Book Through Thurs... er, Friday

Sorry, I always seem to forget it's Thursday when it's Thursday... at the moment, am fiddling around with trying to get a house next year (need another housemate, but want to get the house before someone else does... bah)... anyway, this will be a little fill-in, as it is surely Thursday SOMEWHERE in the world... are Australia behind us or ahead of us? Not sure. It's either just-Thursday or almost-Saturday there, anyway.

This week's Booking Through Thursday is:
1. In your opinion, what is the best translation of a book to a movie?
2. The worst?
3. Had you read the book before seeing the movie, and did that make a difference? (Personally, all other things being equal, I usually prefer whichever I was introduced to first.)

1. Remember this post? This is quite an easy one, because my favourite film is The Hours. In terms of translating the book to the screen, I think it's fairly accurate, and certainly faithful to the feel of the novel. Michael Cunningham was certainly happy enough to do a commentary on the DVD.

2. Without question, Winnie-the-Pooh. It was a film, wasn't it, not a TV series? Either way, it was a travesty. Amusing, yes - but why-oh-why did they feel the need to jettison EH Shepard's amazing illustrations? Why was Christopher Robin American? Why was Rabbit on drugs? Why Gopher at all? Nothing makes me seethe quite as much as the Disneyfied Winnie. Oh, and Mary Poppins, whilst a great film, bears very little resemblance to P. L. Travers' books.

3. I always try to, and feel quite cross when people don't, but must admit to seeing Memoirs of a Geisha and The Shipping News without ever having read them, and only read Notes on a Scandal this week, despite seeing the film when it first came out. Bad Simon.