Judging by the recent flurry of adaptations, and those proposed for 2004, the TV and film industries are still looking to books for inspiration. Most recent examples have been Cold Mountain, The Girl With a Pearl Earring and Lord of the Rings. Watch out for forthcoming film adaptations of C S Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, D C Pierre's Vernon God Little Monica Ali's Brick Lane and Ian McEwan's Enduring Love.

A huge proportion of source-material for film makers comes from books and to look at every book to film adaptation would be an impossible feat, however if you and your reading group are discussing a book which is also a film it may be interesting to consider the following ideas.

The Empire Magazine Top 10 Book To Movie Adaptations (as featured in January 2004 edition)

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Oliver Twist (1948)
3. Trainspotting (1996)
4. Adaptation (2002)
5. Get Shorty (1995)
6. Night of the Hunter (1995)
7. Stagecoach (1939)
8. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2000 - 2003)
9. Don't Look Now (1973)
10. The Player (1992)

Other Examples…

• The Horse Whisperer
• A Time to Kill
• Gone with the Wind
• The Shining
• Harry Potter
• Fight Club
• Fever Pitch
• High Fidelity
• About a Boy
• Shawshank Redemption
• Green Mile
• Bridget Jone's Diary
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin
• The Master and Commander
• The English Patient
• Ripley's Game

This list is only the tip of the iceberg - why not try writing a list of your favourites?

You've read the book, now see the film… or vice versa!

House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III

"Densely woven, gripping, and deeply tragic in sad, vulnerable, all-too-human terms… This is a film you can talk about with your friends for hours"
Jeffrey Wells

"Everything about House of Sand and Fog engages the emotions, stimulates the intellect and unleashes the adrenaline. It is fresh, original, harrowing and, ultimately, unforgettable"
Rex Reed, New York Observer

Massoud Amir Behrani, an Iranian immigrant, has spent most of his savings trying to enhance his daughter's chances of a good marriage. Once she is married, he spends the remaining funds on a house at an auction, unwittingly putting himself and his family in the middle of a legal tussle with the house's former owner. What begins as a legal struggle turns into a personal confrontation, with tragic results.

"The best picture of the year"
Rex Reed, New York Observer

"Ambitious and fascinating. The Human Stain is directed by Robert Benton with a sure feel for the human values involved"
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

THE HUMAN STAIN is the story of Coleman Silk (Anthony Hopkins), a distinguished professor at a prestigious New England college whose professional life is shattered by allegations of racism and whose personal life is infected with the cancer of a lie he has been living for fifty years. His career and reputation in ruin, Silk begins a dynamic resurrection through two new relationships: one, a friendship with the writer Nathan Zuckerman (Gary Sinise) whom he intrigues with his story, the other a scandalous affair with a young woman (Nicole Kidman).

Check out the reading guides for Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Charlotte Gray. - out now...

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