Movies of Books You Had to Read in School

Put aside the CliffsNotes and take time to read about these classic stories turned into notable films.

ROMEO + JULIET (1996)

A young Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes make for a swoon-worthy couple in this adaptation of William Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy. The subsequent 2013 film made less of a, um, killing at the box office.

THE GREAT GATSBY (2013)

DiCaprio stars in yet another film adaptation of a classic book, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 'The Great Gatsby.' This one is also directed by 'Romeo + Juliet' helmer Baz Luhrmann.

THE OUTSIDERS (1983)

Based on the book by Susan Eloise Hinton (professionally known by the gender-ambiguous “S.E. Hinton”), 'The Outsiders' will forever be known as the film that launched the careers of many a Brat Pack member.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE (2005)

The lovely Keira Knightley starred in the 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, with Matthew Macfadyen as the dreamy Mr. Darcy.

LITTLE WOMEN (1994)

This 1994 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel stars Winona Ryder and Christian Bale, with Claire Danes playing the ill-fated Beth.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)

Director John Ford won the Academy Award for his take on John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a family in the Great Depression of the 1930s.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995)

Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson star in this 1995 film based on the Jane Austen novel. The multi-talented Thompson won an Oscar for the film’s screenplay.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)

Harper Lee’s novel became a film in 1962, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, with a screenplay by celebrated playwright Horton Foote.

ENDER’S GAME (2013)

The sci-fi action film, starring Harrison Ford, is based on the novel of the same name -- written by controversial author Orson Scott Card.

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993)

Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder star in this period piece, based on the celebrated romantic novel by Edith Wharton.

THE CRUCIBLE (1996)

Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder are once again the go-to actors for classic stories, this one by Arthur Miller -- who wrote both the play and the film based on it.

Anna Karenina (2012)

Keira Knightley headlines this epic romantic drama, based on Leo Tolstoy’s 1877 novel.

TESS (1979)

This film adaptation of writer Thomas Hardy’s novel 'Tess of the D’Urbervilles,' stars Nastassja Kinski, who was best known at that point for posing with a snake wrapped around her body.