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Someone once told me that in order to be able to enjoy both the movie and the book it was based on, you just have to treat them as two completely unrelated pieces of art. This sounds like a great piece of advice, but it also seems like most of us still haven’t reached that level of zen where the whole “books vs movies” thing can be ignored. 

The conventional belief is that movies based on books are never as good as the books themselves. “The book did it better!” has become an iconic, albeit slightly ironic, phrase for comparing things. Even the biggest franchises — you know, the ones with all the wizards or powerful rings — did not escape criticism for not getting it quite right. 

It may look like books made into movies don’t stand a chance, but in fact, that’s not entirely true. Some books to movie adaptations are at the very least as captivating as the source material they were based on. Of course, a lot of things have to come together for this to happen, but the point is history knows such cases, so it is not completely impossible.

And then there is a whole other category of book-to-movie adaptations where the film turns out to be more developed, more interesting, more relatable, and just in every way better than the book. How does this happen? That’s probably a question for the directors and the crew to answer, but it definitely shows that comparing books with movies doesn’t always have to be negative for the latter.  

For this article, we collected some of the best movies based on books that according to the audiences turned out better than the source material. Do you agree with this selection? You can vote for your favorite ones and also add in the comments other movies that did it better than the books they were based on.

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#2

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption

"It was part of a four-part novella release by Stephen King. The story was very short but very well written. I just feel like the movie really captured the spirit of the story and gave some depth to the characters. Plus, the acting was great."

amazon.com , jonny_walkman Report

#3

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park

"John Hammond from Jurassic Park was much better in the movie. In the book, he was kind of your standard greedy businessman. In the movie was a dreamy idealist with good intentions, which made it so much more heartbreaking when the park inevitably failed."

blazedblueberry comments: "I actually also noticed they switched the little boy and girl characters in the book and movie. In the book, the little girl is basically useless and whines and complains the whole time, while the boy saves the day almost exclusively. I thought it was cooler for the movie to split up the character traits more evenly between the two."

amazon.com , reddit.com Report

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Mafia!
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

THE SECOND movie was better than THE SECOND book... But the original Jurassic Park novel is freaking spectacular.

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#4

Might Be Unpopular But I Think The Princess Bride

Might Be Unpopular But I Think The Princess Bride

"I found Buttercup's character way worse in the book, even to a point where I was like okay dude cut ties you're better off without her, and in the movie I never feel that really."
 
reconjsh comments: "For fans of the movie, there’s a book called “As You Wish” by Cary Elwes about the behind-the-scenes stories of making the movie. It’s a great and funny read. There’s crazy stuff like Andre the Giant's 16-second farts and him passing out in a hotel lobby because he drinks alcohol by the barrel. Or Mandy Patinkin slapping Andre because he wasn’t saying his lines fast enough."

amazon.com , AlkalineSoul Report

#5

Shrek!

Shrek!

"They took a 36-page book and turned it into the greatest movie of all time."

amazon.com , krakrocks Report

#6

Jaws

Jaws

"Jaws, because everyone in the novel is a terrible person, and a lot of the tension in the film is removed because the guys hunting the shark just get to go home every night in the book."
 
Podlubnyi comments: "Steven Spielberg said when he read the novel he found himself rooting for the shark because the human characters were so unlikeable. The movie got rid of unnecessary subplots like the Mayor's involvement with the Mafia and Ellen Brody having an affair with Hooper."
 
cooscoos3 replied: "The movie got rid of the unnecessary subplots like the Mayor's involvement with the Mafia and Ellen Brody having an affair with Hooper. Sounds like there was so much subplot, if they made it today it would be a trilogy."

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#7

The Mist

The Mist

" Even Steven King agreed."
 
User replied: " The ending really went the darkest freaking route possible and that took a lot of guts from the filmmakers."

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#8

Forest Gump

Forest Gump

"Forest Gump was way better that the book it was based on."
 
CandyAppleSauce replied: "Came here for this. Read the book in high school because I loved the movie (the soundtrack for the movie was my favorite album for most of my junior year), but that was just...it was something, anyway. That being said, Groom did get the right 'flavors' of the Deep South and especially Alabama into that book. Still, the movie was better."

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#9

Fight Club

Fight Club

"The book had a better ending, but it was written in such bizarre style it was a chore to read. And it's a short book too."
 
"This just in, did you guys know that the author Chuck Palahniuk also liked the movie better than the book?"

