave me nightmares for weeks.

[Adumbros]

when i was in third grade they had the Langoliers on, and those things that looked like flying meatballs with TEEF (the langoliers?) gave me nightmares for weeks.

i gotta say that that was absolutely the SHITTIEST King-based movie ever made. Granted, it was legitimately based on one of his works, unlike The Lawnmower Man, but it was a horrid adaptation, and the FX reminded me waaaaaaaaay too much of the cheap-o shit of the late 80s. Early 80s woulda been fine; it was the best they had to work with, and made it campy fun. But late 80s? I can't watch this movie no matter how hard I try. The only thing that didn't completely piss me off, that was an actually ingenious move on the producers' part, was casting Balki (Bronson Pinchot from TV's Perfect Strangers, for those not in the know) as Toomey. The rest of it just sucked like a hooker on nickel night.