Films Better Than Books

[WileyDairyGnome]

The film Misery (based on Stephen King's book) is definitely way better than the book. The movie is so amazing, it's one of my favourites. I've actually watched it multiple times in one day. I read about half the book and it just wasn't as good.

 

[Valjavertjinn]

I really love the Lord of the Rings movies, but the books are okay. 😀

 

[Kanazaka]

Definitely Jaws. The book spends too much time on a subplot involving Hooper and Mrs. Brody (

Spoiler

yes, he's having an affair with her

). Also, it's much more exciting to see the shark attacks than imagine them.

 

[Flannen]

Fight Club. Maybe this is just because I'm not the biggest Palahniuk fan, but I didn't like the novel all that much. It had its good parts, but I didn't think it was exceptionally well-written or groundbreaking. I preferred the film's take on the material - it's sharper, wittier, and frankly more interesting.

I couldn't say which was better, personally. All I say with the book and film for Fight Club is that watching the film helps you to understand the book better and reading the book helps you to understand the film better.

With Harry Potter, I love the books and the films equally and have come to see and appreciate them as two separate things. I'm hugely interested in how the films were made and the reasons behind the decisions they made and that has given me a massive new appreciation for the films. I think a lot of people underestimate how much involvement J K Rowling had, for instance and the way she felt about certain choices.

Lord of the Rings I have a similar relationship with. The films are simply amazing and pure cinematic genius. That being said, Tolkien's literature is amazing and you can't fault the guy for the world he created. There are some bits I skip (Tom Bombadil) and the text is hard going but he put so much into it.

The most recent film adaptation I watched was One Day. I was worried about what it would do to my love of the book, but I actually really enjoyed it. I found that it made Dexter Mayhew a much more likeable character and kind of had a more objective view of what happened between them, as opposed to the book which I felt put the reader firmly on Emma's side. I'd still say the book was better though.

 

[badwolf]

Not a film but the tv show Dexter. I read the first book, and I thought the show was in a whole different league. Also, Twilight. Not a fan of the Saga, but I thought the films were definitely better than the books.

 

[Tome]

Lord of the Rings. The books were mostly boring... The movies were epic.

 

[AmazingMrCross]

I'm gonna go with The Godfather on this one, even though I don't hold that movie as closely to me as others do. Mostly because the book has a subplot

Spoiler

about a woman falling love with a doctor who surgically fixes her giant vagina, in the middle of a book about a Mafia family.

I mean COME ON. I thought I was reading a book about an evolving crime family. Thankfully the movie leaves that part out. It didn't belong in the same story.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I usually find that comparing a film with a book is like comparing an apple with an orange.
The descriptions of a person can go into what a person is thinking, that's hard to do on film.
A film can show a landscape, whereas writing all of that in a book could get boring.
A film can be a hundred people's interpretation of a book that is of one person's imagination and skill.

 

[Mithol]

The only one I can think of is Lord of the Rings. I don't know if the films are necessarily better than the books because they are so different after all, and I haven't read the books in like ten years, but whereas the books were just really good books, the films were actually the best of the best of films ever - the very top.

Blade Runner comes to mind. But I don't know if I could make a comparison there either since the book and the movie are so different. In fact, if I remember correctly, there was only one scene in the book that was also in the movie.

I know this will be shocking to a lot of people, but I genuinely dislike the Harry Potter books, and love the films.

I study English Lit as part of my degree at uni, so it's not like I'm not a book lover, and I can appreciate that the Harry Potter books are good, but I just dislike the way JK Rowling writes, it's not to my personal taste.

I can understand that some people might not enjoy the Harry Potter books as much as I do (since I love them as much as anyone could ever love a book), but to like the films more than the books? The films are pretty much as average as films go, aside from the special effects, so I don't understand that at all.

 

[Cast No Shadow]

I can understand that some people might not enjoy the Harry Potter books as much as I do (since I love them as much as anyone could ever love a book), but to like the films more than the books? The films are pretty much as average as films go, aside from the special effects, so I don't understand that at all.

I'm not saying this in an antagonistic way, but I think it's because for me (strictly my opinion - not trying to verse it as fact) the books were below average.

