One that no one has mentioned is "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. A great book and a great TV adaptation -- although a series rather than a movie. And that might be part of the secret: Most books have too much detail to be successfully translated into a two hour movie. I think that is one of the reasons why the "Twilight" movies have been so bad (IMO), the other main reason being the awful acting (again, IMO)!