Better than the book

So in my experience, I feel that the book version of a story is better than the cheesy Hollywood version 95% of the time. There are a few notable exceptions though; for example, I loved Everything is Illuminated, and found it to be better than the book. Could be because I saw the movie first, but usually that doesn't sway me one way or the other. Anyone else have any movies that they feel are way better than the literary version?

Tags: books, movies

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Permalink Reply by pterosaur on February 22, 2008 at 12:51pm: Fight Club; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Heather on February 22, 2008 at 1:55pm: Oh that's such a good one! I absolutaly loved the book, but you're right - the movie was fantastic!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Scott P on February 23, 2008 at 1:24pm: Yes, Fight Club always leaps to mind when this subject comes up for me. David Fincher is such a visionary.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew on February 22, 2008 at 1:04pm: The Shawshank Redemption.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Heather on February 22, 2008 at 2:36pm: Foreign versions count as well :]; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Slappy on March 17, 2008 at 2:45pm: The Shawshank Redemption.

Agreed.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J Derek on March 12, 2009 at 8:35am: Agreed.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Snorii on March 12, 2009 at 10:20am: Agreed; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by DaveTheTurd on March 12, 2009 at 7:59pm: DIsagreed.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Hoopy Frood on February 22, 2008 at 2:20pm: M.A.S.H.

Not the TV show.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kaotikitty on February 22, 2008 at 3:05pm: Jurassic Park (the first one) for me. I found the book way too academic (if I'd wanted a textbook...), the characters flat and unlikable, and frankly the two female characters were just there to scream and be useless, whereas the movie gave them more value.

And I disagree about Shawshank Redemption. :-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew on February 22, 2008 at 5:44pm: I agree about Jurassic Park. As far as Shawshank goes, I'm biased: it's my favorite movie, and I'd already seen it many, many times before I read the book.

My theory actually is that people tend to prefer whichever version they encounter first, be it the book or the movie. There are exceptions, of course (for instance, I can't imagine liking Jumper, even if I hadn't read the book it was based on), but I think typically that holds.

Ooh, another one: The Runaway Jury. The book was typical Grisham tripe, but the movie was suprisingly good.; ▶ Reply to This