Books vs. the Movie - Blu-ray Forum

deckardp · 10-14-2009, 02:10 PM

So recently I started thinking about books that have been made into movies and trying to think if their are any that I had truly thought were better than the book. I was really struggling to come up with any examples of this. Some of the worst movie adaptions have come from Stephen King novels. I never get the same feeling from the movies as I do from the books. They always feel lacking. That's just one example. I'm sure there are plenty more I could come up with. I would like to hear others' opinions on this though. Let me know of a movie that is better than the book.

Moefiz · 10-14-2009, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deckardp

So recently I started thinking about books that have been made into movies and trying to think if their are any that I had truly thought were better than the book. I was really struggling to come up with any examples of this. Some of the worst movie adaptions have come from Stephen King novels. I never get the same feeling from the movies as I do from the books. They always feel lacking. That's just one example. I'm sure there are plenty more I could come up with. I would like to hear others' opinions on this though. Let me know of a movie that is better than the book.

This is a tuff one, so far I don't think there was ever a movie that was better than the book..

cathexist · 10-14-2009, 02:14 PM

There are a lot of books that I have read AFTER watching the movie...and that usually makes me like both of them.

Timeline is by far the worst film adaptation of a book I have ever seen.

Christine was pretty bad too...but at least the car effects were kind of cool

Riff Magnum · 10-14-2009, 02:24 PM

I personally like the movie adaptation of "the Shining" better than the book, but i agree most other King adaptations are painfully bad. It seems almost half the movies coming out are based on short stories, comics, or graphic novels so it's getting hard to keep up with both sides.

Steve · 10-14-2009, 02:33 PM

While there have been some very good film adaptations of books, I can't think of a single one that I think is actually better than the book.

uziel5000 · 10-14-2009, 02:34 PM

I try to look at them as seperate things as it is very difficult to be 100% faithful to a book. When people start saying they didn't like a particular adaptation because they didn't include/changed a particular scene, what they are saying is they are pissed they didn't include/changed a part of the book they really liked so it is really a subjective thing.

Using Stephen King as a prime example, these things are hit or miss. A person's post above says he hates Carrie but others love it. It really depends. My favorite adaptation is my favorite all time film, The Shawshank Redemption. It is NOT completely faithful to the book but I think the changes made the film better than if they were.

Riff Magnum · 10-14-2009, 02:37 PM

Totally forgot about Shawshank. Add that to the list of "better" than the book.

deckardp · 10-14-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Totally forgot about Shawshank. Add that to the list of "better" than the book.

Have to agree there. I liked the original short story and they did a great job in expanding on it.

SquidPuppet · 10-14-2009, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Totally forgot about Shawshank. Add that to the list of "better" than the book.

The Mist as well. For me anyway.

Lacit170 · 10-14-2009, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Totally forgot about Shawshank. Add that to the list of "better" than the book.

isnt shawshank just a short story though??? does that really apply?

john_1958 · 10-14-2009, 04:59 PM

perfer the movies over books as books a person can never really grasp what a scene actually looks like example costumes, scenery

wallendo · 10-14-2009, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john_1958

perfer the movies over books as books a person can never really grasp what a scene actually looks like example costumes, scenery

But how do you know the director got it right. That is one of the nice things about books ... the reader can create his own image of what it looks like.

On the other hand, the movies' Hermione Grainger is better than the "mousy" character envisioned in JK Rowling's books.

uziel5000 · 10-14-2009, 07:38 PM

How about Jaws? Is the film better than the book? I haven't read the book so I don't know but given that the film is so highly regarded I wonder how the book fares against it.

Dotpattern · 10-14-2009, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uziel5000

How about Jaws? Is the film better than the book? I haven't read the book so I don't know but given that the film is so highly regarded I wonder how the book fares against it.

Jaws is one of my all time favorite movies. And I have read the book. I almost feel like the two should remain separate entities and not be compared. There is a lot more story in the book, while Spielberg (correctly, imho) made the story very lean for the movie.

And while you could complain about the plausibility of the ending to the movie, with the shark jumping onto the Orca and then being blown up...you have to admit it's a much more rousing ending than the one in the book. I was 5 when I saw it in the theater and I still remember the audience cheering through the roof when Brody destroyed the shark.

The book feels a bit anti-climactic by comparison. And author Peter Benchley has nothing but great things to say about the movie.

Btw, if you have 2 minutes, take a look at the Jaws Fan-Made Trailer I cut a couple years ago... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99-b8MW2l7o

Mahatma · 10-14-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deckardp

So recently I started thinking about books that have been made into movies and trying to think if their are any that I had truly thought were better than the book. I was really struggling to come up with any examples of this. Some of the worst movie adaptions have come from Stephen King novels. I never get the same feeling from the movies as I do from the books. They always feel lacking. That's just one example. I'm sure there are plenty more I could come up with. I would like to hear others' opinions on this though. Let me know of a movie that is better than the book.

The one that I have found better as a movie is 'Dr. Strangelove'.The book is quite dreary and dull none which can be said about the movie.

