I was wondering if anyone has read a book and seen the movie version and actually liked it better. The only movie version I liked better than a book was Requiem for a Dream, but if the soundtrack wasn't so epic, I probably wouldn't feel that way.
The Shawshank Redemption was based on a book by Stephen King and it's considered one of the greatest movies ever, and one of my personal favorites
I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and LOVE the book but have never been able to get through the movie. ^ that's going to get me flamed I'm sure, so let me revised. I TRIED to watch the movie once but was too stoned to know what was happening, so I returned it and haven't rented it since, but it's on my list of things to do.
With Fear and Loathing, the movie and the book are about equal in my eyes. I saw the movie first and so Johnny Depp's performance played a major role in how I pictured what I was reading, but at the same time there's a lot more in the book that they didn't have in the movie which was interesting. You have to keep in mind that the movie isn't a biopic of Hunter Thompson, it's an adaptation of a pseudo-factual account. When he wrote, he exaggerated a lot and the movie is sort of like a live action cartoon, in my opinion.
I agree with you and I'm not in any way putting down the movie, just saying I enjoyed the book much more. Actually, I read it at a music store I worked in, all in one day. Of course, my opinion is probably partially scewed too since I've never seen the whole movie.
I enjoyed the Interview with a Vampire movie more than the book. Also, Jaws and maybe even Jurassic Park.
Another Stephen King story that translated well to the movie screen is Stand By Me. It's based on the story The Body, in the book Different Seasons.
good topic. but so far all the books i read were better than the movies. i'm trying to think of a movie i'd concider better but nothings coming to mind.... i guess after you spend so many hours reading a book its hard to say a movie is better. theres just way more info in books, ya can't fit everything into a movie.
Yes dude I love Stand By Me. That movie was so beautiful and reminded me of being a kid again. Camping out in the woods in Savannah and walking down railroad tracks all day... it was the life.
*Transferred from the Fight Club thread* Fight Club is one of the rare prominent novel-to-film adaptations in which the film is actually superior IMO. I'm not really a Chuck Palahniuk fan to begin with but regardless, the novel really wasn't anything to get excited about. I found it far too muddled and convoluted, and after viewing the movie, entirely underwhelming. The highlights lay with Tyler's random anecdotes (paraphrasing: 'Did you know that if lighting strikes you it could easily fuse the zipper to your penis?') throughout. They're are very different but I feel like Fincher and Uhls both exploited and romanticized the strongest aspects of the novel successfully, which is essentially the fundamental necessity to creating a strong adaptation. I'm not really in love with that film like a lot of my friends are, I mean, it's good and I love Terry Gilliam and all but the book's absolutely incredible, it's one of my favorite novels. I guess if I was to describe it I'd say the biggest issue is that the humor's too obtuse in the film. I had tears in my eyes reading that passage about Hunter pointing that 'ear' at people on the Vegas strip. In the film it's not even remotely funny, it just comes off as random and referential. The visual aspect was fantastic though, that scene where he's waxing political while the parade went on outside was great and I can't not mention that tripping sequence in which the floor starts crawling, very realistic depiction.