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#10

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox

"It’s my favorite book of all time, but goddamn that movie is incredible. Wes Anderson just made it his own thing. The movie has so much more characters. Mr. Fox in the movie is so charming and intelligent, but also 10 times more arrogant than he was in the books. But he makes up for it in the end. Also, his backstory with the wolf is amazing. Mr. Fox is also so much goddamn better. In the book, she literally did nothing except cook the huge meal at the end. The scene in the movie where she fights Rat with a chain still gets me pumped up. And don’t even get me started on Ash and Kristofferson. Oh my god, what a goddamn improvement from the three small foxes from the books. Ash is so goddamn relatable, and Kristofferson is so lovable. Their parts in the movie were my favorites."

amazon.com , oh-lawd-hes-coming Report

#11

12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men

"I found the book boring but the film resonates even decades after I watched it."

amazon.com , empressofglasgow Report

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Nonesuch
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Watched this numerous times! No music in this film, interestingly. Many, many great actors in this one

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#12

Who Framed Rodger Rabbit

Who Framed Rodger Rabbit

"The book was supposed to be written as film-noir, but it ends up as a disjointed mess. The characters are there, but they have none of the charms of the movie. Eddie isn't a good man, who's ruining his life with booze after the loss of his brother; he's a drunk asshole, just because. Roger is dead. Etc...The plot is also different; the movie took the idea of humans and Toons interacting, and went in a completely different direction." res30stupid replied: "The book was called 'Who Censored Roger Rabbit' with the censoring being akin to murder. The sequel stories are sequels to the film, not the original book."

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#13

How To Train Your Dragon

How To Train Your Dragon

"In the books the dragons are little and caught to fish and do other chores."
 
catwizard727 replied: "To be fair, the only things that the books and movies share are some names and other things like that."

amazon.com , KingdomComeNarnia Report

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and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah the books and the movies are basically different series. The books are ok, although fishlegs is SKINNY and it’s WEIRD.

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#14

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

"Sets it up really well for the dad to save the boy at the last minute, and then he doesn't get there in time. Much more hard-hitting than the book, where they don't realize what happened till much later."

Shintoho replied: "See I always thought the book worked better because it presented things from the kid's perspective, who doesn't really understand what's going on, so it takes half the book before you realize that they're living at a death camp and his father is the commandant."

amazon.com , BertieTheDoggo Report

#15

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle

"While the book explained the characters better, the movie was so beautifully done and tells a story about compassion and life that the book doesn't."

amazon.com , okayrinne Report

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and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Howl is really weird in the book. I don’t want to spoil it but it’s very different. I definitely prefer the movie.

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#17

Stardust

Stardust

"Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Neil Gaiman, and the Stardust book was really good, but the movie was absolutely enchanting. I mean, seeing Robert DeNiro as Captain Shakespeare? Life-changing. Not to mention a much better ending."

amazon.com , twilighttruth Report

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Sonja
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I loved the book, I adored the movie! This example I can get totally behind and I liked the ending much better!

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#18

The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada

"I have admiration for the people who made the story for the screen because the book is nothing similar. Amazing movie that came out of a very meh book."

amazon.com , mattywadley Report

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Laura Lett
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hated the book. The movie, wasn't much better. I do like the way Miss Merle portrayed Amanda...

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#19

Dances With Wolves

Dances With Wolves

"In the book, Dunbar stays with the natives and I felt it was out of character with what had happened before. In the book, he is even packing his things to leave, but it's then convinced to stay. I feel the movie was a better ending. Plus the sheer epic scope of the landscapes and the buffalo hunt were even more incredible than I pictured in the book. That movie is one of the greatest westerns ever made."

beets_bears_bubblegm replied: "Also, the soundtrack brings me to tears, without watching the movie. It was incredible."

amazon.com , Krinks1 Report

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Watched it once, and will never watch it again, because of what happens to the animals at the end. Upset me then, upsets me to think of now.

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#20

Gone Girl

Gone Girl

"I keep telling people they should be considered two different narratives, book and movie, but man David Fincher blew it out of the park with his adaptation."

amazon.com , wellguesswhatpumpkin Report

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Dave Fontana
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The book is one of the greatest I have ever read, no joke. The film is also very good, but I'd give a slight edge to the book just cause of Gillian Flynn's writing. I really wish she wrote more.

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#21

Schindler’s List

Schindler’s List

"The book was almost unreadable."
 
