Episode 13: BXC Goes to the Movies (Book-to-Film Adaptations)

Here comes a fun "crossover" episode, in which your Book XChange co-hosts go multimedia and talk about some of their favorite (and maybe not-so-favorite) book-to-movie adaptations. The brothers discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with adapting a well-known or beloved book for the screen, and kick around a broad assortment of choices - some very famous, others a little more obscure. What makes an adaptation truly noteworthy and interesting? What are some of your favorite films made from books? What are some of the reasons book adaptations fail? All of this, plus plenty of movie recommendations to fill your queues or satisfy your quarantine viewing needs, are coming your way in lucky Episode 13 of the Book XChange podcast...

MOVIE ADAPTATIONS DISCUSSED/RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE (and what they're adapted from):

'No Country for Old Men,' directed by the Coen Brothers (from the Cormac McCarthy novel);

'True Grit,' directed by the Coen Brothers (from the Charles Portis novel);

'Silence,' directed by Martin Scorsese (from the Shusaku Endo novel);

'Hugo,' Martin Scorsese (from the Brian Selznick novel);

'Shutter Island,' Martin Scorsese (from the Dennis Lehane novel);

'The Age of Innocence,' Martin Scorsese (from the Edith Wharton novel);

'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,' Andrew Dominik (from the Ron Hansen novel);

'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,' by Peter Weir (from multiple Patrick O'Brian novels);

'The Grapes of Wrath,' John Ford (from the John Steinbeck novel);

'The Sister Brothers,' Jacques Audiard (from the Patrick deWitt novel);

'The Road,' John Hillcoat (from the Cormac McCarthy novel);

'The Big Short,' Adam McKay (from the Michael Lewis non-fiction book);

'The Shining,' Staley Kubrick (from the Stephen King novel);

'2001: A Space Odyssey,' Stanley Kubrick (from the Arthur C. Clarke novel);

'Barry Lyndon,' Stanley Kubrick (from the William Makepeace Thackeray novel);

'A Clockwork Orange,' Stanley Kubrick (from the Anthony Burgess novel);

'Rosemary's Baby,' Roman Polanski (from the Ira Levin novel);

'Oliver Twist,' Roman Polanski (from the Charles Dickens novel);

'Death and the Maiden,' Roman Polanski (from the Charles Dickens novel);

'Carnage,' Roman Polanski (from the Yasmina Reza play);

'The Innocents,' Jack Clayton (from the Henry James novella 'The Turn of the ' - adaptation written by Truman Capote);

'Ran' and 'Throne of Blood,' Akira Kurosawa (from the William Shakespeare plays);

'High and Low,' Akira Kurosawa (from the Ed McBain novel 'King's Ransom');

'Roshomon,' Akira Kurosawa (from the Ryūnosuke Akutagawa short story);

'Enemy,' Denis Villenueve (from the Jose Saramago novel 'The Double');

'Dune,' Denis Villenueve (from the Frank Herbert novel);

'Arrival,' Denis Villenueve (from the Ted Chiang short story 'Story of Your Life');

'Fantastic Mr. Fox,' Wes Anderson (from the Roald Dahl novel);

'The Iron Giant,' Brad Bird (from the Ted Hughes novel 'The Iron Man');

'A Scanner Darkly,' Richard Linklater (from the Philip K. novel);

'Bernie,' Richard Linklater (from the Texas Monthly article 'Midnight in the Garden of East Texas' by Skip Hollandsworth);

'Fast Food Nation,' Richard Linklater (from the non-fiction book by Eric Schlosser);

'In Cold Blood,' Richard Brooks (from the non-fiction book by Truman Capote);

'Adaptation,' Spike Jonze (from the non-fiction book 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean - adaptation written by Charlie Kaufman);

'Kristin Lavransdatter,' Liv Ullman (from the trilogy by Sigrid Undset);

Planned next episode of the Book XChange podcast:

We discuss some of our favorite Nobel Prize for Literature winners!