Some of the best movies in film history have come from the imaginative world of novels. Countless films throughout the world have been adapted from well-known books that are brought to life on the big screen. Some of the most award winning films would not have been possible if it weren’t for the authors of the novels that created the stories.
From American authors to British authors, the world of fantasy, magic and imagination that take place in these books inspire filmmakers across the world.
The most recent book to film adaptation that came out last week, Divergent, climbed to number one in the box offices and it just goes to show books have large followings of fans that will also be wanting to see their favorite stories be turned into a movie.
Here is a a top ten list of some of the most wonderful book to film adaptations in film history.
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British author Christopher Priest is the author of the 1995 novel, The Prestige. The story focuses on the art of magic and illusions and the prestige. The prestige is the final effect at the end of the illusion where a disappeared object is brought back. In 2006, Dark Knight Trilogy director, Christopher Nolan brought the dark film to life with the help of actors Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. The film itself was an incredible interpretation of the novel on which it was based off of and it was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.

[new page=Catching Fire]
9. Suzanne Collin’s epic The Hunger Games trilogy is one of those young-adult series that has fans going crazy at the very mention of its name. Although the first film adaptation of the series, The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence, was popular it simply cannot compare to the quality of the second film, Catching Fire that came out late last year. Each book was top notch quality however, the first film that came out didn’t represent the first book as well as it could have. It seemed that in the second movie Catching Fire,the directors and script writers took notes and improved immensely when it came to adapting the book into a movie. Hopefully the momentum will continue for the third movie, Mockingjay: Part 1 set to be released late this year.

[new page=The Silence of the Lambs]
In the 1988 novel, The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, the evil killer and cannibal, Hannibal Lecter returned. Harris’ first book of the series Red Dragon was the first time in which Lecter was introduced. However, once the 1991 adaptation of the film The Silence of the Lambs was introduced, Lecter would be forever better known for his role in that story. Starring Jodi Foster and Anthony Hopkins, the film was an incredible adaptation of the book that featured great acting and great script writing. The film itself won five of the biggest Academy Awards, which include Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). These are just some of the reasons this memorable movie made this top ten list.

[new page=Jurassic Park]
Jurassic Park is widely known around the world as one of the best sci-fi thriller films of all time by Steven Spielberg. However, many people forget that Jurassic Park was actually a novel before it was adapted into a 1993 blockbuster hit. Popular author, Michael Crichton was the imaginative mind behind the story about the cloning of dinosaurs in the modern world and introduced the readers to famous characters John Hammond and Alan Grant. In the film adaptation by Spielberg, the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park were brought to life with mind-blowing special effects and thrilling action scenes. Overall, the film version of the story has raked in over $1 billion over the years and a fourth Jurassic Park movie is in the makings, showing that it still is relevant in this generation.

[new page=Interview With the Vampire]
In 1976, famous author of vampire stories, Anne Rice wrote the well known book Interview With the Vampire which told the epic and bloody story of vampires Lestat, Louis and Claudia. In 1994, the story was told on film, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The two actors played their roles as vampires extremely convincingly and the elements of gore, blood and romance were all present in the film as they were in the books. Rice’s story of these beautiful and un-aging vampire was perhaps the very beginning of the modern generation’s obsession with vampires.

[new page=The Princess Bride]
In William Goldman’s book The Princess Bride comedy, love and adventure join together to create one of the most lovable romantic comedies of all time. In 1987 the cult classic film by the same name was made and has be loved be many ever since. When lovers, Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes), are separated they fear all is lost until they are reunited once again and from that point on strive to save their love against all who try to come between them. The film has some of the most quotable one-liners of all time and is considered by many to be a true classic.

[new page=Coraline]
Coraline is a fantastic, dark-fantasy graphic novel by British author Neil Gaiman. After receiving numerous awards for his work the story was then produced into a 2009 stop-motion film by Henry Selick. The film uses iconic stop-motion technology to give the film its odd yet artistic feel and Selick captures the horror/fantasy theme perfectly in the beautiful film adaptation. Although the story centers around the mind and life of a child, the novel and film are seriously geared to a more older audience as it could be right out of a nightmare. Although deemed a “horror” story, both film and graphic novel are wondrous and enticing to look at.

[new page=The Shining]
Famed author of horror, Stephen King, created the scary story of The Shining in which a family move in to a haunted hotel. The father of the family, Jack, quickly becomes possessed and proceeds to wreak havoc on his family. In 1980, the famous story was made into an even more popular film starring Jack Nicholson. Nicholson’s performance in the film is widely praised and the film itself is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time by many critics.

[new page=Lord of the Rings]
The most epic trilogy of all time The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is most certainly one of the best fantasy stories of all time. For generations, readers have been entranced by the story of the the fellowship. In 2001, director Peter Jackson, brought the three novels to the big screen in three incredible award winning movies. With an all star cast and millions of viewers world wide, the fandom for this series is probably the largest ever. Attracting people of all ages and of all interests, The Lord of the Rings trilogy has won 17 Oscars all together.

[new page=Harry Potter]
In a series with seven novels all together, the world of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling has to be one of the greatest book to film adaptations ever. As magical as the books were themselves, the films were even more magical as the story told was about the magical wizard boy who lived and triumphed over the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Although the films never won any Academy Awards, many believe that with the great caliber of acting and story telling, the Potter series deserves all of the praise in the world. The films feature a majority of the most well-known and popular British actors and to see a cast grow up throughout the years was something really special to witness as a viewer.