Movies That Are More Well Known Than Their Books

Movies That Are More Well Known Than Their Books

2001: A Space Odyssey

Release Date 1968
Rating : 8.3 Production Companies: Stanley Kubrick Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Director: Stanley Kubrick, Derek Cracknell Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

Summary: Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

The Adjustment Bureau

Release Date 2011
Rating : 7 Production Companies: Universal Pictures, MRC Director: Mary Bailey, George Nolfi, G. A. Aguilar Stars: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, John Slattery

Summary: A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him – and chooses to fight for his own destiny. Battling the powerful Adjustment Bureau across, under and through the streets of New York, he risks his destined greatness to be with the only woman he's ever loved.

Aladdin

Release Date 1992
Rating : 8 Production Companies: Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney Pictures Director: John Musker, Daniel Hu, Jeff Dickson Stars: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin

Summary: Princess Jasmine grows tired of being forced to remain in the palace, so she sneaks out into the marketplace, in disguise, where she meets street urchin Aladdin. The couple falls in love, although Jasmine may only marry a prince. After being thrown in jail, Aladdin becomes embroiled in a plot to find a mysterious lamp, with which the evil Jafar hopes to rule the land.

The Amityville Horror

Release Date 1979
Rating : 6.2 Production Companies: American International Pictures Director: Stuart Rosenberg, Benjamin Rosenberg Stars: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger

Summary: George Lutz, his wife Kathy, and their three children have just moved into a beautiful, and improbably cheap, Victorian mansion nestled in the sleepy coastal town of Amityville, Long Island. However, their dream home is concealing a horrific past and soon each member of the Lutz family is plagued with increasingly strange and violent visions and impulses.

Apocalypse Now

Release Date 1979
Rating : 8.4 Production Companies: Zoetrope Studios, United Artists Director: Jerry Ziesmer, Larry J. Franco, Tony Brandt Stars: Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall

Summary: At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.

Apollo 13

Release Date 1995
Rating : 7.7 Production Companies: Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures Director: Ron Howard, Bruce Moriarty, Eva Z. Cabrera Stars: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

Summary: The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.

Bambi

Release Date 1942
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: Walt Disney Productions Director: David Hand, James Algar, Samuel Armstrong Stars: Donnie Dunagan, Peter Behn, Stan Alexander

Summary: Bambi's tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.

Ben-Hur

Release Date 1959
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Director: Alberto Cardone, Sergio Leone, William Wyler Stars: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith

Summary: In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.

Blade Runner

Release Date 1982
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Shaw Brothers, Warner Bros. Director: Ridley Scott, Donald Hauer, Newt Arnold Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

Summary: In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

The Bourne Identity

Release Date 2002
Rating : 7.8 Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Kennedy/Marshall Company, The Director: Patrick Crowley, Claudine Strasser, Claire Letouze Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper

Summary: Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?

The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars

Release Date 1998
Rating : 5.5 Production Companies: The Kushner-Locke Company, Hyperion Pictures Director: Robert C. Ramirez Stars: Deanna Oliver, Thurl Ravenscroft, Roger Kabler

Summary: Based on the book by Thomas M. Disch and intended as the third film in the series, this sequel was finished and released prior to 'The Brave Little Toaster To The Rescue'. Whilst trying to protect their new "Little Master" the anthropomorphic appliances set off on an epic adventure and make many new friends along the way.

A Clockwork Orange

Release Date 1971
Rating : 8.3 Production Companies: Hawk Films, Warner Bros. Director: Stanley Kubrick, Dusty Symonds, June Randall Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates

Summary: In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?

Clueless

Release Date 1995
Rating : 6.9 Production Companies: Paramount, Paramount Pictures Director: Amy Heckerling, Daniel Silverberg, Esther Vivante Stars: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy

Summary: Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other. Emboldened by her success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was -- and falls for him.