Weirded Wonder · 10-14-2009, 10:48 PM

I think the book Dune is so much better than the movie Dune (1984). But that book is immense, there is so much that isn't even in the movie or is changed because it is a movie.

P@t_Mtl · 10-15-2009, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beardmoen

I think the book Dune is so much better than the movie Dune (1984). But that book is immense, there is so much that isn't even in the movie or is changed because it is a movie.

Not sure if you saw them, give a try to the 2 mini series that were made about 7 years back, they are different and there is more details to them.

Weirded Wonder · 10-15-2009, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Not sure if you saw them, give a try to the 2 mini series that were made about 7 years back, they are different and there is more details to them.

I watched those, they weren't bad at all. I'm hoping those come to Blu. I'm hoping they come out with the Dune Steel that they released on DVD sometime with the theatrical and the Smythie TV version. Believe it or not, I still have my copy on VHS of the extended version of the 1984 Dune.

Sagacious Koreo · 10-15-2009, 08:32 PM

Since Contact came out on bluray recently I'll say that the book was way better than the movie. I liked how in the book it was a group of people going through the wormhole as opposed to one, and each person saw something different. Excellent movie either way, but I kind of wished they would've done it a little more like the book.

P@t_Mtl · 10-15-2009, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beardmoen

I watched those, they weren't bad at all. I'm hoping those come to Blu. I'm hoping they come out with the Dune Steel that they released on DVD sometime with the theatrical and the Smythie TV version. Believe it or not, I still have my copy on VHS of the extended version of the 1984 Dune.

I have the extended cut as well and I do wish those mini series make it to BD, they don't upscale too well

10-14-2009, 02:10 PM	#1
deckardp Special Member Member since:Feb 2009 Location:Northern Virginia Home Theater Gallery:17 Blu-ray collection:40	Books vs. the Movie So recently I started thinking about books that have been made into movies and trying to think if their are any that I had truly thought were better than the book. I was really struggling to come up with any examples of this. Some of the worst movie adaptions have come from Stephen King novels. I never get the same feeling from the movies as I do from the books. They always feel lacking. That's just one example. I'm sure there are plenty more I could come up with. I would like to hear others' opinions on this though. Let me know of a movie that is better than the book.

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10-14-2009, 02:14 PM	#3
cathexist Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Aurora, CO 4K collection:302 Blu-ray collection:1253 DVD collection:73 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:8	There are a lot of books that I have read AFTER watching the movie...and that usually makes me like both of them. Timeline is by far the worst film adaptation of a book I have ever seen. Christine was pretty bad too...but at least the car effects were kind of cool

10-14-2009, 02:24 PM	#4
Riff Magnum Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Apr 2008 Location:The Island Blu-ray collection:149	I personally like the movie adaptation of "the Shining" better than the book, but i agree most other King adaptations are painfully bad. It seems almost half the movies coming out are based on short stories, comics, or graphic novels so it's getting hard to keep up with both sides.

10-14-2009, 02:33 PM	#5
Steve Blu-ray Knight Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:May 2008 Location:Anna, TX 4K collection:128 Blu-ray collection:416 Trading Score:41	While there have been some very good film adaptations of books, I can't think of a single one that I think is actually better than the book.

10-14-2009, 02:34 PM	#6
uziel5000 Expert Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Vega Alta, Puerto Rico Blu-ray collection:103	I try to look at them as seperate things as it is very difficult to be 100% faithful to a book. When people start saying they didn't like a particular adaptation because they didn't include/changed a particular scene, what they are saying is they are pissed they didn't include/changed a part of the book they really liked so it is really a subjective thing. Using Stephen King as a prime example, these things are hit or miss. A person's post above says he hates Carrie but others love it. It really depends. My favorite adaptation is my favorite all time film, The Shawshank Redemption. It is NOT completely faithful to the book but I think the changes made the film better than if they were.

10-14-2009, 02:37 PM	#7
Riff Magnum Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Apr 2008 Location:The Island Blu-ray collection:149	Totally forgot about Shawshank. Add that to the list of "better" than the book.

10-14-2009, 04:59 PM	#11
john_1958 Power Member Member since:Mar 2005	perfer the movies over books as books a person can never really grasp what a scene actually looks like example costumes, scenery

10-14-2009, 07:38 PM	#13
uziel5000 Expert Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Vega Alta, Puerto Rico Blu-ray collection:103	How about Jaws? Is the film better than the book? I haven't read the book so I don't know but given that the film is so highly regarded I wonder how the book fares against it.

10-14-2009, 10:48 PM	#16
Weirded Wonder Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:May 2009 Home Theater Gallery:17 4K collection:593 Blu-ray collection:1177 Trading Score:51	I think the book Dune is so much better than the movie Dune (1984). But that book is immense, there is so much that isn't even in the movie or is changed because it is a movie.

10-15-2009, 08:32 PM	#19
Sagacious Koreo Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:May 2009 Blu-ray collection:685 Trading Score:3	Since Contact came out on bluray recently I'll say that the book was way better than the movie. I liked how in the book it was a group of people going through the wormhole as opposed to one, and each person saw something different. Excellent movie either way, but I kind of wished they would've done it a little more like the book.

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