15+ Best Movies Based on Books That Are Worth Watching

There are plenty of films adapted from books. However, there are only so many sound movies established from texts which is not a cheap lapse in Hollywood.

It is indeed an oppugnant uphold a story’s value of intrigue and character growth into a few hours of amusement.

Perhaps, this is the sole explanation why the best movies based on books usually feel better like a fellow piece than an accurate account of a best-selling paperback.

Others take advantage from the luxury and glamour that Hollywood brings. For example, the 2019 film adaptation of ‘Little Women’ usually recreates the tale or adds unique settings to appeal to a contemporary audience. 

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Director: Joe Wright

Stars: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, and Talulah Riley

The adaptation of the renowned Jane Austen’s classic tale of love and wrong foremost impressions has appeared on screen in multiple forms multiple times.

Nevertheless, this movie performance takes an additional sensible approach than different movie versions.

As an effect, enemies to lovers, the two central protagonists, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, become alive onscreen, giving us a perfect war, lovey-dovey feel.

Because of this particular movie, we observe youngsters from all over the world swoon over the character of Mr. Darcy, making him an internet sensation as well.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Director: Barry Jenkins

Stars: Kiki Layne, Stephan James, and Regina King

James Baldwin’s most renowned novel, published in 1974, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk is undoubtedly an incredible read. 

It follows a youthful lady who attempts to clear his reputation after her boyfriend is wrongfully charged with treason.

The movie acquired numerous honors, including a best-supportive actress victory at the Oscars for Regina King’s spellbound performance and expression. 

Only someone with foresight like Barry Jenkins, who penned and produced this adaptation, could convey it to the giant screen.

Little Women (2019)

Director: Greta Gerwig

Stars: Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Eliza Scanlen

There’s a sense as to why the Little Women book has been made into a movie seven times. Louisa May Alcott’s part autobiographical story about sisters named Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy has undergone and survived the test of the period. 

Nevertheless, it is just as relatable and personal in 2021 as at the time of publishing in 1868. The most remarkable and famous star cast makes it arguably the best representation of Alcott’s story. 

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Director: John M Chu

Stars: Henry Golding, Awkwafina, Constance Wu, and Gemma Chen

If the movie adaptation of the novel by Kevin Kwan were a color, it would have been a rainbow. 

Name something that will enlighten your mood, and it is already there. The vast spectrum includes dramatic fashion, sweet romance, and comedy.

Constance Wu and Henry Golding, the two lead protagonists of this rom-com, play a plot where a middle-aged Chinese American woman is about to travel to Singapore to greet her boyfriend’s orthodox Chinese family. 

It sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? However, there is a huge twist. His family turns out to be one of Asia’s wealthiest and most well-known families, and his mother is not exactly welcoming of her son’s new romance.

Gone Girl (2014)

Director: David Fincher

Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, and Carry Coon

All you need to know about this breathtaking book by Gillian Flynn is here.

The movie is a thriller, a mystery revolving around a husband who finds himself becoming a suspect in his wife’s disappearance. The complicated issues dealt with in the movie, the direction, the acting; everything about this movie will keep you glued to your seats.

The film portrays several real-world problems like parenting, compulsion, misogyny, and, most conflicting thing, marriage.

The movie is one of the most recommended movie suggestions that are at par with the book.

A Simple Favor (2018)

Director: Paul Feig

Stars: Henry Golding, Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and Ian Ho

In the book and movie, A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell, nothing is simple. 

Ironical to the name, it is a crime thriller, and the most convincing part includes Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick’s weird yet enthralling bond. 

One will be bawling their eyes out at this movie from the onset to end while trying to understand and figure out what is happening in the film as a little town vlogger tries to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of her elegant and secretive batchmates.  

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Director: Ang Lee

Stars: Kate Winslet, James Fleet, Harriet Walter, and Emma Thompson

Another Jane Austen movie adaption in the list because… well, why not?

The story revolves around the Dashwood sisters, part of a well-established and renowned English family, who must face the consequences of unannounced destitution. 