MrSlipperyFist replied: "The book is written without a particular protagonist in mind, and reads like it's being observed by a fly on the wall for the most part. I enjoyed the book as an observation piece - like a documentary, perhaps - while the movie was, well, a movie. They're both excellent, in my opinion. The same subject matter, the same events, same "feel", but is presented differently because of the mediums and the perspective, i.e. the movie is largely through the eyes of Schindler, Stern, Goeth, and occasionally other characters for brief times; whereas the book is almost through the eyes of someone who both is and isn't there if that makes sense."

amazon.com , Bucktown_Riot Report

#22

The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn

" It was one of my favorite movie as a kid, I didn’t even know it was a book until I was in college. Now, the book is amazing, and the movie is extremely true to the book, more so than any other book-to-screen movie I’ve ever seen. BUT, the book is not intended for little children, and the cartoon movie adaption is completely fine for little kids. I love that I can introduce my toddler girls to some of my favorite literature so early on, and they absolutely love it."

amazon.com , Squirrelgirl25 Report

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#23

Last Of The Mohicans

Last Of The Mohicans

"Boring slog of a book, epic period-piece action movie."
 
Hedwigbug comments: "Thank you! I read the book because I loved the movie and it was brutal. I told this to my AMERICAN LITERATURE PROFESSOR and she said, 'oh you poor thing. Nobody likes that book.'"

amazon.com , Nythoren Report

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey, watch what you say about this one. James Fenimore Cooper is a distant relative of mine, something I am very proud of—-and I actually liked the book AND the movie adaptation (even though not quite true to the book, it did catch the mood and the times, and the cinematography was breathtakingly beautiful). So try to be tactful, OK?

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#24

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

"They rearranged a lot, pulled things from multiple books for 1 movie, and made it so the main character actually has some growth. In the books, he remains the same unchanged sociopath who learns nothing."

amazon.com , Dawpps Report

#25

American Psycho

American Psycho

"The movie did a fine job portraying how insane he was. There were passages in the book that almost made me put it down and stop reading it, just too much. Pure shock value."

amazon.com , xArbilx Report

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cadena kuhn
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The writer hates the movie...why you ask? Because a woman directed it. That's it that's the whole reason

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#26

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

"Actually seeing the garden was amazing, and the acting was incredible."
 
GenXSabbaticle comments: "It really matters which one. The 1993 film with Kate Mabry is a MASTERPIECE of resonant imagery and storytelling. I used it to teach archetypal analysis and quest stories to high-school seniors for years. Then I finally read the book and I was like, 'Where is all the awesome STUFF?? This is so shallow!'"

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Sonja
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope, nope, nope. The film was very shallow and aimed for cheap drama, while the book is a quiet and deep coming of age story. Book is much better

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#27

Blade Runner

Blade Runner

"The novel was good but the movie perfected the tone and quite honestly I thought Deckard was written better for the film."

res30stupid replied: "Yeah. The replicants in the books were just bastards (Rachel murders one of the few surviving animals to get back at Deckard) and the setting was just weird, with cults forming around animals. The film helps by humanizing the replicants and cutting the animal worship out."

amazon.com , mindfeces Report

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Jamie Mayfield
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The book had a certain comedy mixed with the absurd which made a statement about people's desires and how they are programmed into us. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is a much deeper dive into the motivations of man and calls into question our own humanity. Completely disagree but would say I am a huge fan of both and see them as very separate. Blade Runner is incredibly different from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and that is why I can love them both equally, because I don't see them as the same story.

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#28

Big Fish

Big Fish

"The movie explores the wondrous world of the father's outrageous stories, but the book lacks all that lavish imagery. Instead, it's just a bitter retelling from a spoiled child who thought his daddy didn't love him enough."

amazon.com , cavaliereternally Report

#29

The Martian

The Martian

"Mainly because the visuals were amazing and it made the story so much better to be able to see everything."
 
starcraftre replied: "The Martian is one of my favorite sci-fi books, and one of my favorite sci-fi movies. For completely different reasons. The movie got everything just right and picked the perfect actor for Watney."

amazon.com , DrVerryBerry Report

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Ace
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read the book quite a while before the movie came out and found the film very disappointing. The survival science detail was what made the book - the film concentrated too much on the emotions and personal stuff, and the rescue, which for me was not really the point of the book.

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#30

A Little Princess

A Little Princess

" The book was OK but it was definitely a children's book. The movie was absolutely beautiful. Alfonso Cuaron is an amazing director."

amazon.com , NicoNicoWryyy Report

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Min
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course it's a children's book! Having read it as a child, the book gets all my love.

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#31

The Godfather

The Godfather

"I like the book, but the film is phenomenal."
 