I enjoyed the films in the same way I enjoy Stardust, Mamma Mia etc, it's not hard hitting or particularly thought provoking, but it is enjoyable, whereas for me the books weren't.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I am saying the Harry Potter books were written below par. I say that because, the first few story's had a good edit done before being allowed to go to press.
Unfortunately, with sales exceeding 100 million copies, the author released stories without enough editing done.
I'm not commenting on the content of the story, just the way the books were written.

 

[fly on the wall]

I almost always prefer books to movie versions, but one exception I can think of is Fight Club. For me, the story just had a bigger impact as a film.

 

[Washburne]

I can appreciate that the Harry Potter books are good, but I just dislike the way JK Rowling writes, it's not to my personal taste.

I get that. To me it doesn't matter how good, or bad, a book is. It needs to be written in a way that I appriciate. Not that I can tell you exactly which way that is. I try read a book and then find out.

I absolutely love the Lord of the Rings movies, and I've tried to read the books as well, but it just didn't work. After trying a few times, I got stuck at book 2. I still really want to read all the books, but it find it to be pretty hard. So I wouldn't say that the movies are better per se, but I just can't really concentrate while reading the books.

They sure aren't written for me either. I can be stubborn though so one summer I forced myself to go through the three books. Never again. Since then a new, supposedly "easier" version has been released. I should try one of those to see if it makes a difference.

I watch a lot of movies but I don't read much, I don't see the point of it. If you read to learn something that's great but to read books just for fun, what's up with that?

What's the point in watching shows or movies? Listening to music? Dance? Do sports? Running after a ball trying to get it into a net or even worse, run without having a destination just for the sake of it? If something isn't your (general) thing it can be difficult to see the point of it.

If reading is something one has problems with I get why one would avoid it but other than that reading can be amazing. Entertaining, exciting, scary(?) and makes you use your imagination.

The Shawshank Redemption, but it almost seems unfair to include this because the film expanded so much on the source material (which, for anyone who didn't know, was a short story by Stephen King).

First: You're alive. And here! Great to see you. Ok, to be honest I did think you'd be alive but it's great to have confirmation. 🙂

I really need to read that since I love the movie. Don't know why I never have.

 

[Jules]

With me it depends which I do first, whether I watch the film or read the book the original seems to impress me more. I love the Twilight books. I read those before the film came out, but the films lack a lot that was in the books and I find that some of my favourite scenes are either missed out or done badly. On the flip side, I watched the Lord of the Rings films first and tried to read the books, I even started with the Hobbit but couldnt get past the first couple of pages.

 

[Cast No Shadow]

The film Misery (based on Stephen King's book) is definitely way better than the book. The movie is so amazing, it's one of my favourites. I've actually watched it multiple times in one day. I read about half the book and it just wasn't as good.

To quote Andrew in Showtime: The book was scarier than the movie, 'cause instead of crushing his foot with a sledgehammer, Kathy Bates chops it off with...

 

[WileyDairyGnome]

To quote Andrew in Showtime: The book was scarier than the movie, 'cause instead of crushing his foot with a sledgehammer, Kathy Bates chops it off with...

LOL! I got so excited when he referenced Misery! 😀

 

[Cast No Shadow]

LOL! I got so excited when he referenced Misery! 😀

But my Andrew quote is also a genuine Claire belief, Misery is an amazing book!

 

[This Year's Girl]

I think the lord of the rings films were better as movies than as books. But I only read half of the first one, so I can't state that with certainty. 🙂

I also think that "the hours" was a better film than the book was. But I enjoyed the book too!

 

[mudslides]

I prefer Practical Magic the movie to practical magic the book, but mostly thats just because of THAT house and the feel of the movie. I do like the book, and actually like the house described in the book, but the movie is just, yum.

 

[Taake]

I prefer Practical Magic the movie to practical magic the book, but mostly thats just because of THAT house and the feel of the movie. I do like the book, and actually like the house described in the book, but the movie is just, yum.

Oh wow, I didn't even know Practical Magic was based on a book! I love the movie though, and agree on the house.

Ah, how I feel my little LotR heart stabbed each time someone says the movies are better 😉 Just makes me want to crawl under a rock with my books, crooning "my precious... my precious"