Thus they are forced to search for financial stability via marriage, where the plot picks pace while intriguing all the romance dwellers among us. Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman play their respective suitors.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Director: David Frankel

Stars: Meryl Sheep, Anne Hattaway, Emily Blunt, and Anna Wintour

The movie adaptation of the famous book of the same name by Lauren Weisberger follows a wise. Still, a reasonable new graduate lands a position and career as an associate to Miranda Priestly, who is extremely cold and arrogant besides being the challenging lead editor of a high fashion magazine.

The Color Purple (1985)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Dany Grover, and Williard Pugh

The plot revolves around a character named Celie, played by Whoopi Goldberg.

The movie is adapted from the best-seller of the same name by Alice Walker. It reflects the pains a Black woman experienced during the early 20th century, involving domestic brutality, deprivation, discrimination, and sexism. Celie’s painful expedition continues for 40 years.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

Director: Susan Johnson

Stars:  Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, and Janel Parrish

The book by Jenny Han follows two lead protagonists named Laura Jean and Peter Kavinsky, and their affair is sure to get certified as one of this era’s most famous love tales. 

The film adaptation deals with a teenage girl’s love notes that are somehow revealed, which wreak devastation on her passionate life. Despite all this teenage chaos, the movie feels new, fresh, unique, effortlessly lovey-dovey, and heartwarming.

The Harry Potter series (2001–2011)

Director: David Yales

Stars: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Bill Nighly, Rupert Grint, and Tom Felton

A person can’t be unaware of this global phenomenon at our age. 

Readers and audiences of all generations have been drowning in ecstasy in the Wizarding Realm for decades. 

The story by J.K. Rowling follows the three main protagonists, Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s journey against period and evil while uncovering several powerful entities in the wizarding realm.

The companionship, the mysticism, and the humor are as fun to watch as to read in the books.

It (2017)

Director: Andi Muschietti

Stars: Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lilis, Bill Skarsgard, Jeremy Taylor, and Fin Wolfhard

This bone-chilling horror masterpiece by Stephen King has petrified generation after generation. It is based in the summer of 1989 at a tiny New Englandlocality where a bunch of unlikely bullied friends discover themselves seized in the grips of a mysterious shape-shifting killer who disguises himself as a clown and becomes the shape of whatever one is scared of the most. 

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

Director: Wayne Wang

Stars: Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, and Kieu Chinh

The movie is adapted from the book by Amy Tan and highlights a Chinese American immigrant experience in minute detail. 

In the adaptation, a bunch of ladies residing in San Francisco’s Chinatown aid one another via heartbreak and victory.

The Princess Bride (1987)

Director: Rob Reiner

Stars: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Wright

This cherished classic movie combines five fairy tales into an enchanting family humor that is much easier to comprehend than the book itself by William Goldman.

While home sick on a mattress, a youthful lad’s grandfather narrates the tale of a farmboy who later turned into a pirate, the boy then faces numerous hindrances, rivals, and allies in his pursuit to meet his true love once again.

Election (1999)

Director: Alexander Payne

Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, and Matthew Broderick.

This darkly comic tale about the brutality of politicians showcases a blockbuster performance from a juvenile Reese Witherspoon. 

The plot pivots around a learner organization election and mocks politics and high school pep. 

The best part of this movie is that it educates an entire generation to discover the personification of the character of Tracy Flicks in their lives. 

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Director: Frank Darabont

Stars: Morgan Freeman, William Saddler, and Tim Robbins

The Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King, is undoubtedly one of the best-selling novels. However, its movie adaptation is no less since it is one of the top-rated films on IMDb.

 It is a classic parody drama that follows two prison mates’ friendship over many years, which results in them finding salvation and, ultimately, redemption through acts of basic kindness. The movie is filled with the power of transformation and radiates hope.

Atonement (2007)

Director: Joe Wright 

Stars: Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Brenda Blethyn, and James Mcvoy

The story of Atonement, written by Ian McEwan, is compassionate and unusual. However, the movie is famous for its sensuous library make-out scene and the debut of Saoirsthe young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan.

Atonement is primarily a war-based and heart-wrenching story because we can observe that no single character gets out neat in this saga of love, failure, falsehoods, and regret.

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