Cinema has been around for a little over 100 years, making it a relatively new artform. Literature, on the other hand, is one of the oldest arts. It’s a medium that’s entertained countless people over thousands of years. There’s an endless well of stories out there, many of them with established fanbases. And that’s a great thing for Hollywood. Over the years,film studios have acquired the rights to countless novels, bringing their stories and characters from the page to the big screen – though the adaptation isn’t always word for word.
Hollywood often takes creative liberties and deviates from the source material, especially when it comes to the story’s ending. Many film adaptations dramatically alter the book’s finale. Maybe it’s because the novel’s ending doesn’t quite work on screen, or maybe it’s because the film’s creators believe they’ve come up with a better finale. Sometimes, the movie’s ending proves to be inferior to the novel’s,enraging its legion of devoted fans. But other times, we get an ending that really does improve upon the novel’s finale.
Although they deviate from their source material, these 10 films deliver a more memorable, more powerful, or more appropriate ending than their literary counterparts.
10’Fight Club' (1999)
Fight Club
Fight Clubwas Chuck Palahniuk’s debut novel – and what an impact it had, thanks largely to director David Fincher’s famous film adaptation. The premise of both stories is the same. Disillusioned by the materialistic, mundane world, an unnamed narrator (Edward Norton) finds meaning by establishing an underground fight club with his rebellious new friend, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt).Their endings, though, differ significantly.
After defeating Tyler in the film, the wounded narrator and his love interest, Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), stand there holding hands, watching Tyler’s bombs detonate and destroy the various headquarters of credit-card companies. Iconic.
In the book, Tyler targets a museum, not a bunch of credit card companies. And the bomb never goes off. The narrator then shoots himself, just like he does in the movie. He awakens some time later in a mental hospital, where he engages in a bizarre conversation with God. The hospital employees reveal themselves to be members of Tyler’s domestic terrorist organization, Project Mayhem, patiently waiting for Tyler’s return. It’s a slightly darker finale and still a solid one. But most people would agree that the movie nailed the ending a little better.
10 Weirdest and Most Disorienting Movie Endings of All Time
Some films abandon resolution for endings that baffle and provoke, leaving audiences awestruck, frustrated, and grappling with deeper questions.
9’Jaws' (1975)
Based on the 1974 novel of the same name,Jawsis set in a New England beach town that’s being terrorized by a massive, man-eating great white shark. Determined to end its reign of terror, a ragtag team is assembled to hunt and take down the shark, which includes local police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and eccentric shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw). It’s basicallyMoby Dick,and it almost had a Moby Dick-like ending, too.
In the novel, the shark kills Hooper in the underwater cage (he survives in the film) and dies by – well, merely succumbing to its harpoon wounds. Kind of anticlimactic, no?The film’s director, Steven Spielberg, changed that in favor of a more exciting finale. And thank goodness he did. Wasn’t it so much cooler and more satisfying to watch the shark’s head get blown up instead?
8’Hannibal' (2001)
1991’sThe Silence of the Lambswas based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. After the Oscar-winning film’s tremendous success, Harris felt compelled to follow up his book with a sequel. The result was 1999’sHannibal,which was adapted to the silver screen just two years later. Director Ridley Scott took some creative liberties with the source material – and thank goodness he did.
The novel’s ending killed off the story’s antagonist, Mason Verger, in the most graphic and ridiculous way (you’ll have to look it up and see for yourself). Even worse, it ends with Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in a romantic relationship. Yes, that’s right.Hannibal, the insane cannibal, is in a romantic relationship with Clarice, the FBI agent who hunted him in the first book. Thankfully, the film adaptation did away with much of this. It ends with Hannibal (Anthony Hopkins) and Clarice (Julianne Moore)notin a relationship and Lecter once again on the run.
