I agree. I really didn't mind the plot line elaborations. I'm not sure it would have made for a very interesting movie without them.
Movies that ARE better than the book
- Thread starter heybatter
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I agree. I really didn't mind the plot line elaborations. I'm not sure it would have made for a very interesting movie without them.
Always an interesting topic. As I have said before, I think Godfather and Godfather II are better are better than the book.
I guess Fight Club is the better movie, although it helps to have read the book to understand what is going on.
I would call American Psycho kind of a tie, although again it helps to have read the book in seeing the movie.
No Country for Old Men may be a tie, too. I thought the book and the movie were both fantastic. I am not sure how I feel about The Road. I do not think I liked either, and I like Cormac McCarthy a lot.
2001 was a much better film than book.
I think I liked A Clockwork Orange better as a book.
Ender's Game was a far better book, IMHO.
Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Bond--to me the books were much better in each case.
I have never read Deliverance. I could see the movie being better than the book, though.
Jaws. In retrospect, I guess I am not that impressed with the movie or the book. Maybe I could give it to the book.
Not many movies I can think of are nearly as good as the book.
A better comparison might be of a book and a TV series based on the book. I would still give the edge to the book, but Lonesome Dove was a mighty satisfying mini-series. I cannot think of many examples of that either.
Was there a book of Chinatown? Midnight Cowboy?
Blade Runner may have been a better movie than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
I guess I did not read Gone with the Wind.
Silence of the Lambs may be one where the movie was better.
Carrie was a better movie, as I recall.
Stand by Me was a better movie.
I guess Fight Club is the better movie, although it helps to have read the book to understand what is going on.
I would call American Psycho kind of a tie, although again it helps to have read the book in seeing the movie.
No Country for Old Men may be a tie, too. I thought the book and the movie were both fantastic. I am not sure how I feel about The Road. I do not think I liked either, and I like Cormac McCarthy a lot.
2001 was a much better film than book.
I think I liked A Clockwork Orange better as a book.
Ender's Game was a far better book, IMHO.
Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Bond--to me the books were much better in each case.
I have never read Deliverance. I could see the movie being better than the book, though.
Jaws. In retrospect, I guess I am not that impressed with the movie or the book. Maybe I could give it to the book.
Not many movies I can think of are nearly as good as the book.
A better comparison might be of a book and a TV series based on the book. I would still give the edge to the book, but Lonesome Dove was a mighty satisfying mini-series. I cannot think of many examples of that either.
Was there a book of Chinatown? Midnight Cowboy?
Blade Runner may have been a better movie than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
I guess I did not read Gone with the Wind.
Silence of the Lambs may be one where the movie was better.
Carrie was a better movie, as I recall.
Stand by Me was a better movie.
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Million Dollar Baby, Friday Night Lights, A Christmas Story, Jurassic Park. I'm sure there are others that I can't think of right now. I like No Country for Old Men and the Godfather better as books but both are great movies, and I've never read Jaws or any Bond books so can't comment on those.
Star Wars. I've read all the books. The movies brought everything in the books to life and more. Lord of the Rings is another excellent series of books but the movies were well done, something that could not have been achieved until good CG was developed.
Didn't novelizations follow the movie for Star Wars?
Jumper. Giving the story less angst and a clear enemy helped improve the plot. Also, seeing all those places, and the director's visual effect for jumping, improved the story. The book didn't give much about the locales, assuming I guess that you've been there.
Forrest Gump...the book is one of the worst I have ever read.
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. I read Stephen King's story and enjoyed it darned near as much as I enjoyed the movie with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.
A&E's Pride and Prejudice from 2001.
Lawrence of Arabia.
Batman series with Christian Bale.
Dead Man Walking.
The Green Mile.
Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson.
Hamlet with Mel Gibson.
Dances with Wolves. I haven't read the book, but can't imagine it being any better than the movie.
A&E's Pride and Prejudice from 2001.
Lawrence of Arabia.
Batman series with Christian Bale.
Dead Man Walking.
The Green Mile.
Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson.
Hamlet with Mel Gibson.
Dances with Wolves. I haven't read the book, but can't imagine it being any better than the movie.
Star Wars IV: A New Hope was published 6 months before the movies release.
It was still based on the script and sold as merchandising for the film. I did like the little bit of added detail that came with the book, but still felt it was a second-rate copy of the script.
Jurassic Park
I'm a big Michael Crichton fan.
I'm a big Michael Crichton fan.
The Godfather. The book, like all of Puzo's novels, is a pulpy mess. The three movies (yeah, I'm including Godfather 3) are far suprerior to anything Puzo could've written. That said, the novel did get the ball rolling, bad as it was.
Agree on the Godfather. We actually posted this at the exact same time and I had to edit my post.
Also Bladerunner, La Confidential, Die Hard,
Also Bladerunner, La Confidential, Die Hard,
This is a tough one. The Excorsist...I'm going to have to think of some more.
Clockwork Orange, Shawshank Redemption, The Illustrated Man (gotten horrid reviews for over 40 years but it's worth a watch IMO.)
+1. The film media really worked well with the story and the film was brilliantly done and edited.
Princess Bride (the intro by the author made me lose all respect for him. Who insults their own children in print?!)
The Hunt for Red October (Sean Connery versus an overly lengthy book with numerous subplots and details that made it hard to follow what was going on)
The Hunt for Red October (Sean Connery versus an overly lengthy book with numerous subplots and details that made it hard to follow what was going on)
Group me in with those that thought The Princess Bride and Blade Runner made better movies that the book/short story.
I agree with most of what posted above.
John Boorman's Excalibur is a much better telling of the legend than many of the ones set to paper and ink.
To Have and Have Not as a film is much better then Hemingway's original story.
Also,
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
High Fidelity
Apocalypse Now
In a slightly different direction -- Games of Thrones as a TV Series is FAR better the GRRM's convoluted, overly-contrived and often pointlessly meandering books.
John Boorman's Excalibur is a much better telling of the legend than many of the ones set to paper and ink.
To Have and Have Not as a film is much better then Hemingway's original story.
Also,
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
High Fidelity
Apocalypse Now
In a slightly different direction -- Games of Thrones as a TV Series is FAR better the GRRM's convoluted, overly-contrived and often pointlessly meandering books.
