Great Books on the Big Screen

The Revenant, by Michael Punke
This adaptation of the amazing semi-true story of fur trapper Hugh Glass will star Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy as two men on either side of a dark vendetta. When Hugh (Dicaprio) suffers terrible injuries in a bear attack, the assumption is that he’ll soon be dead, so the leader of his expedition orders two men to stay with him, and bury him when he dies. The men instead abandon Glass, stealing everything he’d need to survive. And yet Glass does survive, then sets out for revenge. A gripping, tense story anchored by peerless research and rich descriptions of early 19th-century life in the unsettled wilderness of the American Northwest.

Brooklyn, by Colm Tóibín
Award-winning Irish author Tóibín nabbed his dream hometown cast—including Oscar nominees Saoirse Ronan and Jim Broadbent—and no less than Nick Hornby to pen the screenplay for the adaptation of his 2009 novel about a small-town Irish girl in the years after World War II who dreams of a better life in Brooklyn. The film, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, was directed by Irish theater veteran John Crowley (who also directed several episodes of HBO’s True Detective).

Trumbo, by Bruce Cook
Emmy winner Bryan Cranston stars as legendary screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in the film adaptation inspired by Cook’s 1977 biography. Trumbo was a celebrated, highly paid talent in Hollywood during the Golden Age of movie-making—until the 1940s, when, with the Red Scare in full swing, Senator Joseph McCarthy made Tinseltown ground zero for a Communist witch hunt. Refusing to reveal the identities of other Hollywood players involved in Communist organizations, Trumbo was placed on the infamous “black list,” and barred from working in the industry for more than a decade (at least under his own name—films he wrote won two Oscars during his period of exile). The film, by Jay Roach, who previously adapted the 2008 election drama Game Change, follows the arc of Trumbo’s life and career and also stars Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, and Louis C.K.

The Danish Girl, by David Ebershoff
Eddie Redmayne brings his post-Oscar glow to the story of Lili Elbe, artist and transgender pioneer, told in this adaptation of Ebershoff’s 2000 novel. The natural drama of Elbe’s life-altering journey, and its effects on her marriage, are well-suited to the big screen, but also make for a compelling read. Her story is one of love, ambition, and identity, and an unconventional look at an unconventional 20th-century woman.

The Martian, by Andy Weir
Weir’s debut novel is possibly the biggest self-publishing success story of all time, going from a self-published release, to a best-selling hardcover, to theaters in less than two years. Anyone who gripped the armrests watching Sandra Bullock struggling to survive the cold indifference of space in Gravity will get a similar thrill watching Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on the Red Planet, forced to endure the tortures inflicted upon him by director Ridley Scott.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick
Academy Award–winning director Ron Howard brings his sure touch to this adaptation of Philbrick’s harrowing true-life account of the 1820 sinking of the whaleship Essex by an enraged sperm whale, the incident that inspired Herman Melville to pen a little novel called Moby-Dick. The cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, and Ben Whishaw.

The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith
Nobody does sexual obsession like Patricia Highsmith. In the forthcoming adaptation of her cult classic novel The Price of Salt (to be released in theaters with its alternate title, Carol), Rooney Mara’s dissatisfied shopgirl has a chance meeting with Cate Blanchett’s elegant housewife, and love, dreams of escape, and blackmail follow. We can’t wait to see what Todd Haynes, known for his incredible direction of women, does with this one.

Deep Down Dark, by Héctor Tobar
Antonio Banderas stars in and Patricia Riggen directs this taut real-time drama, adapted for screen as The 33 from Tobar’s 2014 book. Both tell the story of the 2010 mining incident in Chile, in which 33 miners were trapped underground for more than two months, at a mine infamous for its safety violations and previous fatalities. They survived a disastrous collapse and, starting 17 days after the accident, managed to communicate with the surface, first by notes and then by video. The telling of their trials underground, their courage under fire, and the events leading up to their rescue will star Banderas as Mario Sepúlveda, who served as spokesperson for the miners throughout the ordeal.

13 Hours, by Mitchell Zuckoff
On September 11, 2012, terrorists attacked a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Lybia. What happened next has been the subject of endless investigation, speculation, news articles, even hearings. Over the course of the 13-hour attack, six security personnel fought back, saving lives and serving as the primary subjects of Mitchell Zuckoff’s thrilling nonfiction account. Big-screen vet Michael Bay directs cast including John Krasinki and Pablo Schreiber.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis
The latest film adaptation from The Blind Side and Moneyball author Michael Lewis is a darkly funny account of the 2008 financial crash, told through the story of a handful of finance world outsiders who saw it coming before anyone else did. Come for the all-star cast (Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Steve Carell), stay for the sharpest, most entertaining explanation of how it all went down that you’ll ever get (outside of reading the book, of course).