// BEGIN editorial data var i = 0; var Ent_FiveTop_060517 = new Array(); Ent_FiveTop_060517.ID = "Ent_FiveTop_060517"; Ent_FiveTop_060517.ID_WB = 12841474; Ent_FiveTop_060517.sPubDate = "5/18/2006 7:56:15 PM GMT"; Ent_FiveTop_060517.navsectionID = "3032083" Ent_FiveTop_060517.appFmt = 2; Ent_FiveTop_060517.itemsPerPage = 5; Ent_FiveTop_060517.nTeaseW = 198; Ent_FiveTop_060517.nTeaseH = 198; Ent_FiveTop_060517.appWidth = 624; Ent_FiveTop_060517.appHeader = "

"; Ent_FiveTop_060517.appFooter = " By Paige Newman, Movies Editor"; Ent_FiveTop_060517.rowSpacer = "20"; Ent_FiveTop_060517.rowAlt = "F7F7F7"; Ent_FiveTop_060517.appNavStyle = 3; Ent_FiveTop_060517.appLayout = 1; Ent_FiveTop_060517.copyMargin = 9; Ent_FiveTop_060517.copyBorder = 0; Ent_FiveTop_060517.sBodyFont = "font-size:12px;"; Ent_FiveTop_060517[i++] = new Array("","","","","","2001: A Space Odyssey", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "MGM", "97", "148", "", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060517[i-1].body = "

2001 (1968): The late Stanley Kubrick never met a book he couldn’t conceive making a movie of -- or at least that’s the way it seems when you consider nearly all his films, including \"Lolita,\" \"Barry Lyndon,\" \"A Clockwork Orange,\" \"Paths of Glory,\" \"Spartacus\" and \"Dr. Strangelove,\" were all based on books. The king of the Kubrick adaptations is this sci-fi boundary breaker, which took a fascinating, scientific Arthur C. Clarke novel and turned it into cinematic poetry. It’s said that Clarke had no idea what Kubrick’s mysterious white room ending to his film meant. Hey, Arthur, join the club. But whether it’s the image of the ape waving that bone above his head or Dave Bowman desperately asking, \"Open the pod bay doors, HAL,\" Kubrick creates a unique vision that, even with all the CGI in the world, filmmakers have yet to top."; Ent_FiveTop_060517[i++] = new Array("","","","","","Gregory Peck, \"To Kill a Mockingbird\"", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Universal/Getty Images", "97", "148", "", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060517[i-1].body = "

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): This adaptation is so moving that it actually amplifies the quality of Harper Lee’s spectacular novel. Can the casting get any better -- Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch; little Mary Badham, who had no acting experience, as his daughter Scout; the young Robert Duvall, in his first big-screen role, as Boo Radley? \"I put everything I had into it,\" Peck said of the role back in 1989. When lawyer Atticus Finch has to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, we see Peck’s character with the same awe, respect and innocence that his children do. And we share their shock at the world’s injustice. Though not thought of as a children’s book, it’s still a film that every kid would benefit from seeing. Other outstanding kid-lit films: \"The Secret Garden\" (1993), \"The Wizard of Oz\" (1939), \"The Little Princess\" (1939)."; Ent_FiveTop_060517[i++] = new Array("","","","","","Marlon Brando, \"The Godfather\"", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Paramount", "97", "148", "", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060517[i-1].body = "

The Godfather (1972): A book doesn’t always have to be pulled from the classic literature shelf to translate into an incredible movie. Witness \"Jaws\" or even \"Gone with the Wind.\" Here Francis Ford Coppola trims the fat from Mario Puzo’s novel and fills the roles with actors who make the characters even more vivid than they appear in the book. Putting the moralistic mob movies of the past on the shelf, this film was firmly about family. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino, in his first major movie role) inherits the empire and the sins of his father (Marlon Brando) in this story of loyalty, love and vengeance. Add James Caan as hot-headed Sonny Corleone and Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen (both of whom were nominated for Oscars) and you’ve got some of the greatest film actors ever doing their thing. This film may be based on a Puzo novel, but with the drama ratcheted up to 11, it plays more like Shakespeare."; Ent_FiveTop_060517[i++] = new Array("","","","","","\"The Big Sleep\"", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Warner Bros.", "97", "148", "", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060517[i-1].body = "

The Big Sleep (1946): Some may quibble with the inclusion of this noir classic based on the first of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe mysteries. And, yes, it’s a well known fact that the plot of this movie doesn’t make any sense. Chandler himself, when asked who killed the chauffeur, wrote to the producers, \"Damned if I know.\" But still, this baby works, mostly due to the novel’s fantastic dialogue, which screenwriter (and acclaimed novelist) William Faulkner lifted straight out of Chandler’s book. Does it get better than when Humphrey Bogart says to Lauren Bacall, \"I don't mind if you don't like my manners, I don't like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings\"? It truly just does not. Crime novels tend to translate well to the screen. Other notable ones: \"Double Indemnity\" (1944), \"The Maltese Falcon\" (1941) and \"L.A. Confidential\" (1997)."; Ent_FiveTop_060517[i++] = new Array("","","","","","\"A Room with a View\"", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Amazon.con", "97", "148", "", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060517[i-1].body = "

A Room with a View (1985): Like Kubrick, the team of James Ivory and the late Ismail Merchant made their careers by creating accomplished movies from classic novels, including “Mr. & Mrs. Bridge,” “A Passage to India,” “Howards End” and “The Remains of the Day.” You’ll want to book your trip to Florence immediately after you see this story of a woman (Helen Bonham Carter) torn between an impractical romantic (Julian Sands) and her stodgy, uptight fiancé (Daniel Day Lewis in a marvelous performance). Like Jane Austen (whose books have also produced their share of great film adaptations), E.M. Forster’s novels translate well to film – in part because instead of relying on long dialogue scenes, they emphasize what the characters cannot or will not say, which makes for great drama. And the gorgeous settings, shot in just the right light, definitely don’t hurt."; // END editorial data