From the Page to the Screen: Film Versions of Books
These lists feature a variety of films – classic oldies, compelling dramas, award-winning international films, anime, and more. You may include one film on each Summer Reading log. (You can talk to your parents if you have questions about whether a film is appropriate you. (*** before the title of a film signifies that the film is rated R).
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
An 11-year-old boy has his life changed forever when he befriends the class outsider, a girl. Together they create an imaginary kingdom called Terabithia where they can create their own adventures with giants, trolls and other incredible creatures until tragedy ultimately befalls their friendship.
DVD / BRI / 3523
The Crucible (1996)
Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder star in this adaptation of Arthur Miller's play about a group of young girls in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts, who trigger a witch hunt that leads to the persecution, incarceration, torture, and execution of dozens of men and women.
DVD / CRU
Slumdog Millionaire (2009)
Jamal Malik is an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' When the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew.
DVD / SLU
Doctor Zhivago (1981)
Life of a Russian doctor/poet who, although married, falls for a political activist's wife and experiences hardships during the Bolshevik Revolution. A true tearjerker, based on a Russian novel by Boris Pasternak.
DVD / DOC
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2004)
17-year-old Griet must work to support her family, so she becomes a maid in the house of Johannes Vermeer, where she attracts the master painter's attention. He is commissioned to paint Griet, and the result is one of the greatest paintings ever created. Based on Tracy Chevalier’s bestseller.
DVD / GIR
Hoot (2006)
When young Roy moves from Montana to Florida with his family, he ends up befriending two kids who are fighting to protect the home of a group of endangered burrow owls from a real estate developer. If you like the movie, you might enjoy Carl Hiassen’s many novels.
DVD / HOO
Horse Whisperer (1998)
Nicholas Evans’ popular novel tells the story of a teenage girl who is hit by a truck while riding a horse. To help heal her troubled/injured daughter, and horse, the mother takes them to Montana to recuperate at the ranch of a 'horse whisperer', a horse healer of mystical talents.
DVD / HOR
***Into the Wild (2008)
Based on a true story. Freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, Christopher McCandless changes his name, walks out of his privileged life and hits the road, bound for adventure and determined not to be found. Featuring Emile Hirsh, Marcia Gay Harden, Vince Vaughn.
DVD / INT
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Through the eyes of "Scout," a feisty six-year-old tomboy, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD carries us on an odyssey through the fires of prejudice and injustice in 1932 Alabama.
DVD / TO
The Kite Runner (2008)
After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble in this epic tale of fathers and sons. This powerful tale of friendship and betrayal takes us from the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy to the atrocities of the Taliban reign. In Dari and English with English subtitles.
DVD / KIT / 4373 or DVD / KIT / 4373 or DVD / KIT / 5029 or DVD / KIT / 5030
Millions (2004)
Damian and Anthony, young boys from Ireland, find a bag filled with money and learn a lesson in ethics.
DVD / MIL
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
In this sumptuous and sensual tale, the two beautiful Boleyn sisters, Anne and Mary, driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the powerful King Henry VIII. Both women will share his bed but only one will ascend to the throne in a brief reign that ends with the most storied swing of the executioner's sword in history.
DVD / OTH
Peaceful Warrior (2007)
Scott is a cocky and talented member of the UC Berkeley gymnastics team who has nightly encounters with a Socratic vision who teaches him that every moment counts. He must put those thoughts into practice when he has a leg shattering motorcycle accident.
DVD / PEA
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Based on Jane Austen's beloved novel about the five single Bennet sisters, a proper English family is turned upside down when the wealthy Mr. Bingley and his best friend Mr. Darcy arrive. Stubborn Elizabeth Bennett crosses paths with the impossibly snobbish Mr. Darcy and discovers that the only man she can't stand may be the only man she will ever love.
DVD / PRI
Rebecca (1940)
Maxim de Winter, still troubled by the death of his first wife Rebecca, falls in love with a shy ladies' companion. They get married, but the second Mrs. de Winter discovers that Rebecca still has a strong hold on everyone in the house, particularly on Mrs. Denvers, the housekeeper, who begins driving the young wife to madness. You may love the movie even more if you first read Daphne DuMaurier’s tightly written novel.
DVD / REB
Seabiscuit (2003)
This true story based on a best selling book tells the story of a group of the unlikeliest of heroes. It would seem that pairing a knobbly-kneed horse with a half-blind ex boxer jockey would lead only to last place. Instead this unsung duo became a winning combination that inspired and intrigued a nation suffering the hardships of the Great Depression.
DVD / SEA
Whale Rider (2002)
The lush landscape of New Zealand is majestically filmed in the writer-director Niki Caro's drama about a young girl (a radiant Keisha Castle-Hughes) who must persuade her Maori tribe that she was born to be their leader. One of the most charming and critically acclaimed films of 2003.
DVD / WHA
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