FrysItchyButt comments: "This is immediately what came to mind for me. I don’t need chapters about Sonny’s massive dong and Bridesmaid’s wide set cervix."

amazon.com , TerryGAdkinson Report

#32

La Confidential

La Confidential

"The book was based around three detectives with different motives and it was really good but it involving like thirty different conspiracies and ended in a massive prison escape that didn’t have to do that much with the rest of the plot. The movie took that, simplified the villainous conspiracy, kept the same awesome characters, and made it a very worthwhile experience. The one thing I wish they put in was Ed’s backstory during WWII, it made his character way more fascinating."

amazon.com , JohnsonHardwood Report

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#33

Where The Heart Is

Where The Heart Is

"There is some indigenous spirit walking in the middle of it that makes no sense with the rest of the storyline of a poor white trash girl having a baby in Wal-Mart. They cut all that out for the movie and the movie works much better in terms of plot."

amazon.com , Long-Wishbone Report

#34

Horton Hears A Who

Horton Hears A Who

"There's a lot more character put into all the people in Whoville and Jim Carrey killls it as Horton, the story is accomplished in an effective way that still retains the moral and overall feel of the original, and the movie is allowed to flesh out the world in a way that Dr. Seuss didn't. To those of you who say "But it's so short and would've been really hard to mess up improving on a book like that!" I submit any of the other adaptations of Dr. Seuss' work made in the last 25 years."

amazon.com , maleorderbride Report

#35

Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers

"The movie is nothing like the book. Which I think is a good thing. The movie was fun and had a ton of action. The book to me was dull and hard to finish. I felt like half the book was just covering his military training. This was one of the first times I thought the movie was far better than the book."

amazon.com , NebRGR4354 Report

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Sonja
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you think Starship Troopers was fun you didn't understand the film. The book is brilliant, the movie is great but too different to compare

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#36

Jojo Rabbit Was Better Than Caging Skies Book

Jojo Rabbit Was Better Than Caging Skies Book

"The book was so goddamn bleak that it probably wouldn’t have been adapted otherwise."
 
TheOrangeNights replied: "Taika Watiti stated that he never even finished the book, and stopped reading halfway. Which is why the movie only shows a short part of the book and ends so differently."

amazon.com , THACC Report

#37

The Silence Of The Lambs

The Silence Of The Lambs

"It was incredibly drawn out at times and they were right to cut a lot of it out of the movie. The author also feels the need to describe the hell out of everything and it gets tedious to read."

amazon.com , dcbluestar Report

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ValdaDeDieu
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thomas Harris is one of the best authors - notably of female protagonists and the book SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was THAT MUCH BETTER than the movie. That said - the movie was excellent and Jodie Foster brilliant as Clarice Starling.

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#38

Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name

"The movie was a beautiful study of silences. In the book, you experienced every thought going through a 17-year-old boy's head. It was manic. In the movie, you had to rely on Chalamet's performance to understand what was going on in his head."

amazon.com , pjo1966 Report

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#39

Wanted

Wanted

"And you may be asking yourself, 'But, isn't that movie not very good?' And you'd be correct! It's not. The comic that it's based on, however, is god-awful. The movie changes so much about the book that it's hardly the same story, but it removes the weirdo rape fantasies present throughout the comic that seem more like punchlines than character-building. It's a great concept squandered by Mark Millar's juvenile, edge lord writing."

amazon.com , drewxdeficit Report

#40

The Entire LOTR Series

The Entire LOTR Series

"I'm not sure why since it's been well over a decade since I read the LOTR books, but I found reading through them to be a chore. As opposed to the movies, which in my opinion, are some of the greatest films ever made."

amazon.com , Discipulus-Satanas Report

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Veronica Jean
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tolkien was AMAZING. In so many ways. HOWEVER....the movies turned a beautiful story into a full color, fantastic mix of beyond-their-time effects, JAW dropping acting, just...*Chefs kiss*. I LOVE Tolkien...but I have to humbly agree that Peter Jackson made the story come to life in a way even Tolkien would have appreciated.

Laura Lett
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Loved the movies, the books give So Much detail that can't be shown in the movies.

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Out of chocolate
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look, I LOVE the books; I read them over and over and I’m now reading them to my children. And for the first time, as I’m reading them aloud, it’s shocking how much of a slog it is! “And they went eastward, then southward. Then north through the trees. Then south but also east. They rested. The next morning they went east…” admittedly it picks up in the two towers but man. Also I love the film Aragorn - the whole character arc of him accepting his birthright. Book Aragorn is King from day 1. Having Elrond present Narsil/Andúril to him ? So much better than him just having it.

