Stephen King Goes to the Movies

by Stephen King

Stephen King revisits five of his favorite short stories that have been turned into The Shawshank Redemption (based on the novella "Rita Hayworth and the 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.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Anthologies, Film

626 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 20, 2009

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Reviews

[Edgarr Alien Pooh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for two reasons. (A) So I can one day say I have read all of the works of Stephen King and (B) because I very rarely re-read due to my massive TBR, I could use this as an excuse to re-read five of Stephen's best short stories.

The five stories in this book have all been published before and are all still readily accessible in the earlier books. They are;

1408
The Mangler
Low Men In Yellow Raincoats
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Children of the Corn

A quirky collection of five short stories that have been made into movies. 1408, The Mangler and Children of the Corn are all very brief reads but possibly the scariest three contained. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, known simply as the Shawshank Redemption in the movie title, arguably the best Stephen King book to movie adaptation held together amazingly by the great parts played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. There was quite a lot added to the movie that wasn't directly from the book but it worked so well. Low Men in Yellow Raincoats, more commonly known as Hearts In Atlantis again opens the reader up to elements of The Dark Tower series.

Speaking of The Dark Tower, the number nineteen which is prevalent throughout the series makes a distinct return in Children of the Corn. Read this book for one of the two reasons I stated at the start, or maybe both. Don't read this book if you want more than reprints of the actual stories, each is proceeded by a short one or two-page introduction by King that really doesn't give you anything to go on. The last chapter is called "my 10 favorite adaptions" and it is just a one-page list of SK's top ten. The Stand and IT don't make it (but I think they would now after remakes) and The Shining doesn't either (I know many of us to love the crazy Jack Nicholson movie but SK hates it with a passion). At least he is not egotistical enough to include Maximum Overdrive, his own personally directed disaster that was saved only by an awesome AC/DC soundtrack, but he was in the middle of his strongest coke years).

[Trudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really excited when I first heard that Stephen King was compiling a book about his favorite short stories that have been turned into films. I hoped and prayed for something that was a cross between On Writing and the ever so classic and insightful Danse Macabre -- but alas, what King fans get is a reprinting of five previously published stories.

Once I got over my initial (crushing) disappointment, I realized that the old stories are at least introduced by King, and these short intros are new. So at least that's something. Furthermore, the five stories he has selected are oldies but goodies, as the saying goes. Readers unfamiliar with King's shorter works now have a chance to see that not everything the master writes is of door-stop length. When he has a mind to, King can embrace shorter but sweeter and do a fine job. Anyone who hasn't read Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption is in for a real treat. If you haven't seen Frank Darabont's adaptation starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins rent it tonight! You won't regret it. It's wonderful, and not horror, but dramatic and sad and beautiful and hopeful.

[erigibbi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sapevo che Stephen King Goes to the Movies era un libro piuttosto inutile? Sì. L’ho voluto acquistare lo stesso solo perché sto collezionando tutti i libri di King? Sì. Pensavo fosse COSÌ TANTO inutile? No. Ne sono rimasta delusa? Assolutamente sì. Ve lo consiglio? Assolutamente no.
Il libro contiene cinque racconti che sono già usciti in precedenti raccolte dell’autore (raccolte che quindi io già possiedo e racconti che quindi ho già letto). I racconti in questione sono 1408 della raccolta Tutto è fatidico, Il compressore della raccolta A volte ritornano, Uomini bassi in soprabito giallo della raccolta Cuori in Atlantide, Rita Hayworth e la redenzione di Shawshank della raccolta Stagioni diverse e I figli del grano della raccolta A volte ritornano.
Questo libro doveva contenere un commento di King, come intro a ogni racconto, sui film che sono stati tratti da queste sue opere. Effettivamente l’opinione di King c’è, ma è un’opinione di nemmeno una pagina. Nemmeno una. Alla fine ci sono le dieci versioni cinematografiche preferite di King messe in ordine alfabetico (manco ci si sforza a metterle in ordine di preferenza, ma ok) e poi c’è tutto la filmografia fatta. Basta.
Insomma, un libro che nuovo costa sui 15€ (io almeno l’ho acquistato usato e ho risparmiato un po’) e che contiene sì e no dieci pagine inedite. Dieci. È chiaramente solo un libro fatto per puro marketing e con tutto quello che costano i libri (e con tutto lo spreco di carta che c’è) questo libro a me sembra una grande presa per il culo.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some great, classic King stories in here. Once again, I think i like him best when there is less horror because he is actually an amazingly beautiful writer.

