The Right Stuff. Poster of the 1983 movie and cover of the 1979 book
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The Right Stuff
Tom Wolfe, 1979
movie vs book
Philip Kaufman, 1983

The film begins in 1947 at the Muroc Army Air Field in California, with civilian and military test pilots flight-testing high-speed aircraft, including the rocket-powered Bell X-1. While horseback riding with his wife, Glennis, the evening before his historic flight, Yeager falls and breaks his ribs, an injury which inhibits his ability to lock the door on the X-1.


The Last Temptation of Christ. Poster of the 1988 movie and cover of the 1955 book
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The Last Temptation of Christ
Nikos Kazantzakis, 1955
movie vs book
Martin Scorsese, 1988

Jesus of Nazareth is a carpenter in Roman-occupied Judea, torn between his own desires and his knowledge that God has a plan for him. Judas Iscariot, a friend of Jesus’ originally sent to kill him for collaboration, instead suspects that Jesus is the Messiah and asks him to lead a liberation war against the Romans.


The Natural. Poster of the 1984 movie and cover of the 1952 book
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The Natural
Bernard Malamud, 1952
movie vs book
Barry Levinson, 1984

An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman.


Return to Lonesome Dove. Poster of the 1993 TV series and cover of the 1985 book, Lonesome Dove
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Lonesome Dove
Larry McMurtry, 1985
TV series vs book
Mike Robe, 1993

The miniseries picks up several years after the events of the original ‘Lonesome Dove.’ Captain Woodrow F. Call is now a bounty hunter in pursuit of a young Mexican bandit named Joey Garza. The story follows Call’s journey as he recruits a diverse group of individuals to join him in this pursuit, and they embark on a dangerous trek across the American West.


Beaches. Poster of the 1988 movie and cover of the 1985 book
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Beaches
Iris Rainer Dart, 1985
movie vs book
Garry Marshall, 1988

When CC Bloom, a brazen Jewish girl from the Bronx, and Hillary Whitney, a timid and reserved WASP from San Francisco, first met on the beach in Atlantic City at the age of eleven, they had nothing in common. However, they both deeply desired a close friend and began a correspondence that spanned the years.


A Killing in a Small Town. Poster of the 1990 movie and cover of the 1984 book, Evidence of Love
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Evidence of Love
John Bloom, Jim Atkinson, 1984
movie vs book
Stephen Gyllenhaal, 1990

Candy Morrison, feeling unfulfilled in her role as a spouse and parent in a small community, craves stimulation and discovers it through a romantic liaison with her husband’s intimate acquaintance, Stan Blankenship. However, their intense affair abruptly ends after only a brief period. Shockingly, several weeks later, Stan’s spouse is discovered viciously slain by an ax, marking the town’s first occurrence of such a brutal killing. Astonishingly, Candy becomes the primary suspect in the investigation.


Paris Trout. Poster of the 1991 movie and cover of the 1988 book
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Paris Trout
Pete Dexter, 1988
movie vs book
Stephen Gyllenhaal, 1991

In a small Georgia town in the 1950s, bigoted store owner Paris Trout kills a young black girl when his brother refuses to pay his debts. Lawyer Harry Seagraves arrives to calm the waters in court but is soon caught in crimes of his own, including a dangerous and doomed affair with Trout’s wife.


The 9th Life of Louis Drax. Poster of the 2016 movie and cover of the 2004 book, The Ninth Life of Louis Drax
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The Ninth Life of Louis Drax
Liz Jensen, 2004
movie vs book
Alexandre Aja, 2016

A psychologist who begins working with a young boy who has suffered a near-fatal fall finds himself drawn into a mystery that tests the boundaries of fantasy and reality.


The Stranger Beside Me. Poster of the 2003 movie and cover of the 1980 book
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The Stranger Beside Me
Ann Rule, 1980
movie vs book
Paul Shapiro, 2003

Aspiring crime writer Ann Rule becomes friends with serial killer Ted Bundy while working at a women’s clinic in Seattle in the 1970s. Unknowingly, she spends time with Bundy and is unaware of his heinous crimes until he is arrested and she becomes the lead writer for the case.


Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues. Poster of the 1972 movie and cover of the 1970 book, Dealing, or The Berkeley-To-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
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Dealing, or The Berkeley-To-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
Michael Crichton, Douglas Crichton, 1970
movie vs book
Paul Williams, 1972

Peter is a cocky Harvard law student, who’s tired of being square, so his best friend and theater director John gets him into the drug business. As a fan of the Rolling Stones’ song Sympathy for the Devil, he picks Lucifer as his street name. When they arrive at the station they notice a military officer, who’s overseeing a funeral transport for what seems to be a casket of a dead soldier from Vietnam.


Boxcar Bertha. Poster of the 1972 movie and cover of the 1937 book, Sister of The Road
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Sister of The Road
Ben L. Reitman, 1937
movie vs book
Martin Scorsese, 1972

The film narrates the tale of Boxcar Bertha Thompson and ‘Big’ Bill Shelly, a pair of train robbers deeply in love, whose lives become intertwined with the struggles of railroad workers in the Southern United States. However, their lives take a dramatic turn when Bertha is accused of being involved in the murder of a wealthy gambler, forcing them to become fugitives on the run from the law.


Riding the Bullet. Poster of the 2004 movie and cover of the 2000 book
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Riding the Bullet
Stephen King, 2000
movie vs book
Mick Garris, 2004

Set in 1969, Alan Parker is a young artist, studying at the University of Maine, where his professor believes he is obsessed with death. The next day, when Alan is released from the hospital, Jessica tells him that he has a wall around him, and Alan realizes that Jessica really was going to leave him.