Movies based on books - a good thing or not?

[Tip the Bottle]

I see no reason not to look to books when looking for movie ideas. Just look at movies like 'The Godfather", "To Kill A Mockingbird", "The Wizard of Oz" there are just so many fantastic movies that have been inspired by or based off of books.

[StephenKingman]

Good point, and there are many many books out there that would make great movies but for one reason or another- most likely getting the right producer or cast, they never see the light of day. Certainly books can be made into great movies if it is done right.

[Holly1234]

I generally find that movies based on books poorly represent the full extent of the emotions intended to be there which come through much more clearly in a book. There are many movies which do reflect the book and are good but most leave out important events or characters; Also I agree with the comments about characters being wrongly portrayed which is dissapointing when characters are supposed to be heroic and have strong characters and they are played either by inaccurate actors/actresses or are wittled down to seem weedy.

[AutumnPhillips]

If I have ever read the book/books BEFORE watching the movie or TV show, I am ALWAYS furious with how much they changed, re-arranged, and completely altered the theme of the book/books (ESPECIALLY with all of the TV adaptations in the last 4 years...). Honestly, I usually just accept that that's the way of the world, and go back to reading the ORIGINAL books... Unless I really loved the book/books that has been adapted for TV, which has only happened once: That HORRIBLE "Hannibal" TV show. It's supposed to be a "pre-quel", and yet, it doesn't follow the story in the books AT ALL. The worst part is, the characters are NOT accurate representations of themselves! The things that the characters on the show do all the time, the ORIGINAL characters in the books would never do!

[Endlessbooks14]

It depends on the type of book and. Ow they make the movies. Some good movies that have been made based on books are The Giver and the Hunger Games. But recently I have seen the trailer for the Girl on the Train and it way over sexualize. Some books should just be left for the reader's to conjure their image of the plots and characters.. But once in a while you come across a good movie based on the book that is done nicely and makes you want to read the book.

[erica_bvs]

When the directors stick to the original scripts in the books and remain true to the authors the movies should be pretty good. Often the directors and actors try to create their own version, one that is not that close to the original, and that is when I am very disappointed with the resulting movie. When a person reads they get to imagine the setting and characters for themselves and sometimes movies crush a little of that free imagination.

[MrsReadsAlot]

I really feel that books should not be turned into movies. Now before you try to change my mind hear me out. When you read a book and you really enjoy the book, for me I get an image in my head of all the characters and what they look like and how they would be in real life. My imagination turns the book into a movie all on its own in my head. Then I see the movie, it is completely different than my version and it really ruins the book for me because my imagination had its own version and interpretation of the characters, locations, and events. For this reason I will never go see movies based on books because I just like my versions too much!

[melissamwolff]

I don't always like books turning into movies because they keep a lot of things out. If you don't read the books, the movies are fine but if you're comparing the two...i'll always choose the books versus the movies

[fsdred]

I think it is a good and a bad thing. On the good side, we get to see the director and writers own point of view, how they see the plot differently to the way we do. On the other side; the bad one, we become enraged if they miss a character, skip a part or mess up your favorite line.

Verdict: It is both a good and a bad thing.

[lakenbutler]

Eh, sometimes. Like the Harry Potter series- awesome movies, right? But if you actually read the books. They left out so much important crap.

[Booky_BettyC]

Every book seems to be making it to theatres lately. I'm honestly starting to get a little sick of it. Before this started happening, I was actually excited to watch a movie based on a book. Everyone knew that if it's that good of a book, then the movie must be awesome. Now, I find myself staying away from them because a lot don't make an interesting movie. Some books just need the imagination of the reader for it to be good. Therefore, it makes a boring movie.

[fallenechoes]

I tend to think that movies based on books can be a good thing if you go into it not expecting a carbon copy of the book. You should expect that they will take some liberties with the book and generally they do that with the author's permission. But if you go into the movie expecting the book more often then not you will be disappointed.

[egymalika]

I don't mind the movies made from books. So long as I have read the book first. However this always turns out to be a problem for me since once I have read it, I look for discrepancies in the film. I hate how they usually go off so far from the actual script. But I do understand that films require certain aspects that books don't have to include.

[Dravyn98]

Once in a while you'll find a movie-based book thats better than the book itself but these are few and far between

[psychopathycathy]

Some book to movie adaptations are amazing and really bring the story to life, but it's true that for the most part, they're disappointing. Still, sometimes I do see a movie that is different from the book but was a great movie anyways, so why not?