1408 - 4 stars. Great short ghost story, reminiscent of Shirley Jackson.
The Mangler - 3 stars. Typical King with an unconventional monster and gnarly deaths.
Low Men in Yellow Coats - 5 stars. Stephen, you just get coming of age stories. This was a perfect blend of sadness and fear with an extremely bittersweet ending.
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption - 5 stars. Absolutely amazing.
Children of the Corn - 3.5 stars. Pretty standard. I found the protagonist quite shallow, but that's probably fairly common in such a short story.

[Bryce Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was a disappointment.

As someone who deeply loves Danse Macarabe and has always wished that King would get around to writing a sequel, I assumed that this proclaimed examination of the way some of his novellas and short stories have been adapted into film would be the closest I'd get to receiving that dream.

So imagine my dismay at the book store when I found out that this was NOT an examination of his stories and films that it was solicited as, but a cheap repackaging of a couple random novellas and short stories, accompanied by tossed off single paged "examinations" so poorly considered that it's easy to imagine King typing them one handed while scratching his nuts.

[Brett Plaxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really just picked this one up for the introductions to each of the 5 stories included in this collection and how the stories compare to their film counterparts. There’s also a list of King’s 10 favourite adaptations at the end of the book. Check it out!

[Murphy C · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/2025

Just reread "1408" this time. I forgot how utterly brilliantly the story is written! Uncle Stevie rarely (if ever) disappoints. I will probably reread "Children of the Corn" in a bit.

[A Turtles Nest Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Review to Come)

[Chris Haught · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this, but a little disappointed to see that the new sections are very brief. I was interested in reading the commentaries that King had on his movie adaptations. This has those, but only five and they are a page 1/2 or so each. It is still a good read, and the short stories are ones that I hadn't visited in a long time. It was like visiting old friends...I will give this book four stars, grudgingly. In truth, the stories themselves deserve five stars. But what felt like a deception on the part of the publisher and the brevity of King's new introductions bring this down some. I almost dropped it to two or three stars just for that. But honestly, judging the work from cover to cover, it is a great book. Four stars seems a fair middle ground.

It sure had the potential to be so much more....

[Addy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here’s a fun game! I’m going to write the blurb about this book on the back cover, so I can justify my confusion about what this book was about:
“For Stephen King, the experience of seeing his works of short fiction adapted for major Hollywood films has created its own tales, and he shares them here: five of his celebrated short stories, plus King’s personal commentary, his all-new introductions, and essential, behind-the-scenes revelations.”
I read this, and I thought I would be reading about an author’s experience watching his own stories being adapted into movies. That was a lie. This book contains five short stories!! I was tricked into reading an anthology of Stephen King short stories! On the whole, these stories were some of his better ones though. “Low Men in Yellow Coats”, which became the film “Hearts in Atlantis” and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” are still some of my personal favorites, and “1408” wasn’t too bad either; King does have a talent with the haunted hotel story. “The Mangler” was just too absurd for me to buy into, and the main character in “Children of the Corn” was so frustratingly stubborn, I yelled at the book. I also think that story would have been much more engrossing for me if the actual children of the corn were the central focus; they have a small moment of narration at the end of the story and for me, that was where I was the most invested. Their “Lord of the Flies”-esque society seemed far more developed than Burt the Brainless, who was in charge of the story’s narration until the penultimate page.
Moral of the story: I’m still a little offended that this wasn’t the book I signed up to read, but as far as the King’s short stories go, this was a pretty solid collection.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Výběr z pěti povídek a novel s osobními předmluvami Stephena Kinga vč. jeho hodnocení filmových zpracování. Kromě výborného a napínavého čtení, jsem Kingův fanoušek;-), je to opět zajímavý pohled na věčnou diskusi, zda je lepší kniha nebo film;-) V některých případech dokonce i sám King dává přednost filmové podobě svého psaného díla a to u filmu s velkým "F" - Vykoupení z věznice Shawshank!
Na závěr knihy to dokazuje svou osobní TOP 10 jeho nejoblíbenějších filmových adaptací;-) I když povídkových výběrů z pera Stephena Kinga vyšlo už mnoho, právě tento stojí za přečtení a to nemusíte být jen fanoušci jeho "kratšího díla", ale právě jeho filmových zpracování;-)

[Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Stephen King.

I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to his books and I have been one of his Constant Readers for quite some time. I still remember the first Stephen King book I read: Skeleton Crew. I remember the monkey on the front cover of the book filled me with delicious fright. I opened the cover and have never been the same since.

After reading his other non-fiction offerings (Danse Macabre and On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft) I was super excited to hear about Stephen King Goes to the Movies. It promised to be a treat. The book description described it thusly:

Now available, the #1 bestselling author reflects on the filming of five of his most popular short stories. Those movies are The Shawshank Redemption, 1408, Children of the Corn, The Mangler, and Hearts in Atlantis.

Includes an introduction, his personal commentary, and behind-the-scenes insights by Stephen.

On reading those words, my first thought was: HOLY CRAP! My second thought was: AWESOME!

I thought it would be really amazing to get a behind the scenes look, as it were, at the stories behind the movies. We would get the stories themselves plus personal commentary and behind the scenes insights? Oh, it was every Constant Readers dream!

Except, it was a dream that was never realized.

I should have flipped through the book when I was in the bookstore, but I was in to big of a hurry to get home and delve into the mind of Stephen King. Imagine my surprise when I got home and opened the book to find the five stories and not much else.

Stephen King Goes to the Movies consists of the five stories behind the films 1408, The Mangler, Hearts in Atlantis, The Shawshank Redemption and Children of the Corn. As for new content, Stephen King has written a brief (and I mean brief: one to two pages) introduction for each story. He’s also provided us with his top ten list of the favourite adaptations of his work.

At first, I was rather pissed off. I mean, the advertising made it sound as if the book was non-fiction, a real behind the scenes look at the stories behind the movies and behind the scenes insights behind the making of the movies.

And all we get is a book of five short stories and some short (very short) introductions?

I was not pleased to say the least. But I decided, after spending my hard earned money on the book, to read the stories anyway. I figured it would fill the gap between Just After Sunset (which came out in November of 2008 ) and Stephen Kings new novel Under the Dome (which won’t come out until the fall of 2009). So I decided to give the book a chance.

And, you know what? I’m glad I did.

It had been some time since I had read the stories contained within Stephen King Goes to the Movies. I remembered reading 1408 and Hearts in Atlantis, but The Mangler, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and Children of the Corn might as well have been new to me. I’ve read them, but it’s been years and I didn’t remember them clearly at all.

And you know what? They were good.

I mean really good. It felt wonderful to be surrounded by stories that held so many memories for me. Stephen King’s stories kept me company during many a dark hour during my turbulent upbringing; thus it’s little wonder that he inspires me so much.

The stories were so good, so scary, so moving. The most interesting thing about the stories contained in Stephen King Goes to the Movies, however, was that after a few pages into the story, I stopped picturing the movie. All I could see were the images that the story itself called to mind.

Though the new content in Stephen King Goes to the Movies is almost nil (really about ten pages worth of new material) that doesn’t matter. Before you put the book back on the bookshelf, give Stephen King Goes to the Movies a chance.

