Pachinko, the epic Korean series celebrated by critics and TV fans alike, is returning this month, with season two landing on Apple TV+ on August 23.
The political TV series, which reviewers described as “beautiful and brutal” and a “roller coaster ride through time and space” is based on the 2017 best-selling historical fiction novel of the same name by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee.
A 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, the ambitious novel tells the story of Korean immigrants living in Japan from 1910 up to the modern day.
Pachinko is the latest in a long line of incredible films and TV shows that started out as books: from blockbuster films based on the Harry Potter novels and the wildly popular TV adaptation of Game of Thrones, to indie projects such as the Oscar-winning The Quiet Girl and screen versions of classics such as Hitchcock's Psycho.
This crossover isn't remotely surprising, either: a lot of the heavy lifting is done by the author who has spent years mapping out a universe, or developing complicated characters.
As we wait for the release of Pachinko, here are some of our favourite films and TV series that began on paper.
Dune
It took 50 years for a director to successfully adapt Frank Herbert's futuristic tome Dune for the screen: previous efforts had never quite captured the mystery, nor size, of his interstellar universe. But then along came Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival), who had been obsessed with the novel since reading it as a teenager and adapted it using his signature minimalist style. The result was an astonishing Oscar-winning sci-fi film with a star-studded cast, and an incredible score from Hans Zimmer.
The Godfather
So good was Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel, that despite The Godfather book having sat on The New York Times Best Seller list for 67 weeks, it's Coppola, not Puzo, who is most closely associated with the title. Coppola's 1972 film adaptation was an instant classic, picking up nine Oscar nominations and winning three. The film is exquisite in every sense: the colours, the themes, the acting, the music, the camera shots.
Call Me By Your Name
Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name picked up four Oscar nominations, and took home one Academy Award. But it's best remembered for hard-launching the career of Timothée Chalamet – and for that peach scene. The beautiful film, which told the story of two young American men who fall in love in Northern Italy, started out as a book first: André Aciman's acclaimed 2007 novel.
Normal People
BBC 3's 2020 adaptation of Normal People was always destined to be a mega-hit: Sally Rooney's 2018 novel was a best-seller and transformed the Irish author into a household name. But, sealing the deal was the casting of two then-unknown names: Daisy Edgar-Jones was Marianne, while Paul Mescal was Connell. The world was smitten right away, and the series picked up dozens of awards.
The Quiet Girl
This Oscar-nominated Irish language film, which was directed by Colm Bairéad, is about a nine-year-old girl from a dysfunctional family who goes to spend a summer on a farm. It’s an adaptation of Claire Keegan’s exquisite novella Foster, which packs an absolute punch, as does the film.
Breakfast At Tiffany's
Truman Capote's 1958 novella, Breakfast at Tiffany's momentarily became a bit of an albatross for the author: while it brought the New York socialite international fame, and was adapted into the classic romance starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, it also pigeon-holed him as a certain kind of writer. Capote fought furiously against this, and published his pioneering non-fiction book, In Cold Blood, in 1965.
Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin’s work really isn’t for everyone. The 75-year-old author, who wrote the novels that inspired Game of Thrones and its spin-off series House of the Dragon, is known for the violent and sexually explicit content of his books. Remember, the graphic stuff was toned down for television, and there were still some scenes that were tough to watch. However, the epic fantasy novels, which were inspired by the War of the Roses, have sold as many as 90 million copies and been translated into 47 languages. The series was also a massive hit, picking up awards, millions of fans, and running for an admirable eight seasons.
Wuthering Heights
Director Andrea Arnold’s take on Emily Brontë’s masterpiece is a real thrill: raw, heady, strange, and beautiful. A very different beast to previous adaptations, it divided critics upon its release, but it is now widely viewed as the Gothic novel’s most electrifying reimagination.
Big Little Lies
Any TV adaptation of Liane Moriarty's 2014 New York Times best-seller novel, Big Little Lies, was likely to do well. But it was a match made in heaven when Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon picked up the book's screen rights – the duo developed, executive produced and starred in the series. They were joined on screen by Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz, Meryl Streep and Shailene Woodley, and the show became one of 2017's biggest hits.
