Since the early days of making movies, writers and directors have attempted to bring popular and classic novels to the big screen. The movie industry seems to believe that if the story made a great book, it should make a great movie as well. However, that rarely seems to be the case. More often than not, a great book turns out to be a mediocre movie in the opinion of most viewers.

Over the past century, there have only been a handful of movies that have fulfilled the ambition of turning the great book into a great movie. Lovers of the historical novel, Gone with the Wind, continue to be swept away by the movie adaptation starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Science fiction readers as well as movie critics both hail Stanley Kubrick's film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was co-written by Kubrick with the novel's author Arthur C. Clarke, as a masterpiece.

On the other hand, there have been instances when not-so-great novels have been transformed into great movies. Mario Puzo's The Godfather was quite popular at the time of its release as a novel, but critics hailed it more for its entertainment value than for its value as literature. The film adaptation of this popular novel, however, continues to be listed among the top ten greatest movies of all time. Likewise, the science fiction short story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" did not set the science fiction genre on fire when it came out. The movie version, though, made a much bigger impact in its medium.

Are there any books that are simply impossible to film? Although filmmakers would like to think not, it is a good bet that certain books will never be adapted into successful films. Books written in unique literary styles such as Ulysses by James Joyce and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner have resisted film adaptation to rival the greatness of the books.