The 15 Greatest Movies with Novels as Source Material

Not only are these great movies, but the novels on which they are based are classics, too. If you’re in a reading group, why not read the book, then watch the movie? I only chose novels, no non-fiction (i.e., A Beautiful Mind) or drama (i.e., Much Ado About Nothing). Movies are listed alphabetically.

  1. Ben-Hur – Novel by Lew Wallace
  2. The Bridge on the River Kwai – Novel by Pierre Boulle
  3. Field of DreamsField of Dreams – Based on Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
  4. The Godfather – Novel by Mario Puzo
  5. Gone with the Wind – Novel by Margaret Mitchell
  6. The Grapes of Wrath – Novel by John Steinbeck
  7. The Lord of the Rings – Novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
  8. The Maltese Falcon – Novel by Dashiell Hammet
  9. Master and Commander – Novel by Patrick O’Brian
  10. The Natural – Novel by Bernard Malamud
  11. A Room with a View – Novel by E.M. Forster
  12. The Searchers – Novel by Alan Lemay
  13. Shane – Novel by Jack Schaefer
  14. To Kill a Mockingbird – Novel by Harper Lee
  15. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Novel by Arthur C. Clarke

What are your favorite movies based on novels? Leave a comment and let me know.

Deacon Nick

Nick Senger is a husband, a father of four, a Roman Catholic deacon and a Catholic school principal. He taught junior high literature and writing for over 25 years, and has been a Catholic school educator since 1990. In 2001 he was named a Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the National Catholic Education Association.

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