Films With An Unconventional Source Material
by mykolayeriomin | created - 16 Feb 2017 | updated - 12 Aug 2017 | PublicIt is quite usual when the novel or other literary work is adapted into a movie. But there are cases of movies which are adapted from rather unconventional source material. While video game adaptations and even tabletop adaptations are very common and toys franchises, while not as prolific, also end to spawn movies, there are much more things that could (and in my opinion should) be adapted as movies for the sake of variety and creativity.
Sequels not included as they are based on a basis the first movie had provided.
Check out a rather good article "8 Great Movies Based on Unusual Literary Source Material" by Emily Temple which you could read here: http://lithub.com/8-great-movies-based-on-unusual-literary-source-material/
If you have time for weird videos, here's my YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PictureProductStudio http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWkcL-G3OwVvVb1B94bH5hQ
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. M (1931)
Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Votes: 168,551 | Gross: $0.03M
Newspaper article.
2. Bedlam (1946)
Approved | 79 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Nell Bowen, the protégé of Lord Mortimer, wants to help change the conditions of notorious St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam). Though she tries to reform Bedlam, the cruel Master Sims ... See full summary »
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, Billy House, Richard Fraser
Votes: 4,379
Painting.
3. Alice's Restaurant (1969)
GP | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A cinematic adaption of Arlo Guthrie's classic story-song.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Arlo Guthrie, Patricia Quinn, James Broderick, Pete Seeger
Votes: 4,648 | Gross: $13.99M
Based on 1967 folk song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," originally written and sung by Arlo Guthrie.
4. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
R | 118 min | Drama, Music
Anxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
Director: John Badham | Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali
Votes: 87,563 | Gross: $94.21M
A New York Magazine article.
5. Taking Off (1971)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
While searching for their runaway teenage daughter, the parents rediscover the pleasures of life as they get acquainted with a self-help group for parents of vanished children.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry, Georgia Engel, Tony Harvey
Votes: 4,822
While not an adaptation per se, the movie is one of the fewer I know which is based on a song, in this case "She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles.
6. The Hitcher (1986)
R | 97 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.
Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 52,586 | Gross: $5.84M
While not an adaptation per se, the movie is one of the fewer I know which is based on a song, in this case "Riders On The Storm" by The Doors. Some of the lyrics could be easily compared with the movie's plot.
7. It Couldn't Happen Here (1987)
PG-13 | 86 min | Adventure, Drama, Musical
A young boy's holiday at a seaside resort includes a crazy blind priest, nuns in suspenders and a whole bunch of fat ladies.
Director: Jack Bond | Stars: Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe, Joss Ackland, Dominique Barnes
Votes: 846
Music album.
8. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
R | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
A confined but troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David
Votes: 85,424 | Gross: $22.24M
Music album.
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror
Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
Votes: 262,713 | Gross: $25.50M
Quite a few movies by Wes Craven were inspired loosely by newspaper articles, including, oddly enough, this horror classic, which was inspired by a series of articles in LA Times.
10. The People Under the Stairs (1991)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Two adults and a juvenile break into a house occupied by a brother and sister and their stolen children. There, they must fight for their lives.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer
Votes: 39,688 | Gross: $24.20M
Another Wes Craven movie inspired by a newspaper article.
11. The Indian Runner (1991)
R | 127 min | Drama
A Vietnam vet comes home to his small town and finds himself in conflict with rules that his brother has vowed to uphold.
Director: Sean Penn | Stars: David Morse, Viggo Mortensen, Valeria Golino, Patricia Arquette
Votes: 9,808 | Gross: $0.19M
Based on a song "Highway Patrolman" by Bruce Springsteen.
12. Johnny English (2003)
PG | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After a sudden attack on MI5, Johnny English, Britain's most confident, yet unintelligent spy, becomes Britain's only spy.
Director: Peter Howitt | Stars: Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tasha de Vasconcelos
Votes: 174,311 | Gross: $28.08M
TV commercials for Barclaycard.
