So the votes are in, and the results were not too terribly shocking. It was in a little different order than I expected, but I could have called the top five before the vote was taken. Stephen King is a legend in my book, and will always be a hero to me. His books will forever line my shelves, and I pray the man writes until bites the big one. I mean that in the most respectable way possible. I DON'T want the man to stop writing. Just when you think he is probably going to start fading as a writer, he tosses out something incredible like "Cell" or "Under the Dome". The man is on the track to go out as probably the most popular Author of all time. Although I couldn't find actual facts to support it, it seems he has more book to movie deals than any other other I know of. Almost everything he has ever written has either been optioned, started filming, or has already graced DVDs, the big screen, or the little screen.
I could have done a top 5 movies based on sales, or IMDB rating, but I really wanted to hear what my closest friends, family, and fellow bloggers had to say when it came time to cast their vote. So to start this thing off, here are a few quotes from the vote:
The Mike of From Midnight, With Love said, "I can't not pick Shawshank. Shining and Mist are close, but to me it has to be the tale of Andy Dufresne."
Cory from Slaughter Film replied, "THE NIGHT FLIER! It's a modern twist on the classic vampire tale and WAY better than any of the vampire crap that has come out in the past ten years. Also I love how the main character works for some trashy "Weekly World News" magazine. *Sigh* I miss the 90's..."
The Scream Queen said, "This one is tough, but I'd probably have to say The Stand. That likely won't be the popular vote, but I love that movie. I did a five-part review on it when I was home sick from work earlier this year."
I also wanted to touch on the ones that didn't make the top 5 but came damn close. Here are the ones that were just a vote or two away from making the top 5!
Shawshank Redemption
The Night Flier
Misery
Christine
Children of the Corn
Stand by Me
Sometimes They Come Back
and Pet Sematary was named more times for people's second choice than any other film.
All great movies, but they just didn't quite get enough votes. I could go through all the movies that got at least one vote, but that would be a long, long list. So without further wait, I give you the Top 5 Stephen King movies You as readers/viewers voted on:
#5 The Stand Dir. by Mick Garris
The Stand is still considered one of the top made for TV movies of all time, and it is well deserved! The plot goes as follows: (After the world is decimated by a man-made plague, a battle of literally Biblical proportions ensues between the survivors.) The religious tones of the film only add to the overall effect of the material. I'm really glad that other people agree with me that this deserves to be in the Top 5.
#4 The Mist Dir. by Frank Darabont
I have said it before, and I will say it again- Frank Darabont is the only person that should ever be allowed to direct a Stephen King movie. In my mind, he is 3 for three, having also directed The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption. It just feels like he knows King from the inside out. He even rewrote his own ending for The Mist, and Stephen King approved of it, saying "The ending is such a jolt—wham! It's frightening." The film follows a group of towns people trapped in a grocery store after a thick mist falls over the town, and seems to be filled with dangerous creatures. This was also my vote for #1, even though it didn't make it.
#3 Carrie Dir. by Brian De Palma
Carrie is undoubtedly one of the most memorable Stephen King movies to ever land on the big screen. Sissy Spacek helped drive up the box office numbers with her spot-on portrayal of the psionic powered teen. Although De Palma hasn't made a good movie since 1996, he used to be quite the filmmaker back in the day, and his take on Stephen King's work is honorable, and respectful of King's material. Carrie is well deserving of being on the Top 5
#2 It Dir. by Tommy Lee Wallace
I always have a hard time supporting anything Tommy Lee Wallace directs because he gave us the worst Halloween movie of all time. Halloween III: Season of the Witch, but on the other hand, he also gave us Fright Night 2, which is an admirable film. Either way, he gave us It! It is hard to find anything bad about it. I feel that if I were to say something bad about it, a clown might show up in my room in the middle of the night and eat me. As if people weren't terrified of clowns to begin with, It is almost single handedly responsible for thousands of clowns losing their jobs in the early 90's. I have a friend named Ryan, who might actually start convulsing like an epileptic upon seeing Pennywise. Tim Curry really helps develop this fear by whole-heartedly throwing himself into a what others might say is a typically goofy role, and giving it a touch of seriousness that terrifies me more than the character did to begin with. He plays Pennywise so perfect that I don't think there is anyone else on the face of the planet that can play the part even half as good as Curry did. That also makes me wonder why they have decided to remake it for next year. Oh well, Wallace's It will is always be near the top of any list made about Stephen King's movies.
#1!!!!!!! (drum roll please) The Shining! Dir. by Stanley Kubrick
I saw this coming ahead of time, but I find it hilariously ironic that the film we vote as the #1 Stephen King film was described by King himself as the worst adaption of any of his works. Of course, this quote was taken long before The Langoliers was made, which gets my vote for worst adaption. There is no doubt the Kubrick made one hell of a film with The Shining, and it is deserving to be on the top of any horror film list. It is absolutely one of the best films ever made, ranking #49 on IMDBs Top 250, and it is definitely one of the best movies best on works of Stephen King, so it is well deserving of it #1 ranking. Great job folks, and thanks for all the people that participated! I also wanted to let people know I used my favorite posters for each movie on here as well. I especially love The Shining poster!
Let me know your finale thoughts on the Top 5, and let me know if you have any ideas for a future Top 5!
9 comments:
My personal Top 5 King stories adapted to film:
5. The Shawshank Redemption.
4. Stand by Me.
3. Riding the Bullet.
2. The Mist.
1. The Shining.
In my opinion, I find that overall his non-horror stuff has translated the best to film (and has gone on to be more accepted and well-regarded), but The Mist was a pretty much perfect adaptation that took the novella to its logical conclusion. The original version of The Shining (I'd like to forget the wash-out that was King's TV miniseries) only took the bare bones of King's book and turned into something quite different, and despite that, it's one of the best horror movies ever made. I personally think that Riding the Bullet is unfairly overlooked. Not a great film, but I felt it captured the tone of King's story quite well, and it deserves to be in there even if it's not a great film in it's own right.
I couldn't agree with you more about Riding the Bullet. It makes my top 10, but not my top 5. There are just too many good King films.
I wish I had voted in this.
To me, Shawshank is one of tmy favorite movies of any type, period. The Shining and Stand By Me are right up there also.
The TERRIBLE ending to "It" totally ruined it for me. Clowns scare the hell out of me, so you know I liked it up to that point...
Great job!!!
Figured this would run toward the horror stuff, which is perfectly fine. Can't really argue with The Shining.
And I'll add to the love for Riding the Bullet. Severely underrated.
Holy crap, It ranked exceedingly well. Am I alone in thinking that it wasn't so hot to begin with--though the book holds up--and it just hasn't stood the test of time?
The Shining, however, is indisputable as the top King adaptation. In my opinion, anyway.
The Shining is indeed a great movie, but it is hard to call it a great adaption being as it wasn't really as close to the book as I would have liked. Kubrick cut alot of corners. I was actually excited by the remake, as King promised it would be closer to his work, and then it sucked completely, and I was upset, haha.
Tim Curry is a worthless piece of garbage simply because he is British scum.
That seems a little harsh don't you think? I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion even if they are wrong. :-)
Thanks for the shout-out, yo ;o) I feel like I've had to defend The Stand over the years because I'm such a dork for that movie. Looking forward to seeing what King has in store for us next. Looks like Under the Dome becoming a miniseries so we'll have to see how that goes. I hated the ending of that book, though.
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