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Flower Power
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh these books are beautiful! The movies are nice to watch yet they feel like they are racing through the story as quick as they could. The books are a lovely slow journey that allows the imagination to run wild.

Genericist
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm going against the grain and the majority of Tolkien fans here, but I have always been a prolific reader and I just *couldn't* get through LoTR. Read The Hobbit as a kid, loved it, read his lesser known works like Farmer Giles of Ham and Smith of Wooton Major and also loved those. But The Lord of the Rings... no. I *tried*, several times. I tried reading all of them to see if I could get into another when The Fellowship was just taking what felt like 1000 pages to get to Bree. I loved the movies, I wanted so much to love the books. Alas, I could not scale my Mount Doom. I guess I'm Isildur, not strong enough to resist the call of the free time I could spend reading things that didn't make me want to trade in my eyes for a more stimulating experience.

LK
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For me, the films are good, the books are better. But it's the 'making of sections that make me so happy. It was glorious learning how the wonderful people brought the books to life.

Shyla Bouche
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The problem with the books is that Tolkien did everything wrong. He wasn't a writer. He had no sense of pacing, none of the skills of a writer. Ten chapters about two people, dump them for half a book, then get back to them? Tolkien's genius was the world and the people in it were just so damned good his lack of writing ability was and is often overlooked. Because of what he invested in Middle Earth, it's a real place to me. Because of his lifelong dedication to Middle Earth, his writing doesn't ruin the fantasy. His knowledge of both languages and cultures was so strong that the books pretty much literally wrote themselves. Jackson managed to show us Tolkien's world with far more skill than Tolkien could. But without Tolkien's heart and soul, those excellent movies couldn't have been made, and the excellent books would have been a few boring chapters in a history book.

Doctor Strange
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm an avid reader, but I absolutely could not get through the lord of the rings books. It felt like reading a textbook. The whole part with Tom Bombadil got really weird and creepy. Then, the part that just killed it for me, where it pretty much goes, "They took a step, and they were one step closer to Mordor. Then they took another step, and they were one more step closer to mordor. Then they took a few quick steps in succession, and they were that much closer to mordor." It got very tedious.

ValdaDeDieu
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

THIS -- I agree with. For ONCE, the LOTR movies were far, far better than the books.

Strings
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a LOT in the books that just plain wasn't needed. That said, I do think the theatrical release of the movies eliminated a couple things that WERE needed, and changed a couple things that should have been left alone (like the Battle of Helm's Deep)

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#41

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire

"I feel that it's somewhat cheating (in regards to this question) for films like Slumdog Millionaire, Forrest Gump, and Jojo Rabbit because they aren't even trying to be faithful adaptations. They take a lot of liberties and go in a lot of different directions than the source material. So whether it's even the same story as the book Q&A on which it's based is debatable. But I certainly enjoyed it more."

amazon.com , Musketeer85 Report

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#42

Les Miserables

Les Miserables

"Because Val Jean's inner debate lasts about 100 pages and the opening number is about a third of the book. It just goes on and on."

amazon.com , IdiotWelshCabbage Report

#43

Into The Wild

Into The Wild

"The book had too many coordinates and directions. The movie felt more like a story."

smileyeiley agreed: "The visuals of the landscape add so much in the movie too."

amazon.com , worldtrvlz Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The book was amazing. The movie was indeed good but you can't beat the book, it felt very real.

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#44

My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper

"The ending of the book was so freaking stupid it almost made me not watch the movie. It was like the author wanted to just have a shocking ending instead of an ending that actually makes sense in the narrative."

amazon.com , Gaelfling Report

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Julie Snelling
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The book was definitely better and yes they did ruine the ending of the film.

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#45

Arrival

Arrival

"I think Arrival was better, and that's coming from someone who really liked the short story. The movie is just better at telling that story overall."
 
Brenkin comments: "I tend to agree because the film really brings out the story and makes it more digestible. That being said, Ted Chiang is easily one of the greatest science fiction authors of all time."

amazon.com , GreatTragedy Report

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#46

Ready Player One

Ready Player One

"It was worse because the movie's puzzle plot made little sense (you're telling me no one in the history of the billion-dollar puzzle thought to go backward, movie?). But it was better because it cut out a lot of the neckbeard stuff in the book. Like how the protagonist spends 3 pages explaining differences in Atari games to someone, and then everyone claps because of how awesome it was."
 
