What was better - the book or the movie?

[jeep108]

I thought the first half of Gone Girl dragged.. I kept wondering why everyone thought it was such a great book.

.

[lexxy703]

I almost alwys like the book better.

[HoneyBBQ]

Jul 26, 2013 13:29:00 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

How about musicals?  Wicked was a much better musical than book.

It's got a phenomenal score and songs. So catchy, so fun. It's hard to replicate that in a book. Agree with you there.

[formerroomate99]

Usually, the book is better witha  few notable exceptions below.

With Jane Austen novels, the movies is better because you skip over a lot of chatter.  The Twilight movies could have done the same if they had gotten decent actors. 

With the Bourne Identity series, the book and the movie really only share a title, so it isn't fair to compare them. 

Lord of the Rings, First book, the movie beat the book, only because the first book was rather tedious.   With the second book, I liked them both.  With the third, I was really disappointed with the movie.  They cut out one of my favorate parts of the book and then added a buch of boring hollywood cliches that made the last 30-60 minutes of the movie just drag. 
 
Now that all the Harry Potter moves are made, I'll be reading the books.  And I'll wait until the Hunger Games moves are made before I read those books. 

[wvugurl26]

Wicked is a hard read for me. I'm still trying to get through it. I loved the musical though.

[quince]

I agree that Wicked was a better musical than book.  I liked the movies of LoTR better than the books. Agree on Princess Bride.  Anything with a novelization I tend to like the movie better.  I like the books of Count of Monte Cristo, Les Miserables, Three Musketeers, Man in the Iron Mask, etc, better than any of the movie versions.  

[Icelandic Woman]

Jul 26, 2013 13:53:00 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Jul 26, 2013 13:51:52 GMT -5 Icelandic Woman said:

I always think the book is better than the movie. The only movie that comes close to being as good as the book is Gone With The Wind.

It hit the high points and the story didn't suffer.

It's a beast to read though.  I try to do it once every decade. 

And I know I will probably get admonished for saying this I also liked the sequel written by Alexandra Ripley. The mini series they did for that was just so so.

[Deleted]

I haven't read any of the Hunger Games books either, but I did watch the movie last weekend. 

I was trying to figure out how they stretched out the competition over 3 books and then I figured out that the storyline is not only about the games, but the fallout from these particular games.

Maybe I'll read them while I am at jury duty on Monday. 

[Chocolate Lover]

Jul 26, 2013 14:15:30 GMT -5 Icelandic Woman said:

Jul 26, 2013 13:53:00 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

It hit the high points and the story didn't suffer.

It's a beast to read though.  I try to do it once every decade. 

And I know I will probably get admonished for saying this I also liked the sequel written by Alexandra Ripley. The mini series they did for that was just so so.

WHAT?!?!?!?!

Seriously, I read Scarlett and I read Rhett Butler's People (you can find it for like $5 in the bargain bin I'm sure).  I read Scarlett a million years ago and recently read it again after reading GWTW again. It seems like 2 different books in a way. I never did watch the mini series, no way I won't be sitting there thinking "that is NOT Rhett, that is NOT Scarlett".

At this point, I'm so far removed from the reading of both those books, I may smoosh them together in my head. It has been about a year or maybe more. 

[wvugurl26]

Jul 26, 2013 14:16:21 GMT -5 @beerwench said:

I haven't read any of the Hunger Games books either, but I did watch the movie last weekend. 

I was trying to figure out how they stretched out the competition over 3 books and then I figured out that the storyline is not only about the games, but the fallout from these particular games.

Maybe I'll read them while I am at jury duty on Monday. 

They are quick reads. The ending of the Games is only the beginning of the trilogy.

[Chocolate Lover]

Jul 26, 2013 14:24:22 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

Jul 26, 2013 14:16:21 GMT -5 @beerwench said:

I haven't read any of the Hunger Games books either, but I did watch the movie last weekend. 

I was trying to figure out how they stretched out the competition over 3 books and then I figured out that the storyline is not only about the games, but the fallout from these particular games.

Maybe I'll read them while I am at jury duty on Monday. 

They are quick reads. The ending of the Games is only the beginning of the trilogy.

I read all 3 in rather quick succession. And to give the movie props, DD sat all the way through it and paid attention instead of doing something else while watching. Even she realizes how rare that is and commented on it keeping her attention so well.  She has plans with my sister to make a viewing of the 2nd movie her birthday present this year. 

[sheilaincali]

Jul 26, 2013 13:16:23 GMT -5 jeep108 said:

Princess Bride was a better movie than the book. 

Ah man!  I just bought the book last week and have it on my list.  I love the movie so I was curious to read the book.

[Icelandic Woman]

Jul 26, 2013 14:23:29 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Jul 26, 2013 14:15:30 GMT -5 Icelandic Woman said:

And I know I will probably get admonished for saying this I also liked the sequel written by Alexandra Ripley. The mini series they did for that was just so so.

WHAT?!?!?!?!

Seriously, I read Scarlett and I read Rhett Butler's People (you can find it for like $5 in the bargain bin I'm sure).  I read Scarlett a million years ago and recently read it again after reading GWTW again. It seems like 2 different books in a way. I never did watch the mini series, no way I won't be sitting there thinking "that is NOT Rhett, that is NOT Scarlett".

At this point, I'm so far removed from the reading of both those books, I may smoosh them together in my head. It has been about a year or maybe more. 

Of course Scarlett was no near as good as GWTW but I did enjoy it. I never even heard of Rhett Butler's People.

