To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the best example in the world of great book--->great movie, Ginger.

Princess Bride was a wonderful adaptation of book to movie, especially in how they replaced the author's snarky commentary with the framing device of Peter Falk reading to his grandson. (Favorite Falk line? "Yes. You're very smart. Now shut up (or is it "be quiet?".")

Be quiet.

I just wrote a paper about The Princess Bride, among other things.

Thanks, Dana!

You almost have to chuck elements from the book to make the movie. A book has too much in it. And cinematography can make up only so much of the descriptive passages.

We watched the movie in class. There were three or four of us who nearly had to put our hands over our mouths so we wouldn't recite the dialogue.

"Who are you?"

"No one of consequence."

"I must know!"

"Get used to disappointment."

Have we ever not been?

Probably not. But ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER.

I've seen a number of period costume dramas that are quite good movies. Many of them largely unfaithful to their source books, but good movies. The Wings of the Dove, Sense and Sensibility (that one was mostly faithful), like that.

A book has too much in it.

Plus, there's the challenge of taking things like internal monologues (for example) that are important to the plot and character, and finding a way to get that element across on screen. There are things one can do in a book that are impossible to do on film and vice-versa.

Oh, another one -- Master and Commander!

Granted, it's an adaptation of a series, rather than a single book, but still. Great books, great movie.

Plus, there's the challenge of taking things like internal monologues (for example) that are important to the plot and character, and finding a way to get that element across on screen.

Like they did in Dune? (Just kidding.) God, that was annoying.

A Room with a View and Howard's End were pretty good movies of pretty good books.

And what about Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet?