The book is better than the movie… really?
One thing you’ll hear quite often when a book is turned into a movie is : “But the book is so much better than the movie!”
Children books, fantasy, fiction or non-fiction, it doesn’t really matter : a book turned into a movie is often a disappointment and, even when it’s not, it’s still not as good as the book.
I get it, of course! As a reader, I find myself most often on the side of the books – probably because words allow your imagination a certain liberty that visual representation doesn’t. There are books I have really enjoyed and disliked on the screen, or books I have loved and, though the movies were great, they would never be as good as the books (I’m looking at you, Harry Potters!)
But as I wrote my review for Whip it (coming this week), I found myself writing something I have never written so far in my short blogger’s life : I found the movie to be better than the book! Gasp! How can that be?
We hear so often about how movies based on books aren’t as good as the words they take their inspiration from, but today, I’m curious about the other side of the story : is there a movie you saw that you thought was better than the book?
For me, Whip it was the first instance in a long time where I really thought the movie to be superior to the book (I really didn’t get the book, sadly, but I’ve seen more readers adoring it!) Before that, I can only go back to the terrible experience that was the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I know its fans are legions and I’m probably in minority here, but the books were a pain for me. They had some beautiful moments, yes, but they were too few for my taste (although, I should admit I read those 10 years ago; my experience would probably be different now.) All this to say, that though I didn’t enjoy the words, I loved the movies. I have watched them many times since, all in their extended versions.
And yes; this post was only written so that I could add some eye-candy Aragorn somewhere on the blog. You caught me! 😛
Reading the Lord of the Rings book just ruined my excitement. I saw parts of the movie (I have never seen it, gosh) and I thought, such effects were good and the main character looked like Daniel Radcliffe, so why is can’t I get past the first chapter of the book? Orlando Bloom was lovely though. *u*
Harry Potter is such a beautiful book I will forever reread with a movie adaptation which is just as perfect but too short for an addict like me.
My only real example for this is The Prestige. The book was very good, but the movie actually added a few layers and changed a few things so that it was tighter and neater and actually more complex than the book.
I also liked the movie end of Watchmen better than the book’s end.
I’ve never even heard of Whip It, but I can think of a few times when the movie was better than the book. Forrest Gump comes to mind first.
Sometimes movies are better than books. It just happens. Like with The Hours – movie is INFINITELY better than the book.
I’ve never heard of Whip It though.
I rarely prefer movie adaptations to the book, but it does happen! One I can think of now is Julie & Julia. I really liked the book, but thought the movie was just that much better.
I’ve actually seen several movies that were better than the books they were based on. The major one was The English Patient. The book felt like it was a gazillion pages and it was boring as all heck. The movie just took all the good parts, so it was much better.
Thanks for the eye candy…love him!! Now I want to get my hands on the movie Whip It, which was made south of where I live in Detroit.
I’m with you. I want to love the books of “The Lords of The Rings”.
I’ve tried , really I have.
I find reading journeys and battles difficult. I can never orient myself.
But the movies have entered my world and helped me understand the books. Intercutting the stories actually helps me understand I think I may attempt the books again.
You are not alone.
I LOooved Whip It the movie! Didn’t even know it was a book.. and I believe you when you say the movie is better.. thanks for the warning.. I won’t let the book ruin the movie in my mind.
But but but.. Lord of the Rings is one of my fave books ever!!!!! And I do love, too, that the movie is faithful to the book.
The most awful book-turned-to-movie that I’ve read was Forrest Gump. The movie was just such a good ride that I imagined the book to be the same. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near as interesting as the film. Never read it!!
I love the Aragon picture! What a cutie! I definitely agree with you about Whip It! I love the movie but I read the first few pages of the book and put it down forever.
Really. I had been thinking about reading this one after loving the movie. Sad to hear it’s not quite as good.
Lex : I get what you mean. Reading the book felt a lot less exciting to me, too!
Firefly : Oh, I saw the movie but didn’t read the book of “The Prestige”. Your comment actually makes me more curious to read it and compare!
Kathy : Oh, I didn’t even know Forrest Gump was based on a book! I feel a bit silly now.
Amdanda : That’s another one I haven’t read. In fact, I did try to read the book but couldn’t get into it – but really liked the movie though,
Alita : It rarely happens to me, too. I haven’t read or seen Julie and Julia, but it does sound fun.
Heidenkind : I agree with your view on the English Patient. Though I still liked the book, the movie had a better pace!
Staci : Haha! I’m glad to see there’s someone else appreciating the candy 😛 Whip It was a really fun and cute movie, I hope you like it!
Cherrytree : Your point is good; I’ve been wondering, too, if reading the books after having seen the movies would help me understand what was going on. I also find the journeys to be a bit too long, but Tolkien is really good at descriptions.
Kiss a Cloud : I loved the movie too! It’s surprisingly close to the book, and yet the book wasn’t nearly as good. I think the writing is part of the reason! As for LOTR, I would be willing to give it another try in a near feature – especially since I first read it in French translation! Now I would try the original.
Vasilly : He is really cute, isn’t he! I did finish the whole Whip It book, but I found it a bit painful.
Michelle : Some readers loved it, so that might be just me! I would say to give it a try : the movie is really close to the book but the writing didn’t work for me. Also, I find the sport to be much more exciting in images than in words!