[wvugurl26]

I need to rewatch Hunger Games. I was stuck in a crowded theater and the cloud of perfume and cigarette smoke from the woman beside me sent me into a total allergy and asthma attack. I'm sure I missed some stuff.

[Chocolate Lover]

Jul 26, 2013 14:29:29 GMT -5 Icelandic Woman said:

Jul 26, 2013 14:23:29 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

WHAT?!?!?!?!

Seriously, I read Scarlett and I read Rhett Butler's People (you can find it for like $5 in the bargain bin I'm sure).  I read Scarlett a million years ago and recently read it again after reading GWTW again. It seems like 2 different books in a way. I never did watch the mini series, no way I won't be sitting there thinking "that is NOT Rhett, that is NOT Scarlett".

At this point, I'm so far removed from the reading of both those books, I may smoosh them together in my head. It has been about a year or maybe more. 

Of course Scarlett was no near as good as GWTW but I did enjoy it. I never even heard of Rhett Butler's People.

I didn't either until I saw it at the Dollar Store for $5. I borrowed it from the library. There's also one written from the slaves' viewpoint. I think it's called The Wind Done Gone or something. I'll check my library site and see.....


ETA: Yep, that's the name. 

[sheilaincali]

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 
We (DH and I) both read the books and then watched the Swedish version of the movies.  DH fully expected to go into the Hollywood version and find they cut out the bulk of the bad stuff (her rape in the beginning and her tattooing the guy, etc).  I was really surprised that they left that stuff in the movie and didn't mind the movie.
Don't get me wrong- the Swedish version is much better but the Hollywood version was decent IMO. 

That being said- I think the reason the Hollywood version didn't do as well at the box office was because they kept that stuff in it.  I know when we saw it more than one couple got up and walked out of the theater.  If you read the books you know what happens.  Educate yourselves people! 

[zibazinski]

DUNE the book WAY better than the movie.

[wvugurl26]

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
We (DH and I) both read the books and then watched the Swedish version of the movies. DH fully expected to go into the Hollywood version and find they cut out the bulk of the bad stuff (her rape in the beginning and her tattooing the guy, etc). I was really surprised that they left that stuff in the movie and didn't mind the movie.
Don't get me wrong- the Swedish version is much better but the Hollywood version was decent IMO.

That being said- I think the reason the Hollywood version didn't do as well at the box office was because they kept that stuff in it. I know when we saw it more than one couple got up and walked out of the theater. If you read the books you know what happens. Educate yourselves people!

That's what I thought about it. It was way better than I expected.

[whoisjohngalt]

I NEVER do book and movie, it's either one or the other. 

[Deleted]

I couldn't finish Wicked the book either. 

Ill get slammed for this, but while I like gaiman, I enjoyed the Stardust movie better than the book. 

Almost always a book will do it better because of the detail, but I often can like both. 

[formerroomate99]

I like to watch the movie and then read the book.  

[Deleted]

It helped to watch Pi before I read it. Knowing where it was going helped me catch lots of foreshadowing in the text. 

I Did try to get people to talk about the book!

[Abby Normal]

I liked The Princess Bride as a book.  DS read it and loved it.  
Wicked was painful to read.  I never finished it, but I love the musical. 

Jane Austin is better as a mini series, than a movie. The cut out too much to make it a reasonable length.

Harry Potter- definitely better as a book because of all the details, but I really like the movies too.

[wvugurl26]

Jul 26, 2013 16:09:05 GMT -5 oped said:

It helped to watch Pi before I read it. Knowing where it was going helped me catch lots of foreshadowing in the text. 

I Did try to get people to talk about the book!

I completely missed that! I pulled it up at one point a few days after the deadline. I kept meaning to bump it up in the daytime when more people were on. I couldn't find it searching from the app and this site is blocked at my job.

[cktc]

I'm uncouth; I usually prefer the film version. There is very little to hold my attention if I don't like the writer's style, but a great director, actor, cinematographer, or soundtrack can easily keep me riveted, even if the film itself is not that great as a whole. 

[Apple]

I can do both, but usually like a movie, as a movie, better when I haven't already read the book.

One where I'm pretty sure I liked the movie better was Shawshank Redemption.  Love the movie, didn't even realize it was Stephen King at first (and with SK, the books are almost always way better).  There were some differences, but I liked some of the changes (in the story, there are two or three different wardens over the years).

I also really liked Misery, and Cathy Bates was also good in Delores Claiborne.

[Apple]

For the Hunger Games, the book explained the relationship between Catniss and Peeta much better than the movie did.  It just didn't come through clear enough in the movie.

I had already read the book before watching the movie, but a coworker hadn't.  I had to explain to him why it ended like it did, and all the things she did and thought in the book that didn't come through in the movie.

[sesfw]

GWTW .... liked both of them

Legally Blond ....... movie was far better than the book.  And the movie was a typical girlie movie.

Read all the Star Wars books after I saw the movies.  Liked all of them.

Lord of Rings ...... movies got a little too long ..... books I could pick up and put down.

Cats ....... love the musical.  The book is a small poetry book.  See and read both to understand what is going on.

[happyscooter]

Jaws-Definitely the movie.  Why did the book have Chief Brody's wife and Richard Dreyfus have an affair?

Little women-The book.

[NastyWoman]

Shindler's list.  The movie was by far more gripping (if that is the right word) than the book.  Keeping the movie in black and white with the little girl in the red coat was pure genius