[Ripley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen King Goes to the Movies is basically just a collection of some of his more popular short stories and/or novellas that have been adapted into films. Each segment has an introduction with a few words from Stephen King and his thoughts in the film adaptation.

This book wasn't what I thought. I have already read all these stories before, some more than once. I expected a lot more explanation from King, I suppose. Maybe it's because I've already read these but I wanted more back story, comparisons, etc.
This book contains the stories The Shawshank Redemption, 1408, Children of the Corn, The Mangler, and The Low Men in the Yellow Coats. It's a good read for King fans as the short introductions to each story give some information, but it took me a year to read this book so that shows my lack of interest. It didn't really bring anything new to the table.

[Josef Komensky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book of short stories from a pen of the Master storyteller Stephen King.

This time with some background info about how several of his ( now ) famous stories have been actually created.

The reader of this book schuld read also Kings book About writing, because there is a slight connection between those two books.

I liked most the stories 1408 and Children of the Corn.

[Lenka Sadílková · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 povídek. 5 filmů. 5 skvostů z pera Stephena Kinga.
Tato kniha nemá vlastně žádný nový obsah. Všechny povídky, které zde najdete jsou zveřejněny v jiných Kingových dílech. Tyto konkrétní jsou navíc i zfilmované, ale já osobně nemůžu posoudit, jak moc dobře. No... Mám co dohánět.
•••
1408 je kratší povídka o strašidelném pokoji v hotelu, něco vám to připomíná? Ano! Osvícení. Ale nenechte se zmást, toto je něco úplně jiného!

Šroťák opět kratší zajímavá povídka z prostředí prádelny. Musím říct, že některé popisy byly skvěle brutální. 👌🏻

Ničemové ve žlutých pláštích. S touto jsem se trošku prala. Začátek byl docela zdlouhavý a celkově jsem k povídce tak nějak nepřilnula. Vyvrcholení a konec byl dobrý, ale celkový požitek mi nezlepšil.

Rita Hayworthová a vykoupení z věznice Shawshank. To bylo ovšem úplně něco jiného. Je to jediná povídka, kterou znám, už jsem ji četla a viděla i film. A byla jsem nadšená! Má asi nejoblíbenější povídka od Kinga. Vážně doporučuji všem, kteří Kinga třeba nečtou, nesedl jim styl jeho psaní nebo jste se k němu prostě jen ještě nedostali. Povídka se čte krásně, je tak akorát dlouhá a když to završíte filmem, věřím, že budete nadšeni.

Děti kukuřice je krátká, ale za to svižná a děsivá povídka z horké Nebrasky a polí kukuřice.
•••
Pro fanoušky autora toto asi není žádná novinka, ale pro ty, kteří mají radši filmy si myslím, že je fajn. Pustíte si film a kdo by si nechtěl přečíst jeho literární předlohu? Nebo obráceně? Povídka a pak film? To už je na vás...

[Gethin Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m gonna review each of these short stories separately then figure out what my average rating for them is.

1408 - love. Really eerie. Classic horror feel. I loved it. 5 stars on airbnb

The mangler - CAMP. Real Camp. Demonic laundry equipment. Love. 5 stars which best laundry equipment guide

Low Men in the Yellow Coats - Classic Stephen King. Coming of ages with some creep dark tower esoteric shit. But of course. Just a sprinkling of uncomfortable underlying stuff. Why is there a nonce in the end for no reason. Also 300 odd pages is not a short story. Fact. 3 stars would not be busting Harwich Connecticut

Shawshank Redemption - Suprisingly easy read dispite the coked up no chapter writing of kings 80’s writing. But I liked the pacing and the third person perspective of Andy. 4 stars, best rock hammer I’ve bought.

Children of the Corn - Eerie? Yes. Religious? Yes. Full of Action? Not really. Noncey? Yes. Love a book that’s like here is a town run by uber religious kids who kill adults. Also they fuck eachother. 2 stars, I’ve called the police.

In summary. Stephen king hates all the films that’s been made of his books, and he love to sprinkle some noncy shit in it if there’s children characters.