13. The Haunted Mansion (2003)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A realtor and his wife and children are summoned to a mansion, which they soon discover is haunted, and while they attempt to escape, he learns an important lesson about the family he has neglected.
Director: Rob Minkoff | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilly, Terence Stamp
Votes: 56,936 | Gross: $75.85M
Disneyland theme park ride.
14. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Votes: 1,211,393 | Gross: $305.41M
Disneyland theme park ride.
15. Freedom (I) (2009)
Short, Comedy, Music
Directors: Mikhail Bondarev, Mykola Yeriomin | Star: Mykola Yeriomin
Votes: 17
Song "Freelove" by Depeche Mode.
16. Jinsei ga tokimeku katazuke no mahou (2013 TV Movie)
Drama
Director: Tôya Satô | Stars: Yukie Nakama, Natsuna, Mokomichi Hayami, Mitsuko Baishô
Votes: 62
Non-fiction book on organizing, cleaning and housekeeping.
17. Odnoklassniki.ru: naCLICKay udachu (2013)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
It would be great to have a wish-fulfilling button. This exactly what creative, but unlucky Alexei gets. Do is the press of a button really all you need to be happy? 2013
Director: Pavel Hoodyakov | Stars: Fedor Bondarchuk, Skoti Collins, Sergey Druzyak, Mikhail Evlanov
Votes: 648
A social network website.
18. Linclone (2014)
5 min | Short, Sci-Fi
They clone Abe Lincoln's DNA and name the clone President for life - except there's one problem: the clone is evil.
Director: Eric Appel | Stars: Robert Broski, Eric Satterberg, Paul Gregory
Votes: 15
Tweet.
19. The Black Bear (2015)
16 min | Short, Comedy, Horror
Rule #1: never feed bears. Rule #2: do not approach within 100 meters. Rule #3: avoid surprising bears. Rule #4: keep your dog on a leash. Now that you know the rules, we wish you a pleasant stay in the natural park of the black bear.
Votes: 9
A guide to a national park Forillon in Québec.
20. Concussion (2015)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
Director: Peter Landesman | Stars: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, David Morse
Votes: 100,628 | Gross: $34.54M
GQ article.
21. Jackie (V) (2016)
R | 100 min | Biography, Drama
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.
Director: Pablo Larraín | Stars: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup
Votes: 83,465 | Gross: $13.96M
An interview.
22. War Dogs (2016)
R | 114 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Loosely based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a three hundred million dollar contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Steve Lantz, Gregg Weiner
Votes: 254,309 | Gross: $43.03M
Rolling Stones article.
23. Baby Driver (2017)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eiza González
Votes: 611,783 | Gross: $107.83M
Music video.
24. The Emoji Movie (2017)
PG | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Gene, a multi-expressional emoji, sets out on a journey to become a normal emoji.
Director: Tony Leondis | Stars: T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph
Votes: 71,131 | Gross: $86.09M
Emojis.
25. Untitled Tetris Sci-fi Project
Sci-Fi | Announced
In the future, year 30XX, mankind has finally reached the ability to travel at light speed using block-like spaceships called Tetroids. Deep in the universe lies the question to human existence-- could the Tetroids be the answer?
A puzzle video game. While video game adaptations are quite common nowadays it is interesting how THIS could be adapted as a movie.
26. Play-Doh
Animation, Comedy | Announced
Plot unknown. A live-action film based on the children's toy, Play Doh.
Director: Jon M. Chu
Play-Doh. While I've excluded most of the toy franchises like Transformers or G.I. Joe, a sheer fact that someone is trying to adapt into a movie a brand of modeling compound/clay (which originated as a wallpaper cleaner) definitely deserves the spot on this list.
27. Untitled Lupita Nyong'o/Rihanna Project
Drama | Announced
Plot speculated. Story pitched on Twitter centers on a scheming character portrayed by Rihanna and her computer-smart best friend (Lupita Nyong'o).
Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: Lupita Nyong'o, Rihanna
Tweet.
Tell Your Friends