Die Hard

Release Date 1988
Rating : 8.2 Production Companies: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Gordon Company Director: John McTiernan, Marion Tumen, Benjamin Rosenberg Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov

Summary: NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her office, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists. With little help from the LAPD, wisecracking McClane sets out to single-handedly rescue the hostages and bring the bad guys down.

Dr. No

Release Date 1963
Rating : 7.2 Production Companies: United Artists, EON Productions Director: Terence Young, Clive Reed, Helen Whitson Stars: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman

Summary: Agent 007 battles mysterious Dr. No, a scientific genius bent on destroying the U.S. space program. As the countdown to disaster begins, Bond must go to Jamaica, where he encounters beautiful Honey Ryder, to confront a megalomaniacal villain in his massive island headquarters.

Drive

Release Date 2011
Rating : 7.8 Production Companies: Bold Films, Marc Platt Productions Director: Nicolas Winding Refn, Jane Goldsmith, Dieter Busch Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston

Summary: Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young son, Benicio. When Irene's husband gets out of jail, he enlists Driver's help in a million-dollar heist. The job goes horribly wrong, and Driver must risk his life to protect Irene and Benicio from the vengeful masterminds behind the robbery.

The Exorcist

Release Date 1973
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Warner Bros., Hoya Productions Director: William Friedkin, Terence A. Donnelly, Nicholas Sgarro Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller

Summary: When a charming 12-year-old girl takes on the characteristics and voices of others, doctors say there is nothing they can do. As people begin to die, the girl's mother realizes her daughter has been possessed by the devil--and that her daughter's only possible hope lies with two priests and the ancient rite of demonic exorcism.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Release Date 1982
Rating : 7.1 Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Refugee Films Director: Amy Heckerling, Marty P. Ewing, Marion Tumen Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold

Summary: Based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe, Fast Times follows a group of high school students growing up in Southern California. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. At the center of the film is Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer who faces-off with the resolute Mr. Hand—a man convinced that everyone is on dope.

Field of Dreams

Release Date 1989
Rating : 7.5 Production Companies: Universal Studios, Universal Pictures Director: Phil Alden Robinson, William M. Elvin, Alan Edmisten Stars: Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann

Summary: Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does, but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after the spirits of deceased ballplayers turn up to play.

Fight Club

Release Date 1999
Rating : 8.8 Production Companies: Regency Enterprises, Fox 2000 Pictures Director: David Fincher, Dina Waxman, Mike Topoozian Stars: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter

Summary: A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

The Godfather

Release Date 1972
Rating : 9.2 Production Companies: Paramount, Alfran Productions Director: Fred T. Gallo, Tony Brandt, Stephen F. Kesten Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

Summary: Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

GoodFellas

Release Date 1990
Rating : 8.7 Production Companies: Winkler Films, Warner Bros. Director: Martin Scorsese, Sheila Paige, Joseph P. Reidy Stars: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci

Summary: The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.

The Iron Giant

Release Date 1999
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Louis Gonzales, Brad Bird, William H. Frake III Stars: Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Jennifer Aniston

Summary: In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.

L.A. Confidential

Release Date 1997
Rating : 8.2 Production Companies: Regency Enterprises, The Wolper Organization Director: Drew Ann Rosenberg, Connie Papineau, Sharron Reynolds-Enriquez Stars: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey

Summary: Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

Sense and Sensibility

Release Date 1995
Rating : 7.7 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Mirage Enterprises Director: Ang Lee, Bernard Bellew, Christopher Newman Stars: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman

Summary: The Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne, whose chances at marriage seem doomed by their family's sudden loss of fortune. When Henry Dashwood dies unexpectedly, his estate must pass on by law to his son from his first marriage, John and wife Fanny. But these circumstances leave Mr. Dashwood's current wife, and daughters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, without a home and with barely enough money to live on. As Elinor and Marianne struggle to find romantic fulfillment in a society obsessed with financial and social status, they must learn to mix sense with sensibility in their dealings with both money and men.