[Tineke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has been described as a money-grabber and I must agree. There are no essential behind-the-scenes revelations and his personal insights and all new introductions were comprised in two pages per story. There was nothing new about those either. I hoped to get some funfacts or things that I really needed to know to gain some insight into the stories or the adaptations.
The stories itself were good though.
1408 I had read before, which was a fun story. I feel like I watched the film, but I haven't. So this means I have imagined (while reading) this one quite clearly.
The mangler was new to me, which was okay. I think I missed a bit of resolution.
I liked Low men in yellow coats, but I felt the story ran a bit too long and Children of the corn was scary, but I disliked the way the conversations, thoughts and behaviour ran.
I loved The shawshank redemption and I think I might look out for the film.
I like my scary stories to feel like it could be possible and in my opinion you do that with realistic behaviour, conversations and thoughts even though the event itself is very improbable. Take me to the place where I think: 'What would I do in this situation?'

[Fabricio Fernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro prescindible que presenta cinco historias anteriormente publicadas en otras colecciones del autor. La excusa de su publicación (y del título) es comentar brevemente las adaptaciones fílmicas de 1408, La trituradora, Hampones..., Rita Hayworth... y Los niños del maíz.

A priori suena interesante, pero los comentarios son brevísimos, no alcanzan siquiera la categoría de ensayos (como algunos quieren calificarlos) y, encima de todo, son insípidos y sin ningún valor; meras anécdotas y una que otra acotación socarrona, nada más.

La única razón para tener este libro es completar la vasta bibliografía de King, nada más.

[Robin van der Weiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een leuke bundel van allemaal korte verhalen die verfilmd zijn met een leuke introductie van King zelf waarin hij zegt wat hij van de verfilming vindt.

1408 4/5
Kort, claustrofobisch, effectief

The Mangler 2/5
Grotesk, overdreven, rommelig

Hearts in Atlantis 3/5
Melancholisch, warm, nostalgisch

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption 5/5
Hoopvol, tijdloos, meeslepend

Children of the Corn 3,5
Sterk idee, vlak uitgewerkt

Totaal = 18 sterren / 5 verhalen = 3,6 ster gemiddeld. Ronden we af naar 4.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I didn't realize this book was going to be reprints of some short stories. I thought it was going to be more like SK's thoughts on the movies vs the books or behind the scenes stuff or something. Totally my fault.

I'd already read the stories before, so I only read the author's introductions, which are always interesting. But they were very short! And I reread the Mangler as a refresher. Of course all the stories are great but a little more new content would've been cool.

[Brandon McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gets 5 stars for 1408, Shawshank redemption, and Hearts in Atlantis which were all really great

The Mangler was kind of silly and the idea of a demon possessing a piece of machinery at a laundry plant and then going on a bloodthirsty rampage is just ridiculous.

I’ve never seen the movie, but Children of the Corn was dumb and easily the worst of the 5.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

1408 - 3.5*
The Mangler - 2.5*
Low Men in Yellow Coats - 5*
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption - 5*
Children of the Corn - 2.5*
3.7* rounded to 4*

[Greg Jablonski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book for Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and also really liked 1408, Children of the Corn, and Hearts in Atlantis (Low men in yellow coats). All the stories were enthralling and spooky. A good introduction to Stephen King’s novellas. It was also interesting to get his commentary and the movies that were made from each of his stories. Highly recommended

[Charis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great compilation with a little author's note before each story. Fabulous cover design and a great excuse to re-read some of King's short stories!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just so we're clear - this is an anthology book. There's no new fiction from the King here, what you see are 5 "short" stories culled from other volumes that have been made into popular films and been gathered into this one book. What are the stories? "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", "1408", "Low Men in Yellow Coats", "The Mangler", and "Children of the Corn".

