Books adapted to film where they got the casting right

axisus

Seeing the thread where people didn't like the casting in The Dark Tower, I was wondering what films have got the casting right.

For me 100% on the money was Lord of the RIngs. I was very into all that stuff as a teen in the 70s, and the whole ensemble seemed to fit the roles superbly. Also the Hobbit was mostly very good, especially Martin Freeman, although they could have done without Stephen Fry. I don't dislike Fry, but the moment he turned up he was just ... Stephen Fry. It completely threw me out of the story for a bit.

Winny_Pooh

Not strictly a book but Watchmen was a standout.

HAL9000

Harry Potter, but especially the Alan Rickman character.

Flink_Poyd

Winny_Pooh said:

Not strictly a book but Watchmen was a standout.

Yup, pretty much bang on. 

JezWynd

Noomi Rapace in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy.

holnrew

Starter for Ten was pretty well cast

not_the_dj

Jaws. 

Steffo

Shawshank redemption. In the book Red is Irish but I cannot imagine anybody else other than Morgan Freeman doing it.

octatonic

Bladerunner / Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep.
Empire of the Sun
The 39 Steps
Maltese Falcon
Dangerous Liaisons 

frank1985

Jack Nicholson in The Shining

Somehow I don't think the Jack Torrance character was much of a stretch for him....

crunchman

axisus said:

Seeing the thread where people didn't like the casting in The Dark Tower, I was wondering what films have got the casting right.

For me 100% on the money was Lord of the RIngs. I was very into all that stuff as a teen in the 70s, and the whole ensemble seemed to fit the roles superbly. Also the Hobbit was mostly very good, especially Martin Freeman, although they could have done without Stephen Fry. I don't dislike Fry, but the moment he turned up he was just ... Stephen Fry. It completely threw me out of the story for a bit.

The Lord of the Rings was mostly good, but some of the characters weren't quite how I envisioned them.  There weren't any horrible ones that really ruined it, and they got the really important ones like Gandalf spot on.

The Hobbit deviated so far from the books that the casting was the least of it.  They did get most of the key characters right, but a bare headed Billy Connelly nutting enemies in helmets was just silly.

The only other one I can think of off the top of my head where I've seen book(s) that I really like put on film is Master and Commander.  Russell Crowe is Russell Crowe, but Jack Aubrey isn't a deep character.  Paul Bettany was good as Maturin.  That worked for me.

Dominic

Gene Wilder as Willy Wonker
Michael Caine and Steve Martin in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
John Thaw as Morse
Ron Moody as Fagin

octatonic

Dominic said:

Michael Caine and Steve Martin in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Not a book- it was a remake of the 1964 film 'Bedtime Story'.

AlexC

Michael Caine as Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File and the two sequels. Exactly as Len Deighton wrote that character.

Philly_Q

frank1985 said:

Jack Nicholson in The Shining

Somehow I don't think the Jack Torrance character was much of a stretch for him....

Although funnily enough Stephen King has never liked the film and thinks Jack looks insane from the first moment we see him... and he has a point.  King thought Michael Moriarty (very underrated actor) would be better suited to the role.

Having said all that, I love the film. 

Philly_Q

Not a film, but Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes.  He was perfect.  

Basil Rathbone in the '40s films was great too, in a completely different way.

stimpsonslostson

Poirot with David Suchet
Bond with Daniel Craig- blunt instrument etc
LOTR- all well cast. Especially Aragon. Viggo was superb. 

Bad ones:
Keanu, Wynonna & Oldham in Dracula
Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher 
Jennifer Lawrence in Hungergames

mudslide73

Margaret Rutherford in all the Marples she was in. Christie herself was a fan and made dedications to her in books that were released when both were alive. 

fields5069

American Psycho.
The Road.

maltingsaudio

Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs

Sylvia Kristel Emmanuelle

menamestom

Jonny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 

Kathy Bates in Misery

Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now

Not a book, but a wothwhile mention, all the casting in Pulp Fiction especially Travolta / Jackson.

Edit: More recently Mark Rylance as the BFG