1. Gangs of New York
Based on: The Gangs of New York
The Gangs of New York was published in 1928 and detailed the rise and fall of New York gangs in the 19th century. Set before the Mafia and organised crime took hold the film is very loosely based on the novel.
2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Based on: Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
In the novel Roger Rabbit is murdered in an attempt to censor him because he overheard confidential information and Eddie Valiant takes on the case to solve the murder.
3. Forrest Gump
Based on: Forrest Gump
The novel of the same name was written in the 1980s and while the book in based on the same story the author of the book said that the character in the film had been cleaned up and had the rough edges taken off.
4. Silver Linings Playbook
Based on: Silver Linings Playbook
The Silver Linings Playbook movie made some quite significant changes to the novel. The ethnicity of characters was changed, minor characters became major characters and some of the personality traits are different. So whilst the movie is based on the book, there are major differences.
5. Mrs Doubtfire
Based on: Alias Madame Doubtfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoAEouJTdWY
The novel that inspired the movie Mrs Doubtfire was originally aimed at teens and children. The plot is not much different to the movie with parents splitting up and the father impersonating a nanny in order to see his children more.
6. Goodfellas
Based on: Wiseguys
Wiseguys is actually a non-fiction book that was written by a crime reporter about the life of Henry Hill, a mobster who becomes an informer. The author, Nicholas Pileggi also wrote the screenplay for Goodfellas.
7. Slumdog Millionaire
Based on: Q & A
Q & A is a fairly modern book, published in 2005. It revels the story of a character who becomes the winner of the biggest quiz show ever, and how he was sent to prison for cheating.
8. Jaws
Based on: Jaws
The movie was based on a novel of the same name , which in turn was based on real life shark attacks in the Jersey Shore in 1916 and shark fishermen. The novel was so successful that is stayed on the New York best seller list for 44 weeks.
9. The Shawshank Redemption
Based on: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
The novella this movie is based on was written by Stephen King for the Different Seasons story collection. It is based on a man who goes to prison for a double murder and the people he meets while he is imprisoned.
10. Die Hard
Based on: Nothing Lasts Forever
The crime thriller published in 1979 is the sequel to The Detective by Roderick Thorp. It is also the inspiration for the first of the Die Hard movies.