Fluff_E replied: "I often use this book as an example of something that would've made a killer 6 episode series. After listening to the audiobook, then watching the movie, I sorely missed a lot of the nerdy details and some of the character building that got me extremely immersed in the audiobook."

amazon.com , Hickspy Report

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Ruken1423
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I really fee the book was way better, the movie misses alot of the nerdy parts and all of the challenges were different

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#47

50 Shades Of Grey

50 Shades Of Grey

"Just because it couldn't possibly have been any worse."
 
big_ringer comments: "Take away the abusive and stalker-ish aspects of the story and you're still left with characters with zero chemistry with each other, a plot that goes nowhere, and a writing style reminiscent of an adolescent girl who figured out what happens when she wears tight jeans and crosses her legs just right."

amazon.com , DiMono Report

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#48

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

"I watched the movie and loved it so much that I bought the book trilogy. The movie is beautiful but reading the book made me realize that it's the cinematography and acting that makes the movie so good - the actual plotline is really cheesy. The books are also written in a really simple way, for a much younger audience."

amazon.com , JingJitSu · Report

#49

No Country For Old Men

No Country For Old Men

"The book is great but McCarthy’s style of writing makes it pretty difficult to read and follow the flow of what’s going on. Meanwhile, the movie has you on the edge of your seat, has a very eerie feel to it and the casting is very spot on."

amazon.com , TwoSnapsMack Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The book was amazing but the movie brought it to life....you can read the book and like it but the movie was just perfect.

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#50

The Graduate

The Graduate

"The book that this movie is based off of was critically panned, but director Mike Nichols took interest in the absurd source material and directed one of the highest-grossing films of all time."

amazon.com , reddit.com Report

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#51

The Notebook

The Notebook

"Rachel McAdams brought flair and charisma that wasn’t in the book."
 
Tabak5 replied: "Frankly I'd say that about any Nicholas Sparks book. I'm not a fan of his writing style at all. I got so bored trying to read The Last Song but found the movie pretty cute."

amazon.com , cleo1844 Report

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#52

Children Of Men

Children Of Men

"The book had no scope."

amazon.com , gargelbum Report

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MadamGreenIce
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The book was great! I still remember the part where the elderlies were forced to drown themselves.

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#54

The Ritual

The Ritual

"The film only depicted the first half of the book, which is great because the book devolves into stupid, incoherent drivel after that. Seriously, the author had a good thing going for the first 220 or so pages, some really good characterisation and chills, but then it got dumb. The novel should’ve stopped where the film did, instead of basically adding a half-assed, nonsensical sequel that nobody asked for as the second act. Netflix actually did a fantastic adaptation of the book, and the film is far superior to Adam Neville’s novel."

amazon.com , Azryhael Report

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#55

Requiem For A Dream

Requiem For A Dream

"The book isn’t bad, but the movie makes you feel for all the characters. I saw the movie before reading the book, so I may have expected too much from the book".

amazon.com , wrstlr3232 Report

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timebleeder
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kids should have to watch this movie around 7th grade as a drug deterrent. A fantastic and horrible depiction of drug use, abuse, and addiction. As someone who was smoking and snorting meth while watching the movie the mother's story haunts me to this day and Sarah Connelly's ending is so vile I still have trouble watching her in other stuff which is unfortunate because she is a great actress.

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#56

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

"A very hard read with the given vernacular. The movie makes everything a lot better offering a visual to match all of the nonsense/slang words."

amazon.com , kaizokugaming Report

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Ace
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The movie just dumbs it down too much. The language is an integral part of the book, exemplifying the way society has moved on.

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#57

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War

"The comic event that it is based on doesn't make a ton of sense, it misses out on a lot of opportunites, and Tony Stark is strawmanned. The movie makes all the character motivations clear and presents both sides equally. This is a great example of improving the execution of an interesting idea with a second crack. Batman: Under The Red Hood is another example of this."

amazon.com , ArugulaGazebo Report

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#58

Annihilation

Annihilation

"The book had a slow pace that didn't create the same atmosphere as the movie."

DrPilkington comments: "I think the only thing I liked better in the movie was that terrifying bear thing. Otherwise, they're too different, the director even said he read the book once, and never went back to it so he could go off his impression of the book. But that book would have been near impossible to adapt accurately. The way the indescribable is described could never be filmed."

amazon.com , The_Height_of_Folly Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one I have to disagree. The book and trilogy was much better. "Never went back to it so he could go off his impression of the book" is a very accurate description, so many differences.