Has there been a film thats better than the book?

probably not



although films based on short stories or very short novels
sometimes manage to be more inspiring since they broaden a
theme that's boiled down to an essence in the story.

although the problem lies in the same thing, what's a true
gem in a short story setting can be ruined when you try to
make it into a full length movie or series.

brokeback mountain for instance on the one hand benefits a
lot from being made into a lengthy movie instead of being,
as not many people know, a 58 page story.

but likewise the film feels like it drags on too long in a
lot of places.

to be short i don't think any film can ever be better than
the book or story. different, yes. good, sure.

better?

IstenSzek said:

thats a good point about short stories, shawshank redemptian imo was improved as a film.

The Godfather is the only one I can think of

Fight Club

The Bridges of Madison County

Jaws IMO

I'll prolly get shot down for this...but "The Color Purple".

The Godfather

American Psycho

Trainspotting

jami0mckay said:

Yes, all of them. To paraphrase Jim Gaffigan, 'The movie was way better. Only took 90 minutes and no reading!'.

I liked Clockwork Orange MUCH better as a film, couldn't frikkin understand a word of the book

ZombieKitten said:

how about a glass of moloko?

Ace said:

ZombieKitten said:

Didn't like the book either, even the film went on for too long imo !

The Devil Wears Prada.

Never reading that damn book again but I loved the movie.

Ace said:

Hahaha. It's funny cause it's true!

jami0mckay said:

the book is cool enough but it just takes you about 30 pages to get used
to that language and by that time you're 1/3 through.

IstenSzek said:

we had to do it for school

ZombieKitten said:

and thats the feeling I got when I couldn't get into it, same when we had to read taming of the shrew at school!

jami0mckay said:

No WAY!

jami0mckay said:

torturous

Xagain said:

the book was FAR better. there were very important themes which were left out of the movie, which to me completely re-define the point of the whole book. i've read this book more times than any other book, and i'm sure i'll read it a few more times before i kick off.

I'm not going to say that the film is better than the book, but the Lord of the Rings movies are far far far better paced than the book. The book was a tedious read for me. I mean, he goes on for page after page after page with one storyline to the point where I just gave up once.

Imago said:

and I remember the hobbit songs by tom pompdiour or whatever his name was in every chapter, so boring
[Edited 8/2/07 6:05am]

The Silence of the Lambs captured the book perfectly. I remember thinking every scene was just how I saw it in my head while reading the book.

Anxiety said:

Pfft. Bah.

Imago said:

I can see that. The Tom Bombadil stuff wasn't missed by me.

And, I also thought the Narnia film was at least as good as the book. I hope "Caspian" is as good.

I don't know about better, but there are some that are maybe just as good.

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
The Shining
Misery
LOTR--not as good but ranks about as highly as a film as it does as a book.

Here's one...



With multiple directors, multiple screenwriters (who essentially rewrote the book), and a perfect cast that will forever go down in history, I think it may be the definitive film that's better than the book!

And, given the time period the movie was made, it has held-up remarkably well and become a part of our culture.

purpleunderground said:

I like that book much better. The movie is iconic, true, but the book's tone is much more interesting to me than the film. I especially like the chapter about the community of China Dolls who lived in constant fear of being broken.

SnakePeel said:

I didn't read "Fight Club", but the movie did nothing for me. I just thought it was weird. Did you like it? Or was is just the lesser of two evils?

Xagain said:

I thought "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" was almost as good as the book, but no where near as good as A Horse and His boy and some of the other stories.

They could have found better children actors though.