I love reading. I love watching movies. I don't always love watching what I read at the movies. I would say almost always I prefer the book to the movie, but generally I enjoy the movie as well. I have heard many complaints about the movies not doing a book justice. On occasion it has been difficult to give up the vision in my head to accept those created in a movie.
I know some writers that think books should stay in their pure form, and that adapting a work to the silver screen is just selling out.
What are your thoughts about books versus movies?
I don't necessarily have any problem with books being adapted into movies, and I don't even mind movies cutting down the content of the book (since books are generally longer and more complex). My real issue with it when the movie completely changes the plot/characters/themes/etc. of the book--which is what almost always happens. Which is why in theory I don't have a problem with it, but in actual fact I rarely like movie adaptations.
ReplyDeleteA couple examples that I think did fine: LotR, Harry Potter (though I didn't think the movies were stellar, but they were fun), Holes.
A couple I thought did an awful job: Ella Enchanted (I could rant about this, but I won't), Twilight, Percy Jackson.
There are a bunch more, but my mind has blanked and won't remember any more right now.
The only book/movie combos I can think of that I truly enjoyed both equally were The Princess Bride and Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version, of course, which barely counts as a movie). And I have hopes for Ender's Game. We'll see.
I personally thought the last Twilight movie was better than the book. And sometimes having it on the screen can really help you to visualise something properly. I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" and it was amazing, but never having experienced life in 1930s America it was the film that helped me understand it properly.
ReplyDeleteI remember one book-turned-movie that left me shaking my head- it was “The Other Boleyn Girl.” It was like they plucked a handful of plot points from the book, over-dramatized them, then called it a movie. I think the movie was about 20% of the book. Which was sad, because it was a fascinating book.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy when books get made into movies because it just allows me to enjoy the book in a more visual way, and I like seeing how others may have perceived it. It is a shame, though, that now Edward will always look like Robert Pattinson in my head. Oh, if only Henry Cavill had been a few years younger!!! (Nothing against Pattinson, by the way- loved him in “Water for Elephants”- which, by the way, I thought was a very good portrayal of the book.)
I see movies and books as two difference mediums. I enjoy both for what they offer. In general, I'm a movie person, because I can catch a story in two hours - can't always read a book that fast. :-) I agree with Jenna in that what I hate is when a movie changes the book - the ending, the characters, whatever. That messes with the integrity of the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as Jeanna. An honest adaptation that keeps the virtue of the characters, plot, and message of the book can be very enjoyable. But some movies change so much it's almost unrecognizable, and that makes me a bit cranky. ;)
ReplyDeleteSomehow, i find it easier to divide the two if i see the movie before i read the book. If i read the book first, i go in with expectations. If i enjoy the movie, I'll read the book and love the REAL story. I can enjoy both the book and movie of Ella Enchanted because of this. lol!
I always have such a hard time choosing whether or not I’ll read the book first or see the movie, because I feel like if I’ve seen the movie before the book it’ll take the fun out of it, even though that’s not always the case. I guess I just have so little time that I hesitate to read a book with a story I already know, whereas like Mare I don’t mind spending two hours watching a movie with a story I already know. :-)
DeleteI prefer to read the book first before watching the movie because I like to have my own image of each character and setting instead of the images being put there by Hollywood. (Except for Damon from Vampire Diaries the TV show, I don't mind that image one bit! LOL!)
ReplyDeleteThere were a couple of movies that I thought if I was the author of the books I would have cried when I saw the movie. Inkheart and Percy Jackson.
I agree with Anna and I actually preferred the Twilight movies over the books. (Don't worry, my sister gave me a severe tongue lashing already!)
Some movies I thought did the books justice were The Host, LoTR, Harry Potter, and most John Grisham books turned movies.
The jury is still out for me on The Hobbit. I wasn't too happy with the changes in the first one so far, but I will reserve judgement until all the movies are out. I think that's only fair.
But I will add this thought from Aprilynne Pike (Author of Wings). She once told me that it helped her to think of a movie deal as a two hour trailer for your book. When put that way, is any book turned movie really a bad thing?