Classic books made into classic films
Not all "classics" have been done well as movies, but this is the list of those films that have captured the spirit and quality of their classic book source materials.
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- DirectorCaroline ThompsonStarsSean BeanDavid ThewlisDocs Keepin TimeThe fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.
- DirectorRod HardyGeorge MillerStarsPierce BrosnanWilliam TakakuPolly Walker1703: Robinson Crusoe has to leave Scotland for a year, but after months sailing, a storm wrecks his ship. He ends up as only survivor on a desolate island.
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsJeremy SumpterJason IsaacsOlivia WilliamsThe Darling family children receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Never Land where an ongoing war with the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place.
- StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyMatthew MacfadyenBrenda BlethynSparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?
- DirectorCarroll BallardStarsKelly RenoMickey RooneyTeri GarrAfter being shipwrecked with a magnificent horse off the coast of Africa in the 1940s, a boy bonds with the stallion, and trains him to race after their rescue.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
- DirectorAndrew AdamsonStarsTilda SwintonGeorgie HenleyWilliam MoseleyWhile playing, Lucy and her siblings find a wardrobe that lands them in a mystical place called Narnia. Here they realize that it was fated and they must now unite with Aslan to defeat an evil queen.
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsGwyneth PaltrowJames CosmoGreta ScacchiWhile matchmaking for friends and neighbours, a young 19th Century Englishwoman nearly misses her own chance at love.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsKate MaberlyMaggie SmithHeydon ProwseA young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsLiesel MatthewsEleanor BronLiam CunninghamSara is sent to a strict boarding school after her father enlists in WWI. When he is presumed dead, the headmistress, knowing she will not receive any more money, forces the girl to become a servant.
- DirectorMel StuartStarsGene WilderJack AlbertsonPeter OstrumA poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsPaul TerryJoanna LumleyPete PostlethwaiteAn orphan who lives with his two cruel aunts befriends anthropomorphic bugs who live inside a giant peach, and they embark on a journey to New York City.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsDaniel Day-LewisMadeleine StoweRussell MeansThree trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGary OldmanWinona RyderAnthony HopkinsThe centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsFrank LangellaLaurence OlivierDonald PleasenceIn 1913, the charming, seductive and sinister vampire Count Dracula travels to England in search of an immortal bride.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsRobert De NiroKenneth BranaghHelena Bonham CarterWhen the brilliant but unorthodox scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge.
- DirectorLyman DaytonSam PillsburyStarsJoseph AshtonDave MatthewsRenee FaiaWhere the Red Fern Grows is the heartwarming and adventurous tale for all ages about a young boy and his quest for his own red-bone hound hunting dogs.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsDorothy McGuireFess ParkerTommy KirkA teenage boy grows to love a stray yellow dog while helping his mother and younger brother run their Texas homestead while their father is away on a cattle drive. First thought to be good-for-nothing mutt, Old Yeller is soon beloved by all.
- DirectorClive DonnerStarsGeorge C. ScottFrank FinlayAngela PleasenceA bitter old miser who rationalizes his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsPatrick StewartRichard E. GrantJoel GreyAn old bitter miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsSusan SarandonWinona RyderKirsten DunstThe March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsRobert RedfordMia FarrowBruce DernA Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his nouveau riche neighbor, who obsesses over his lost love.
- DirectorGary SiniseStarsJohn MalkovichGary SiniseRay WalstonA nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsDaniel Day-LewisWinona RyderPaul ScofieldA Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsGregory PeckJohn MegnaFrank OvertonAtticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsWilliam HurtCharlotte GainsbourgAnna PaquinJane Eyre is an orphan cast out as a young girl by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and sent to be raised in a harsh charity school for girls. There she learns to become a teacher and eventually seeks employment outside of the school. Her advertisement is answered by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Mrs. Fairfax.
- DirectorMira NairStarsReese WitherspoonRomola GaraiJames PurefoyGrowing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsDemi MooreGary OldmanRobert DuvallAn affair between a young woman and a pastor has disastrous consequences.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsKevin KlineMichelle PfeifferRupert EverettLovers' lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty, and... love.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsEmma ThompsonKate WinsletJames FleetRich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The two eldest daughters are the title opposites.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforMichael Kenneth WilliamsMichael FassbenderIn the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.