Books & Music The book vs The movie

babypie

babypie

Member
Jun 3, 2007
18,877
2
#1
Generally I don’t like watching the movie after reading the book as I end up hating that the characters weren’t the way I imagined them myself. Rarely though, the opposite happens - I thought The Reader was such a good movie and actually better than the book!

I also tend to not read the trendy book of the moment when a movie is suddenly made from it, I end up not liking the book OR the movie in those cases - The Hours comes to mind.

Which books made from movies did you like?? Which did you hate??
 
#2
my favorite would have to be the lord of the rings trilogy. the most recent version of pride and prejudice with keira knightley, i thought was wonderful too. as for worse, even though it's a classic, to kill a mockingbird was really disappointing. it lacked a lot of the emotional gravitas of the book.
 
#3
if I haven't read the book but the movie comes out, I will see the movie 1st then read the book.

I hate watching a movie and then comparing the inconsistencies with the books.

i.e. Gone with the Wind.
 
#4
It's not a movie, but I read the first two Dexter books before watching the show. Then I started the third book and was unable to finish it. Michael C. Hall was a way better Dexter Morgan than I had imagined in my head.
 
#5
Overall, I do like to see the movie before reading the book, since I like to compare the differences. I find that movies often pale in comparison to the book, but there are times when I've liked the movie more than the book (Memoirs of a Geisha and Howl's Moving Castle come to mind.)
 
#6
I like the LOTR movies way more than the books! Lolita is one of my favorite books, but I hated the film versions. I think I like Sense & Sensibility the book and film equally though.
 
#8
I HATED really HATED (and still do) The Shining. Can't stand Shelley Dull-val and the fact they changed my favorite part of the book which was the topiaries which moved, into a stupid maze. I remember reading the book and knowing the movie was coming and thinking, how are they going to do the topiaries? Remember these were the days before CGI. More recently I hated The Time Travelers Wife and loved the book! And they stayed fairly true to the book but it felt so flat! I thought they did a good job with 1408 and both the Green Mile (I actually like the movie more!) and my absolute favorite is THE Shawshank Redemption! Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman rocked that movie!!
 
#9
I usually read the book and then watch the movie (sometimes viceversa) since I like to see if there are any differences. One of my fave book is Love in time of cholera, but I seriously disliked the movie because of the poor acting and bad make-up. On the contrary, I really loved Orson Welles' The trial: the book is one of my favorite ever and I really think that Welles did an amazing job. Earlier this year I read Wuthering Heights and I watched the movie (1939 version): I enjoyed both but the movie has a few omissions from the novel (especially the finale) and this was a no-no for me! I really like both Coppola and Browning's Dracula but I prefer the 1931 version because I'm a Bela Lugosi fan: I think I prefer it to the book. Another movie I like is Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968): I really like the idea he had of using real teenagers to play the lovers.
 
#10
99% of the time I always prefer the book to the movie. The few exceptions for me were "A Room with a View", "Fight Club" and the "Pride and Prejudice" BBC version.

But most of the time, movie adaptations are just awful. I could barely make it through "Atonement" and "The Time Traveller's Wife" movie versions (even though I loved the books).
 
#11
The Time Traveler's Wife is absolutely my FAVORITE book, but the movie... ohhh my. I know it's hard to depict the entire book in a movie but I felt like so many parts got left out that really contributed to the story and the characters. AND, in the movie Henry does still give Claire his mother's ring, but in the book it is an antique emerald (I think?) and in the movie it is a typical diamond. For me the emerald ring fits their characters better :smile: A tiny difference but it always stands out to me!

If I hadn't read the book I would still love the movie. And I don't hate the movie either, but knowing the story before hand makes the movie painful to watch sometimes because it just isn't consistent.
 
#12
^^swhit9290, I felt too much from the book was left out of "Time Traveller" movie. The movie made Claire out to be such a...I don't want to be mean, but in the book there was more conflict about her destiny vs. her freewill (in terms of marrying Henry). She was just very weak on film. I also missed Ingrid and the darker side of Henry. Yeah, those details would detract from the romance but they helped flesh out the characters.
 
#13
Twlight- books were better than the movies!
Lovely Bones- book was ok, movie SUCKED
Dear Jon- Book was pretty good, movie was stupid, and rushed
Last Song, the book was good, i liked it, and cried..the movie seems pretty poorly done, but i still cried in the end
 
#14
pl888 said:
^^swhit9290, I felt too much from the book was left out of "Time Traveller" movie. The movie made Claire out to be such a...I don't want to be mean, but in the book there was more conflict about her destiny vs. her freewill (in terms of marrying Henry). She was just very weak on film. I also missed Ingrid and the darker side of Henry. Yeah, those details would detract from the romance but they helped flesh out the characters.
Click to expand...

AND, the older Chinese woman who lived downstairs from Henry's dad..I can't remember her name but she was a huge part of Henry's life in the book and didn't exist at all in the movie. Henry's relationship with his dad was also a lot more strained in the book. I missed all the pop culture too, like their music taste and all the concerts they went to. I actually found myself disliking Claire in the movie to be honest..

Still love Eric Bana though lol he can do no wrong in my eyes:P
 
#15
I liked the book "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult, but I HATED the movie. I thought the movie was fine until the end. I really, really dislike when the movie changes things about the book that makes the book unique (like the ending in "My Sister's Keeper). The movie made it into just any old story that you might see on a Sunday afternoon Lifetime Channel movie. Grrrr.
 
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