Purists might argue that these are the wrong choices. After all, nearly all of King's books have been turned into great films. "The Shining", "Carrie", "Misery", "The Body" (Stand by Me), "The Green Mile", "Cujo", "It", to name but a few. So in a way if you want to read some great movies, pick up any King book and chances are it'll be even better than the film. You could also argue a book of short stories that were turned into great films already exists - "Different Seasons" features 3 of 4 stories that were made into tremendous films. But anyhoo, I think the publishers wanted to explicitly point out to anyone not in the know that Stephen King has written a lot of great stories that have been turned into a lot of great films. And here it is.

"The Mangler" is an odd choice, a crappy story about a haunted laundy mangler. Yeah, it's as bad as it sounds and I've never heard of the film. I'd read "1408" and "Shawshank" before and of course seen the amazing film adaptations. The new ones for me were the deliciously trashy "Children of the Corn" (Wicker Man meets Lord of the Flies) and the 300+ page "Low Men in Yellow Coats" filmed as "Hearts in Atlantis".

The last King fiction I'd read was the godawful "Lisey's Story" which put me off King for 5 years. "Low Men" brought me back to the fold. No messing about with idiotic colloquialisms, lack of plot, bad characterisation - here was the King I loved. A fantastic coming of age story of tragedy between a young boy, his unloving mother, and a mysterious lodger in the attic. It's the start of "Treasure Island" crossed with King's own "Dark Tower" books. The character of Ted Brautigan was endlessly fascinating and his relationship with Bobby was brilliantly realised.

I'm not sure why this collection was published but I'm glad it was if only for me to spend some time on holiday in King's fantastically written world of 1960's east coast America. For King fanatics they'll buy it for the 5 pages of new material introducing each story but for those who're fans and have read a lot of his work then chances are you'll have read most of what's in this volume already. "Low Men in Yellow Coats" though, wow. Loved it, just for that.

[Rishi Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was my first Stephen King so thanks to my friend who recommended it :)
Just the name of "Shawsank Redemption" was enough to drew me towards it as I have seen the brilliant movie so obviously the book has to be equally good if not better. That story is absolutely great and you will agree that the movie has done complete justice with the story.
There are 4 more stories here which have also been made into movies sometime or the other. 3 of these stories has a horror angle to it which definitely makes it a interesting read! It is the 5th story which really stole the honor for me here- "Hearts in Atlantis". It is absolutely great. A story told from the eyes of an 11 year old boy about his life which has all the elements of keeping us glued. The movie goes by the name of "Low Men in Yellow Coats" so might watch it some day too.
The book also has a rating by SK himself where he picks his best 10 movies based on his books which goes like this in alphabetical order - Apt Pupil, Cujo, Dolores Claiborne, 1408, The Green Mile, Misery, The Mist, The Shawshank Redemption(obviously!), Stand by Me and Storm of the Century.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise for a collection (if a bit of a cheat - at least I got it on clearance!) - several Stephen King short stories upon which movies have been based. The collection was about half a re-read for me - tho I'd not seen any of the related films.

"Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" is probably my favorite, as it seems so atypical of King's work. "Low Men in Yellow Coats" was also quite good - these are the two I had not read before. "1408" is fantastically unsettling, while "The Mangler" and "Children of the Corn" are classic King.

I also enjoyed King's musings on each of the stories/films as forewords and wish he'd expanded more on these, ala Danse Macabre.

[wally · Rating 1 out of 5]

wouldn't waste your time with king unless you get off on trashing others while simultaneously proclaiming all should be acceptable and honky dory.

and hey, recall the foreword to one of king's works where he assumes the role of a sleazy hispanic looking to make a deal? meester? you do? or you don't? either way, look for one review where someone calls HIM on his racism...and you won't find it because that's the way it goes.

so, knock yourself out if you're of that mindset. me, i will not.

[Kelly Hager · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this thinking it would be a book of essays about Stephen King's movies and maybe what he thought about them or how they were received. Nope. It's some of his short stories that have become movies.

It's worth reading, but you should probably just buy the collections they're in. I found it to be a pretty big waste of money.

[Inna · Rating 5 out of 5]

- 1408
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