The Book was better than the Movie....

I was reading through the "depressing movie" thread and saw a couple people post about books which were much better than their subsequent movies. I had to agree with most of them. And since I'm an avid reader and movie watcher and have had lots of opportunities to compare, I was wondering what other people would list as some of their picks. Here's a few of mine:

Book better than movie:
The Da Vinci Code
All of the Harry Potters
The Golden Compass (Massively better!)
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Other Boleyn Girl
Stephen King's The Stand / The Mist
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Kite Runner
The Outsiders

Alternately, I've occasionally found that it can go the other way....

Movie actually better than the book:
The Notebook
Bridges of Madison County
The Princess Bride
Fried Green Tomatoes
Jurassic Park (no surprise there)
PS I love you
The Hours
Stand by me (Stephen King's The Body)
Silence of the Lambs


Anybody have others to add?

I think the book is better than the movie about 99.999% of the time, to be honest. Of your "Movie Actually Better Than the Book" list, I've only seen and read "The Hours" and "Fried Green Tomatoes," and I thought the books were better in both cases - particularly in "The Hours" which is one of the most fabulous books ever! I haven't read "Silence of the Lambs," but I've read others by Thomas Harris - and if those are anything to go by, then I'd be willing to guess the book is much better than the film.

The only film I've ever come across that I think is better than the book is "Gone With the Wind." But then I try to steer clear of rubbishy books (and films), so perhaps I've missed some.

Agree with you Chary.

I was mightily disappointed by TIme Travellers Wife..probably a concept that could not make it to the big screen, successfully.

II I was mightily disappointed by Time Travellers Wife..probably a concept that could not make it to the big screen, successfully.

In that case, I'm glad I didn't read the book first. I saw the film on the plane and really liked it, actually. But if I had read the book first, I wouldn't have.

The DaVinci Code film was definitely not as good as the book. But I agree that films rarely are as good as the books they are based on.

The Jane Austen Book Club:  Movie better than the book, but I thought the book was borderline rubbishy anyway.  The movie actually clarified stuff in the book and gave better shape (and like-ability) to the characters.

I actually have a terrible imagination, especially while reading fantasy/sci-fi books. In most cases, I find the movie better than the book because I can see what the author was describing. Like Harry Potter? Forget about it. I gave up when they encountered a troll in the toilet. But I'm thoroughly enjoying the movies.

Edited for grammar.  

The Jane Austen Book Club:  Movie better than the book, but I thought the book was borderline rubbishy anyway.  The movie actually clarified stuff in the book and gave better shape (and like-ability) to the characters.

Agreed.  I enjoyed that movie but couldn't finish the book. 

Generally I find that if I read and love a book then I rarely like the movie based on it, but if I see the movie first then I can appreciate both.  But I find that going into the movies based on books I've already read with very, very low expectations helps temper the disappointment. 

House of Sand and Fog - great movie, but still, the book was even better.

The Virgin Suicides is the only example I can think of where the book and the movie are nearly EXACTLY the same.

They are playing The Stand on Zone Horror on Friday nights.  This Friday is the final instalment.  I forgot just how crappy that mini-series was.  I agree that is one where the book is better than the movie.  They should re-do it as a full "one season" series.  Unfortunately, that would go over here in terms of production, but it doesn't in the States. I would be really disappointed if they tried to do a second season going where the book didn't, and if it was successful, you know they'd be tempted.

I think The Shawshank Redemption, Carrie, and Stand by Me were equally good as films and books.  I think those novellas are some of King's best writing, so the film makers had a lot to work with.  I think Misery was better as a film.  Most of King's stuff doesn't translate all that well into film [edit: not because it couldn't translate well if certain choices were made], and I think they slaughtered Hearts in Atlantis.  It's probably not the worst movie based on a book by Stephen King, but the book got me back into reading him after giving up on him, so I was pretty disappointed.  

Sorry about the treatise on King movie adaptations, but I spent my teen years reading and re-reading his stuff.

A couple to add to the novel better than film category:

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
On the Beach (the old one anyway.  I've not seen the remake)

I was mightily disappointed by TIme Travellers Wife..probably a concept that could not make it to the big screen, successfully.

Well, I'm just glad I didn't see the movie then as I thought the book was incredibly bad!!  

The Jane Austen Book Club:  Movie better than the book, but I thought the book was borderline rubbishy anyway.  The movie actually clarified stuff in the book and gave better shape (and like-ability) to the characters.

Like 'Time Traveler's Wife,' this is another book I hated, so didn't bother seeing the film.

I think a lot of this has to do with whether you've read the book first or not, as Jewlz said. In my case, I can't even think of a time that I saw a film without having read the book first - so that colours my opinions a lot.

If I hated the book, then there's no real point seeing the film because it's going to be even worse. And if I loved the book, then I don't want to spoil my imaginations of it with someone else's ideas. (I think I'm the opposite of sheateawholepie!) This is what happened with 'Atonement,' one of my favourite books ever. That awful Keira and her bony chest absolutely RUINED it for me. I was nearly in tears at what she did to a what should have been a fantastic character.

Books better than movie:

Every Stephen King book made into a movie comes to mind
Hitchhiker's Guide..... ugh! Ruined it.
The latter Harry Potters, the books are simply too long with too much deliciousness to be made into film length. 

I make a point that if I've read the book and loved it I do my best to avoid the movie, and vice versa. I love the HP books and I've never seen a movie all the way through, just bits and pieces when it's on TV.  I love the 'Lord of the Rings' movies and I'm not going to ruin them by reading the books which I'm sure are fantastic!

Sometimes a wonderful movie version makes me want to read the book.  For example, the BBC (TV, not movie, the Colin Firth version) version of "Pride and Prejudice" inspired me to read the book which I loved--read it twice after seeing that version.  The same with Jane Eyre--saw the version which came out a bit over 10 years ago and loved it.  Finally read the book a few years ago and loved it just as much. 

You can love a book just as much as the movie and vice-versa, but for different reasons.  The movie versions of Jane Eyre and P &P were glorious for the costumes, hairstyles, mood, interiors, etc. etc.  The books were wonderful because of the inner perspective of characters (thoughts, motivations, etc.) that doesn't always come through on film.

Every Stephen King book made into a movie comes to mind

I've tried to get through a Stephen King book, but I think he's an absolutely terrible writer. I know he has a lot of fans, but I don't understand that at all. To me, his writing reads as if it's been written by a 15-year-old. I'm not a huge fan of the films I've seen based on his books, but they've got to be better!

I love the 'Lord of the Rings' movies and I'm not going to ruin them by reading the books which I'm sure are fantastic!

You would still like the books. The movies are pretty close to the books, with a few adjustments to give them that Hollywood feel.  The books really are fantastic, and if you love the movies, you should read them! It wouldn't ruin the movies for you, I promise!