10 Movies That Were Better Than the Books

Tim Handorf recently published this post, about films that defied tradition by actually being better than the novels they were based upon.. this is a very good selection, and I agree with his choices, so I thought I'd post a link here for your enjoyment..

10 Movies That Were Way Better Than the Books

Photo top: Ted Levine turned in one of the creepiest performance in film history as Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs - how he was surpassed for an Oscar® nomination is beyond belief. The film from director Jonathan Demme is a blood-curdling thriller, and became the third in history to win Oscars® for picture, director, actor, actress, and screenplay, after It Happened One Night, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.. Ironically, Levine was onscreen longer than lead actor winner Anthony Hopkins

Oscar the Avatar

Is this just too obvious? It appears to me that James Cameron was looking at his Oscar® statuettes for Titanic when he came up with the look for the aliens in Avatar.. he told his CGI team "Ok, guys, I want you to add a little hair, some pointy Vulcan ears, then put some beads in the hair to make them more homey.."

100 Best Films You Didn't See

In alphabetical order - ok, so you've seen some of these, you get the picture - most are relatively unknown in the U.S., which has become more culturally illiterate with every new generation.. yes, it's more than 100, around 130 I think

13 Tzameti (2006) France, bw
The 400 Blows (1959) France, bw
A Canterbury Tale (1944) bw
A Christmas Memory (1968)
A Face in the Crowd (1957) bw
A Prophet (2009) France
A Very Long Engagement (2004) France
A Wednesday (2008) India
Ace in the Hole (1951) bw
After the Wedding (2006) Denmark
All About My Mother (1999) Spain
American Splendor (2003)
An Education (2009)
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1973) tv
Babel (2006) Mexico
Ballad of a Soldier (1959) Russia, bw
Baraka (1992) Documentary
Battle of Algiers (1965) France, bw
Beautiful Girls (1996)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Beyond Silence (1996) Germany
Big Deal on Madonna St (1959) Italy, bw
Big Fish (2003)
Brideshead Revisited (1981) tv
Brothers (2004) Denmark
Burden of Dreams (1982) Documentary
Butterfly (1999) Spain
Carmen (1983) Spain
Central Station (1998) Brazil
Chaos (2001) France
The Children of Huang Shi (2007) Australia
The Chorus (2004) France
Chungking Express (1994) Hong Kong
Cinema Paradiso (1988) Italy
Citizen X (1995)
City of God (2002) Brazil
Come and See (1985) Russia
The Conformist (1970) Italy
Control Room (2004)
The Conversation (1974)
Crazed Fruit (1956) Japan, bw
The Cuckoo (2002) Russia
Defending Your Life (1991)
Devils On the Doorstep (2000), China, bw
Diva (1981) France
Dreamland (2006)
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) China
El Mariachi (1992) Mexico
Everything is Illuminated (2006)
Fearless (1993)
Fitzcarraldo (1982) Germany
The Fountain (2006)
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Gattica (1997)
The Girl in the Cafe (2005)
Going in Style (1979)
Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) Germany
The Good Shepherd (2006)
Goodnight Mister Tom (1998) tv
The Grey Fox (1983)
Hard Eight (1997)
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse (1992) Documentary
Heat and Dust (1983)
Heavenly Creatures (1994) New Zealand
Hero (2002) China
Hoop Dreams (1994) Documentary
Hope and Glory (1987)
House of Games (1987)
In a Lonely Place (1950) bw
Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring (1986) France
Jodhaa Akbar (2007) India
Kinamind (2005) Denmark
Kolya (1996) Czech Republic
L'america (1994) Italy
L'avventura (1960) Italy, bw
La Femme Nikita (1990) France
Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982)
The Lives of Others (2007) Germany
Longitude (2000)
Man With the Movie Camera (1928) bw/silent Documentary
Mephisto (1981) Hungary
Micmacs (2009) France
Morgan! (1966) bw
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) India
My Brilliant Career (1979) Australia
The Namesake (2006)
No Man’s Land (2001) Bosnia
Nowhere in Africa (2002) Germany
Pi (1998)
The Player (1992)
The Rains Came (1939) bw
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Rocco and his Brothers (1964) Italy, bw
Ronin (1998)
Run Lola Run (1998) Germany
Salaam Bombay! (1988) India
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) Argentina
Shall We Dance? (1995) Japan
Smoke Signals (1998)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.. and Spring (2003) Korea
Sunrise (1927), bw-silent
Sunshine (1999)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957) bw
To Live (1994) China
Together (2002) China
The Train (1964) bw
The Triplets of Belleville (2003) France-Belgium-Can.-UK
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
Turtles Can Fly (2004) Iran-Iraq
The Twilight Samurai (2002) Japan
The Two of Us (1967) France, bw
Umberto D (1952) Italy, bw
Under the Sun (1998), Sweden
United 93 (2006)
The Visitor (2008)
Walkabout (1971)
Wallace and Gromit: 3 Amazing Adventures (2005)
War Photographer (2001) Switzerland Documentary
Warriors (Guerreros, 2007) Spain
Water (2005) India-Canada
Whale Rider (2003) New Zealand
Winged Migration (2001) Documentary
Women in Love (1970)
You Can't Take It With You (1938) bw
Zelary (2003) Czech Republic