By: Vince Morales, June 2nd, 2025 9:06 am.
Book Notification at the Movies is our look at the movies you may or may not know were based on books. Today, we’re covering the films of 1985.
1985 was a great year in the world of book-to-movie adaptations. Movies based on books dominated the Academy Awards and the box office. Here’s a brief look at a few of the most notable book adaptations of the year.
Vision Quest, based on a book by Terry Davis
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Many of you may know Vision Quest as the classic high school wrestling movie starring Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino. It was the first feature film appearance of Madonna.
The film’s soundtrack was very popular, featuring Journey, Red Rider’s “Lunatic Fringe”, and Madonna.
The movie was based on a 1979 young adult novel by Terry Davis.
John Irving was quoted as saying Vision Quest was “the truest novel about growing up since The Catcher in the Rye.”
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Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. starred as a human and an alien soldier on opposite sides of a war.
When the two become stranded on an uninhabited planet, they are forced to work together to survive.
The movie was based on Barry B. Longyear’s novella, which won a Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1980.
The story originally appeared in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.
It has since spawned two sequels, “The Tomorrow Testament” (1983) and “The Last Enemy” (1997).
Silver Bullet, based on a novella by Stephen King
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Silver Bullet starred Corey Haim, Everett McGill, and the great Gary Busey.
No stranger to film adaptations, the movie was made with Stephen King’s involvement as he wrote the screenplay.
The film’s wolf was not well received, as many felt it looked more like a black bear than a wolf.
The film was based on Stephen King’s novella, “Cycle of the Werewolf”.
The story is illustrated by comic book artist Bernie Wrightson.
It was originally devised as a calendar, but King felt it worked better as a novella.
Cat’s Eye, based on short stories by Stephen King
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Cat’s Eye is an anthology film based on three short stories by Stephen King.
The first two stories in the film, “Quitters, Inc.” and “The Ledge”, are featured in King’s “Night Shift” collection.
The third story in the film, “General”, was written specifically for the movie. King was also heavily involved with the making of this film, writing the screenplay.
The film stars Drew Barrymore in an early role and James Woods, who gives a standout performance. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars in his review.
That Was Then, This Is Now, based on a novel by S.E. Hinton
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This was the fourth and final adaptation of an S.E. Hinton novel.
The film starred Emilio Estevez, who also wrote the screenplay.
Estevez had been eyeing the project for a long time, originally wanting to star alongside Tom Cruise in the adaptation.
However, it ended up being Estevez and Craig Sheffer in the lead roles.
Both Cruise and Estevez appeared in the adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. The book has many connections to The Outsiders, with multiple characters appearing in both, including Pony Boy.
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Walter Hill directed Brewster’s Millions, starring Richard Pryor as a minor league baseball pitcher who accepts a challenge to spend $30 million dollars in thirty days to inherit $300 million dollars.
The dollar amount was quite a change from the original 1902 novel.
In the book, Brewster is asked to spend $1 million in one year to inherit $7 million dollars.
That’s inflation for you.
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Kiss of the Spider Woman, based on the novel by Manuel Puig
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The Kiss of the Spider Woman featured Raul Julia as a leftist revolutionary and William Hurt as an apolitical gay man sharing a prison cell.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including a Best Actor win for William Hurt.
The movie was based on a novel by Argentine writer Manuel Puig. The novel was banned in his home country for being political until 1983 when the Raúl Alfonsín government took control. The novel has since been adapted into a Broadway musical. The Broadway musical was then adapted for a film in 2025.
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Burt Reynolds has said that he wanted to adapt “Stick” as soon as he read the book. He respected Elmore Leonard’s work and knew the Florida way of life as he was raised there. The character Stick also appears in Leonard’s novel Swag.
Elmore Leonard wrote the screenplay for the book, and Reynolds filmed it as written. However, the studio was unhappy with the finished product and ordered rewrites with a new writer. Many changes were made to the story, much to the chagrin of Leonard, who did not like the finished product whatsoever. The movie ended up as a box-office flop.
Fletch, based on the series of books by Gregory McDonald
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Chevy Chase starred as Fletch in Fletch in one of his most memorable roles. Chase has called it one of his favorite and most memorable roles.
The original “Fletch” novel was written in 1974, and the rights were quickly acquired for film. However, it took over ten years for the film to enter production.
Many other actors were considered for the main role. Burt Reynolds and Mick Jagger were both reportedly considered, but were rejected by the author.
The Color Purple, based on a novel by Alice Walker
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“The Color Purple” was a 1982 novel by Alice Walker that won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.
The book was very well received for its writing, but censors have constantly challenged the book. It is one of the most frequently challenged books by the American Library Association for its explicit content.
The book was adapted by director Steven Spielberg at the time. Spielberg toned down some aspects of the novel, which drew criticism. Many also felt that he was not the right director for this project, as it is a predominantly African-American story.
Out of Africa, based on the memoir of Karen Blixen
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Out of Africa dominated the Academy Awards with seven wins, including Best Picture and Best Director for Sydney Pollack.
The film starred Hollywood legends Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. It was not only a critical success, but it was also the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1985 in the United States and Canada.
The book was primarily based on “Out of Africa” by Karen Blixen (sometimes listed as Isak Dinesen).
However, additional material was taken from Blixen/Dinesen’s “Shadows on the Grass” and Judith Thurman’s “Silence Will Speak”.
A View to a Kill, based on a novella by Ian Fleming
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Ian Fleming did write a short story featuring James Bond called “A View to a Kill”, but it has no connection to this movie. A View to a Kill, the movie, only shares a title and is based on an entirely original screenplay.
Duran Duran performed the Bond theme song, “A View to a Kill”, and it is the only Bond theme to ever reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Song.
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