Book first or movie first?

[Vanessa1234]

I would read the book first before watching it in the movie. Because the story in the book shows the whole and original happenings in the story. Sometimes the story in the book and in the movie are not totally the same. So much better to read the book first.

[BreezyJr]

I prefer watching the movie than reading the book first

[ea_anthony]

Book first then movie. I especially enjoyed doing this with Harry Potter, read each book first then would go watch the corresponding movie. I had always enjoyed books more than movies (I like movies a lot) but movies (Hollywood) has been getting better and better. Honestly with Harry Potter, I am hard pressed to pick the books over the movies especially "Deathly Hallows".

However with Game of Thrones (and this is not a happy realization) as good as the books are (A song of Fire and Ice series) and the books were really, really good (though slightly ponderous), I sadly have to pick the TV adaptation (HBO) over the books (happily the TV show has gone ahead of the books so I can use that as an excuse for picking the show).

For real not too many years ago, it was a given when talking with avid readers, it was always book over film and there were too many examples - The Ten Commandments (pitted against the book of Exodus in the Bible, The God Father, Carrie and Fire starter (Stephen king), Silence of the Lambs (As good as the movie was - won the Academy awards in top 5 categories including best actor [Anthony Hopkins] and best actress [Jodie Foster]), t was still book over film.

Have movies now caught up because of technology? As I don't think quality of writing is or has reduced.

[Nanig83006]

Book first! If I really can’t avoid it, I’ll occasionally see the movie first. It depends on the situation. The book gives deeper insight to the characters and plot than the film actually covers.

[ea_anthony]

Book first! If I really can’t avoid it, I’ll occasionally see the movie first. It depends on the situation. The book gives deeper insight to the characters and plot than the film actually covers.

I agree with you, however films seem to be giving deep insights into character and plots these days. Casino Royale for example really captured the origins of James Bond. Designated Survivor (Netflix) does marvelous things for characterization. Older action films like Die Hard, The Devil's Advocate and more recently Taken (1 and 2 especially) were able to take me to places where only books used to.

[Nanig83006]

Book first! If I really can’t avoid it, I’ll occasionally see the movie first. It depends on the situation. The book gives deeper insight to the characters and plot than the film actually covers.

I agree with you, however films seem to be giving deep insights into character and plots these days. Casino Royale for example really captured the origins of James Bond. Designated Survivor (Netflix) does marvelous things for characterization. Older action films like Die Hard, The Devil's Advocate and more recently Taken (1 and 2 especially) were able to take me to places where only books used to.

I know most of those titles, but I've only seen Taken. I didn't know it was a book, so I'll have to hunt it down and give it a read. The film was quite enjoyable. All the titles you mention are action-packed and those aren't my cup of tea. My personal genre is YA, Sci-Fi, and Science Fantasy. From what I've seen on adaptions with those, something is ALWAYS cut out. And worse, it's something important. Maybe scene writers/directors approach movies differently based on genre on what to keep and what to remove. Either way, you are correct in your opinion. There are films these days which do capture the spirit of the original story. Netflix definitely tries its best to make sure any film it does is great.

[ea_anthony]

My apologies, the film Taken was not adapted from a book. I just meant it was a great movie like the others I mentioned (except for Casino Royale - Ian Flemming) which I had watched and made me feel I was reading a book as they had full characterizations, insight and plots.
And yes what I wanted to convey - "There are films these days which do capture the spirit of the original story". Thanks.

[ObsessedBookNerd]

I like to read the book first because you imagine how the characters are supposed to look/act & know how the story line is supposed to go. It’s more creative to read first because somethings just can’t fully be shown to you on screen as described in the books(Screen budget can prevent important events/people/objects/places from being in the movie). I like to be able to watch the movie & see how faithful they were to the books or if they completely demolished the awesomeness of the book.

[sennie]

Definitely the book first. With the short timeframe of a movie, it's obviously going to come with a few scene changes, so it's more filling for me to take in as much content as I can first before going to see the movie.

And as a control freak, it's super satisfying knowing what's going to happen in each scene when I go to see it

[Sharill Rasowo]

For my own sanity, I would rather watch the movie first. I have a bad tendency to constantly compare the book to the movie while I am watching it. Inevitably things will be left out in the movie as it has limited time to tell a story.

[Noraine Alissa Poria]

honestly, I don't watch movie adaptations of the books that I've read(I used to before) because I don't want to be disappointed by the movie, but if I heard a adaptation of a book that I haven't read and i find it interesting I will watch the movie and later buy the book to compare them.

[mani_123]

With me it always happens that I first watch the movie or tv series and then I read the book. This is not a choice but it happens. And for me it helps because reading a book after watching a movie helps me imagine and understand the story very easily and vividly. Usually movies don't include a lot of scenes from the books and that's what makes it more interesting reading the book after watching the movie because now you can connect to the characters you saw in the movie way more easily. Usually watching a movie after reading a book takes away the essence of the movie.

[papinjoku]

If I watch a movie first, I loss the interest in reading the book, so first I go for the book, then the movie

[cosette1789]

I usually try not to watch the movie of a book I've already read and become attached to. If I really enjoyed a movie and felt like there was something missing, I would read the book, but otherwise I wouldn't mix the two in my head.

[Kajori Sheryl Paul]

Hands down its book first. Books gives us the exact picture that the author is trying to portray. Movies, on the other hand, due to time constraints, inadvertently miss out some parts that we may have found interesting. Having said that, a good film adaptation of a book is always welcome.