7’Silver Linings Playbook' (2012)
Silver Linings Playbook
Based on the debut novel by Matthew Quick,Silver Linings Playbookis a drama-comedy from critically acclaimed filmmaker David O. Russell. It follows Pat Solitano, who longs to reconcile with his ex-wife after a stint in a mental institution. Things get complicated, however, when Pat meets Tiffany, a widow with problems of her own. Both the film and the book explore romance and mental illness, showing both the beautiful and ugly sides of relationships.
In the novel, Tiffany forges letters from Pat’s ex-wife and convinces him to participate in a dance competition that his ex-wife will supposedly attend. Pat’s ex-wife, however, does not attend, and Tiffany admits to forging the letters. The novel ends with the two of them reconciling a few weeks later, sharing a sentimental moment on a frozen soccer field. Book fans were thrown for a loop when the film ending turned out differently. In the movie, Pat figures out that Tiffany was forging the letters, and his ex-wifedoesattend the dance competition. But Pat tells her that he’s moving on and then runs off to pursue Tiffany.
6’The Mist' (2007)
Based on the novella by the Master of Horror Stephen King,The Mistfollows David (Thomas Jane) and his son as they become trapped in a grocery store, along with other civilians, when their town becomes shrouded by an inexplicable mist filled with unnatural and deadly creatures. David, his son, and a few others eventually escape in a vehicle and drive off into the seemingly endless mist.
King’s novel ends with David and the others picking up a radio signal of somebody saying “Hartford”, implying there are other survivors out there. The book ends ambiguously with the group driving off into the mist, presumably toward Hartford, which is a more hopeful and positive finale than you’d expect from Stephen King. The film, however, doesnothave a shred of positivity to it.
Convinced that the mist is endless and the world is doomed, David uses the last four bullets in his gun to kill the four passengers with him in the car — including his own son. Out of bullets, David steps out into the mist, awaiting death. But what was supposed to be an act of mercy soon becomes a haunting nightmare when the U.S. military arrives shortly afterward, chasing away the mist. David’s sacrifices were all for nothing.Even for Stephen King, it’s a dark ending. While the ending polarized book fans, Stephen King himself said that he prefers the film’s ending to his own.
5’The Godfather' (1972)
The Godfather
The Godfatheris widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, a cinematic masterpiece. Based on Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel, it follows the Corleone crime family as they grapple with a power struggle in 1940s New York.The Godfatherfaithfully adapts much of Puzo’s novel, though the endings are slightly different. In the novel, Kay accepts that her husband, Michael Corleone, has become a criminal kingpin and goes to church to pray for his soul.
This is not the case in the film. From a distance, Kay (Diane Keaton) watches Michael (Al Pacino) in his office. Several high-ranking gangsters are in there with them, who all stoop down, kiss Michael’s ring, and refer to him as Don Corleone. It’sthemoment when Kay and the audience realize that Michael has established himself as New York’s most powerful mob boss. One of the gangsters then closes the door on a helpless, teary-eyed Kay, shutting her out of their world and leaving her in the dark. It’s a chilling ending that delivered one of thegreatest final shots in cinema.
4’The Shining' (1980)
The Shining
Based on Stephen King’s eponymous novel,The Shiningisone of the greatest and most influential horror films ever made. It’s your typical haunted hotel story: a family is staying in the empty Overlook Hotel, filled with the ghosts of creepy twins and deranged old ladies, when the father, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) loses his mind and tries murdering his own family. Pretty standard stuff.
In King’s novel, Jack regains control of his mind, which is possessed by the Overlook, and urges his son to run away. Jack then kills himself by battering his own face and skull with a mallet. The Overlook takes control of his mangled corpse and resumes the hunt for Jack’s family. But the reanimated Jack is officially killed when the Overlook explodes due to an unstable boiler, getting rid of all the hotel’s ghosts. The novel ends in the following summer, with Jack’s family and the Overlooks chef, Hallorann, alive and in recovery. Another surprisingly happy ending from Stephen King.
