Stephen King Goes To The Movies

Title:  Stephen King Goes To The Movies
Author:  Stephen King
Pages:  627
Genre:  Horror
Publisher:  Pocket Books, 2009
Series:  Stand Alone

Synopsis:  Stephen King revisits five of his favorite short stories that have been turned into films: The Shawshank Redemption (based on the novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption") was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and best actor for Morgan Freeman. 1408 starred John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson and was a huge box office success in 2007. The short story "Children of the Corn" was adapted into the popular Children of the Corn. "The Mangler" was inspired by King's loathing for laundry machines from his own experience working in a laundromat. Hearts in Atlantis (based on "Low Men in Yellow Coats," the first part of the novel Hearts in Atlantis) starred Anthony Hopkins. This collection features new commentary and introductions to all of these stories in a treasure-trove of movie trivia.

Review:  Five great short stories are included in this book:  Children of the Corn, The Mangler, 1408, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and Low Men in Yellow Coats.  Although, the last of these is actually a novella, with a whopping 346 pages.  Only with Stephen King would they list a 300+ page story as 'short'.

I've, at one time or another, read all of these stories.  But, I hadn't ever read this particular collection.  There are forewords to each tale, where the author tells you what he really thought about the film version of each one.  He doesn't pull any punches either.

At the very end, there is a list entitled My 10 Favorite Adaptations.  One of my all-time favorite movies based on his books is noticeably missing, but then again I know some people aren't fond of the mini-series The Stand.  I'm sad to see that Mr. King evidently agrees.  I liked The Stand far better than two or three of the movies he does list.  But, it didn't really matter.  I've seen all of the ones on his list and liked them.  And I've read all of his stories except the most recent couple and loved them.

I hadn't read any of these stories in years.  1408 was probably the one I read most recently before this book.  So, they were like reading something new....but also like visiting old friends.

Rating:  9.5 / 10