In the eighties I remember watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. A great movie in my opinion.
A few years ago I got round to reading the book, I was much more impressed by the book.
Are there any movies that you have loved which led you to read the book and you thought the book better, or it improved your understanding of the film.
Another good example is the Movie 1408 and the book by Stephen King.
Are there any other examples?
Most of the time the book is better than the movie. It is much easier to go into detail in a 200 or 300 page book than in a 2hr movie.
About the only movie I can think of that was far better than the book is Jaws.
I read The Lord of the Rings after having seen the first film. Being 11, I found the book rather difficult to get through but I absolutely loved it and I think it heightened my enjoyment of the remaining two films (the whole trilogy was excellent on screen). I think knowing SO many details from the book helps you understand some of the things going on in the film which are perhaps not laid out there so explicitly.
I think in most other cases I've either read the book first (or exclusively) or only seen the film. I regret having watched any of the Harry Potter movies before having read the entire series because, as subsequent instalments were released, I automatically imagined the characters in the books as the actors who portrayed them and I felt that was quite restricting on my imagination.
Movie first, for me. If the book was awesome then the movie sucks it it worse.
Some good choices there. I agree books tend to be better than movies. There are some exceptions of course. The Green Mile springs to mind, a great book and perhaps a better movie.
Seeing the characters can sometimes affect imagination, HP is a good example.
Regarding Cloud Atlas, after seeing the trailer and reading a review I am looking forward to seeing and reading the film and book.
The last of the Mohicans.
The book, while very good, was overly wordy and difficult to follow at times.
I saw Fightclub before I read it, the movie had a better ending to wrap up the story imo, chuck palahniuk (the author) even said he felt the movie was an improvement over his book.
I like them both equally
So far I've never seen a movie that quite lived up to the depth of quality that the book did.
I've seen a bunch of movies and read the books; I try to read the books first. They’re usually better. Any Stephan King movie/book to start, Harry Potter’s movies/books are great examples.
My mum has always been a big reader, and I got into reading because of her passion. However, I love my movies too. She always told me read the book first, watch the movie after. So, I do. Of course sometimes I’ll see a movie and find out later there is a book and read it. Then I’ll be like OH! Right that makes sense now.
I've never personally seen a movie that is better than the books. I do however think watching and reading them both can help you understand the whole concept of both.
Like you, I read One Flew Over The Cuckoo's nest a long time after seeing the film. I enjoy them both on their own merits. I read Catch 22 straight after and decided I needed to stop reading books about people going insane. I'd seen the film version of Catch 22 before reading the book and while the film is a brave attempt at getting Heller's book right, it's impossible to get it all on there. (Catch 22 is my favourite book)
I think it's much different when you come at a book after you've seen the film - you're always going to have to readjust to the difference in how you imagined it. If you've seen the film before you read the book I find there are always reference points for your imagination to fall back on. I've not read any Jack Reacher books, but I know people who have really struggled with the idea of Tom Cruise in the lead role.
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Why not read some stories instead
NEW! Want a quick read for your coffee break? Why not try this... Flash Erotica: Scrubber I haven't seen or read the other combinations of books and movies so I haven't much to say about those save they are on my reading aand viewing lists.
i never have seen a movie that is better than the book, for me the whole thing of watching the characters as someone else of how i have imagine them already makes it dissapointing. I create an image in my head and when i watch it in a movie its never the same.
That said i always watch the movies of books i really like, just out of curiosity of how they do it.
The only movie that i have seen that i would say its not better than the book but really close was "Love in the time of Cholera" wich is one of my favorite books.
I have always found that the way things play out in my head whilst reading a book are never how they are portrayed in the movie.
However, as for watching a film and then reading the book, I cant say I have done so to better understand the storyline, as far as just wanting to read the book after seeing the film, I find I just cant get into it because I know how it ends (if the movie is a truely based on the book).
I have found that, especially with science fiction, the movie is never as good as the book. Your own imagination creates better scenes than a movie ever could.
Trainspotting.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
It's very hard to successfully replicate a book, as a "better" movie.
I thought the movie Eragon was better than the book. The book had long stretches of traveling across the region with what seemed like little significance to the story.
