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?
Jaws and The Exorcist were the two scariest movies I ever saw and I have to agree that the movies were pretty close to each, but the visual effects were necessary in both.
Oh man, you've hit one that is totally different. I hate bond movies, but love the books. They lose the entire "Bond is a psychotic killer" point that makes the books so brilliant.
One of my favorite films, Being There, was based on a really good book. It's one of the best adaptations I've seen because they did the right thing: they brought the author of the book on board to write the screenplay, which build upon the book. If you are a fan of the film, it's a fun book to read if you can still find it (I found mine used in a thrift store), but the film nailed it--of course, Peter Sellers in his career performance helped too.