Who hasn't heard the phrase "the book was better than the movie"? One of our pages told me today that books are always better than the movies that are based on them.
Frankly, I disagree. I've watched some movies that I thought were far better, or equally as good, as the books they were based on. Today, I'd like to share the movies that I love more than the books (or that I love just as much as I love the books--I'll specify when I talk about each one).
Confession: I don't watch that many movies. I have a hard time focusing on them, because I always feel like I need to be doing something else while I watch movies, and that usually results in me not paying much attention to what I'm supposed to be watching.
Black Hawk Down* is a different story. I've seen it well over 20 times; it's my all-time favorite movie. It was the first war movie I ever really watched, and even though I don't recall when the events happened (I was too young at the time), I connected with the movie in a way I never thought I would have.
Bonus: The soundtrack for the movie is also great. I currently have it on repeat on my iPod.
*The link is for the book, not the movie.
After I finished reading Forrest Gump, I was left with the feeling that I have never read a more disappointing book. This isn't actually true--I've read far more disappointing books--but at the time, I couldn't believe how bad this book was. The storyline works great for the movie, which is definitely helped by Tom Hanks, but for the books, it didn't work for me at all. I'm not sure if it was because it felt a little too unrealistic, or if this is the type of story that needs to be told visually. Either way, the book didn't work for me, but I love the movie.
Watch the movie | Read the book
A lot of people dislike this movie because of how it represents sharks. I partially agree with this; sharks don't act the way the shark in Jaws does, and to an extent, this movie did a disservice to sharks because of that misrepresentation. Despite that, Jaws is one of my favorite movies, simply because for me, it did the opposite of what it did for others: It made me love great whites.
The book is very different from the movie, and I was disappointed. Maybe if I had read the book before seeing the movie, I would feel differently, but as it is, I didn't enjoy the book at all.
Watch the movie | Read the book
Jurassic Park is a classic. As with Jaws, I saw the movie before I read the book, and I loved it. When I finally read the book as an adult, I was happy to see that it was just as good as the movie. I will probably always like the movie a little bit more than I like the book, partly because the book has more of the science in it than the movie does, and because it's a movie that is just plain awesome.
Watch the movie | Read the book
I wasn't a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock until I saw Strangers on a Train. I fell in love with the movie; the story is great, the cinematography is awesome, and the acting was brilliant. When I found out the movie was based on a book, I was really excited--until I tried to read it. I couldn't get into the book at all, and I've never been able to finish it. Strangers on a Train will always be a movie that is far better than a book for me.
Watch the movie | Read the book
1 comment:
I would add "The Princess Bride" to this list!
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