Director Stanley Kubrick took some creative libertieswith his film that set it apart from the source material – creative liberties that famously displeased Stephen King. In the end, Jack kills Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) and never regains control of his mind or redeems himself. His wife and child escape to safety, leaving Jack a frozen corpse on the hotel’s grounds. And the hotel, along with all its ghosts, remains very much intact, ready to claim more lives. It’s a grim ending that falls more in line with the horror genre. But that’s not all.
At the very end, the camera zooms in on an old group photo hanging in one of the hotel’s corridors. The photo is dated 1921. And there at the center, grinning widely, is Jack Torrance. Roll credits. What does this ending mean? Is the photo somehow a collage of all the lives that the Overlook has claimed over the years? Or has Jack always been the caretaker of the hotel, perhaps reincarnated and then brought back over and over again? The debate continues to rage on, givingThe Shiningone of the most iconic and memorable endings in cinema.
3’Jurassic Park' (1993)
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Parkis a cinematic masterpiece that’s based on Michael Crichton’s 1990 sci-fi novel. In both the book and film, a group of scientists is invited to a zoological park, where a billionaire has used genetic engineering toresurrect extinct dinosaurs. Crichton’s novel has a much grimmer ending that’s packed with major deaths. Ian Malcolm, dead. John Hammond, dead. Even the entire island of dinosaurs is wiped out with napalm, though the novel’s ending implies that some dinosaurs did escape the island and have returned to Earth’s ecosystem.
Steven Spielberg’s finale forJurassic Parkis a lot more optimistic, even beautiful. Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) lives, and the island of dinosaurs is abandoned rather than destroyed. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) also makes it to the end. There is something poetic about Hammond getting killed by his own creations. But a more fitting finale is for Hammond to survive, leaving him to contemplate the failure of his park and scientific experiment.
2’Forrest Gump' (1994)
Forrest Gump
Directed by Robert Zemeckis,Forrest Gumpis the film that captured everyone’s hearts in the 1990s. It interweaves 20th-century American history with the profound life of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks in perhaps his best performance), a simple-minded yet kindhearted soul. Many people don’t realize thatForrest Gumpactually began as a book by Winston Groom. And man, is it different. After reconnecting with the love of his life, Jenny (Robin Wright), Forrest learns that the two share a son. He then becomes a devoted father and a husband to Jenny, all the way up to her tragic death. It’s a beautiful and emotional ending. But the book’s finale…not so much.
At the end of the novel, Forrest comes across the love of his life, Jenny, who’s now married with a son. And when he learns that the boy is his, Forrest decides not to be a presence in his life. He instead goes to New Orleans with Lieutenant Dan and his pet orangutan, Sue. Uh, what? Something tells us thatForrest Gumpwouldn’t have won the Oscar for Best Picture if it had ended in this way.
The 10 Most Profitable Movies That Started as Books
While they could have been based on bestsellers, these movies were also massive box office hits.
1’Planet of the Apes' (1968)
Planet of the Apes
Many people don’t realize thatPlanet of the Apesis based on a 1963 science fiction novel by French author Pierre Boulle titled,La Planète des Singes.The novel begins with a rich couple, Jinn and Phyllis, sailing in space, finding a manuscript in a floating bottle, and translating its contents. This manuscript turns out to be a written account of a space explorer who crash-landed on an alien planet, where humans have been turned into a primitive, non-speaking species and are ruled by the more advanced and superior apes. The novel’s big twist is that Jinn and Phyllis are chimpanzees, who discard the story as fantasy. It’s a pretty good twist, but the film’s ending is much, much better.
In its shocking and chilling twist, George Taylor (Charlton Heston) discovers the remnants of New York City’s iconic Statue of Liberty on the alien planet where he crash-landed. As George screams at the heavens and curses humanity, we realize that he’s traveled into the future, where humanity has destroyed itself. He’s really been on Earth this whole time, which isn’t the case in the novel. It’s an iconic finale, and a big improvement from the book.
