Ever Liked the Movie Better, O Fellow Bookworm?

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NadineTimes10
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Ever Liked the Movie Better, O Fellow Bookworm?

Post by NadineTimes10 »

Hey. Books, particularly fiction ones, have always been my thing, pretty much ever since I learned the alphabet, and I know how the sayings go. "The movie is never as good as the book" and "Never judge a book by its movie" and whatnot.

And, granted, I usually do prefer the book version of a story over the movie version, but there are times, I'll admit, when I happen to like the movie better.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult--the reading was going nice and fine for me, right up until the end, where I felt suddenly shortchanged. The ending of the 2009 movie wasn't the perfect fix, I don't think, but I still feel it was better than the novel's.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks--a sweet and heartwarming kind of read, but I felt the 2002 movie made Jamie and Landon truly memorable, particularly by making something "more" out of Jamie, without compromising the character of her character. Plus, the song "Only Hope" makes me teary. :)

The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott--the classic author's long-lost first novel, written in her teens, with a heroine so sweetly perfect that she became positively tiresome. The 1997 movie version made Edith character's real--still sweet, but real.

I'll not list any more at the moment, but how about you? Have you, even being the bookworm that you are, ever liked the movie version of a story better than the book version?
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Post by bookowlie »

Good question! I always always prefer the book better. In fact, I think the movie version often spoils my vision of the characters. There are a few exceptions:

- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - I am not a big Nicholas Sparks fan, but I loved this movie so much that I read the book after seeing the movie. Even after reading the book, the movie still came out on top.

- The Client by John Grisham - I am a huge Tommy Lee Jones fan. The book was ok, but the story really came alive in the movie.
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Post by NadineTimes10 »

bookowlie wrote:Good question! I always always prefer the book better. In fact, I think the movie version often spoils my vision of the characters. There are a few exceptions:

- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - I am not a big Nicholas Sparks fan, but I loved this movie so much that I read the book after seeing the movie. Even after reading the book, the movie still came out on top.

- The Client by John Grisham - I am a huge Tommy Lee Jones fan. The book was ok, but the story really came alive in the movie.
Ah! Nicholas Sparks again. Yes, I've watched The Notebook three or four times, and it pretty much gets me every time.
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Post by jadestar31 »

I have to agree with The Notebook. I felt like the movie had this heart and warmth that the book didn't give me. I found the book almost forgettable, but that movie has stuck with me.

I also add Fight Club, The Princess Bride, and The Fault in Our Stars to my "movies better than books" list. I liked the books, but I LOVED the movies. I think I had a problem connecting to the characters in those novels, but in the movies, the acting was so incredible that it drew me in and actually made me love the people.

It's definitely really rare for me to say that though.
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Post by NadineTimes10 »

jadestar31 wrote:I have to agree with The Notebook. I felt like the movie had this heart and warmth that the book didn't give me. I found the book almost forgettable, but that movie has stuck with me.
Yes, sometimes where book characters may fall a little flat, actors bring them alive onscreen. (And sometimes the opposite happens--flat acting of a character who seemed more alive in the book, but I suppose that would be a different forum post. :D )
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Post by Rachaelamb1 »

It's very rare that I like a movie better than the book. The only one I can think of is Lord of the Rings. I loved the movies but never was able to finish the books. I've tried to read the first book 3 times but always got stuck around the same part so for me the movie wins.
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Post by teacher_jane1 »

I think the Princess Bride is the only one for me! Cary Elwes is a magician.
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Post by yett23 »

The book almost always is better than the movie because there are episodes in the book which the movie, in its limitations, sometimes drops. This is true with Harry Potter where a few characters in the books didn't appear in the movie versions. However, I agree that in Lord of the Rings, the movie seemed more riveting. I usually watch the movie version to see how much of it sticks to the book, and I often get disappointed.
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Post by NadineTimes10 »

yett23 wrote:I usually watch the movie version to see how much of it sticks to the book, and I often get disappointed.
Yeah, sometimes filmmakers aren't looking to "remake" a book's story for the screen so much as they're making a movie based on a book's original idea only. For the most part, I've learned to view books and movies as separate works, which they are, and so I can usually appreciate each work of art for what it is, but the times when a story's onscreen version strays far away from the book, I wish the filmmakers could at least give the film a different title instead of calling it by the book's name.
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Post by RussetDivinity »

There are a few, mostly because the books had rather flat characters. The Lord of the Rings, as had been mentioned already, but mostly for Boromir (Eowyn in the books is infinitely better than in the movies) and The Chronicles of Narnia, though it helps that the movies are less heavy-handed about the religious symbolism in that case. The books were great for a Catholic girl, but for a young adult experimenting with atheism, they were rather infuriating.
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Post by NadineTimes10 »

Narnia! My liking for Lewis's books and Walden Media's movies is pretty equal (so far--it remains to be seen what the next movie will do), though the movies did tap into the dreamer in me in a way the books didn't.
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Post by Rabidwerewolfie »

The only movie I personally have liked better than the book was Interview With A Vampire. There were little things that irked me, like changing the brother to a wife and child and a few missing scenes, but overall I thought it was actually a great movie and still do. Whereas the writing style of Anne Rice has never really impressed me. It feels too flowery and dry. I can't really describe it better than that.

Queen of the Damned movie on the other hand..... For the sake of the soundtrack (which I love) I just pretend it has NOTHING to do with the franchise and the similarities are nothing more than a huge, unfortunate coincidence.
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Post by kimberlyrav »

Its rare to like a movie over the book, but I really must say that with the Harry Potter books, I LOVED LOVED LOVED the movies better. I love seeing books come to life through movies but sometimes they are terrible. I just finished reading a book called The Majorettes. Afterward I found out there is an old 80s movie of it. I watched it just last night and it was terrible. Hardly any of the good stuff was in the movie.
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Post by NadineTimes10 »

Rabidwerewolfie wrote:... For the sake of the soundtrack (which I love) I just pretend it has NOTHING to do with the franchise and the similarities are nothing more than a huge, unfortunate coincidence.
What an awesome idea! :lol: I might have to steal that strategy.

-- Sat Apr 04, 2015 10:13 am --
kimberlyrav wrote:I just finished reading a book called The Majorettes. Afterward I found out there is an old 80s movie of it. I watched it just last night and it was terrible. Hardly any of the good stuff was in the movie.
Yikes. I know the feeling. Seen a couple movies where the only similarities to the books were some of the characters' names, pretty much. Those are the times when I wish the movies could kindly find different titles by which to be referred. :)
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Post by crysraddon »

I agree I do usually prefer the book over the movie as well, especially when I read the book before seeing the movie. Though I agree with you on My Sisters Keeper. Defiantly better as a movie at the end.

Though I don't like reading the book after seeing the movie if it is exactly the same. I feel like I can't create my own images of the story and characters I only picture what the movie showed me. :?
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