# Do you make a point of seeing movies of books you have read? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [August 26, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395 "2022-08-26T14:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/41 "2022-08-27T06:34:31Z")
I thought “The Loved One” was better than book I read “Dr Zhivago” after movie, and it was good job (even though Omar Sharif looks too wimpy compared to picture of Pasternak) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/42 "2022-08-27T16:59:25Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Robert Donat was usually excellent. Have you seen _The Adventures of Tartu_ (1943)? It’s one of his more obscure efforts, yet quite entertaining spyjinks in a non-demanding way. No. I’ve never even heard of that one. If I see it, I’ll watch it. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/43 "2022-08-27T17:19:54Z")
Now, to be fair, at the time, I still thought the point was to follow the book, not to adapt it and change a whole lot in the process. Plus the dinosaurs just weren’t as good in the movie as they were in my imagination. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/44 "2022-08-27T17:33:37Z")
Logan’s Run taught me not to expect a movie to be like the book. I read the book long before I saw the movie. I bought a copy published to promote the movie, and it had a spread of photos from the movie. As I was reading the book, I noticed that the photos had some major divergences. (No domed city in the book. The New You Shop and Box were recognizable, but Ballard was vastly different. The Weapon in the movie was a lot cooler than the Gun in the book.) Neither the book nor the movie is an Immortal Classic, but both are entertaining yarns. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/45 "2022-08-27T19:36:44Z")
No. Having read the book will likely get me to check out reviews and even possibly watch the movie despite bad review. But I don’t make a point of it and will gladly skip a movie despite it being based on a book I enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/46 "2022-08-28T00:03:40Z")
Yes- I think I always try to watch it, even if I didn’t love the book. Or if I see something coming out that looks good , I might check the book out first. I just like seeing the book on the screen- in most cases the book is better but not always. It was a limited series, not a movie, but I found Station Eleven somewhat forgettable as a book but it was one of the best things I’ve ever seen on screen. Also, The Prestige was a great movie- I can’t remember if I saw it or read it first but I would say the book is good but I definitely enjoyed the movie more. I’m also a fast-ish but inattentive reader- I often miss things and I also like to re-read a book after the movie, if it’s been long enough I can’t remember what was in the book or invented for the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/47 "2022-08-28T02:43:03Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > I thought “The Loved One” was better than book > I read “Dr Zhivago” after movie, and it was good job (even though Omar Sharif looks too wimpy compared to picture of Pasternak) Yeah but Julie Christie is, well, she’s Julie Christie! [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Julie_Christie_-_1966.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Julie_Christie_-_1966.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/48 "2022-08-28T04:00:38Z")
I’ll see that a movie’s opening that needs to be seen on the big screen, so I’ll rush to get the book and finish it before the movie leaves the theaters. Works for streaming shows, too. I decided to start the series _‘The Old Man’,_ looked it up and it’s a book by Thomas Perry. Just downloaded the audiobook (hey, it was on sale on the iTunes store for $5). That way, I can “read” it while I’m driving/working out/cleaning/walking and get it done faster, then get to the series. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/49 "2022-08-28T04:22:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > decided to start the series _‘The Old Man’,_ looked it up and it’s a book by Thomas Perry. Just downloaded the audiobook… I did the same thing~except I got the book from the library. I couldn’t stand to wait for the end so I read ahead. Didn’t ruin the pleasure of watching the series at all. A second season is in the works, which is a pleasure to look forward to. Turns out Thomas Perry has lots of novels. I just finished another one, with a different protagonist and it was just as good. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/50 "2022-08-28T18:04:58Z")
There are times where the book is TOO accurate. One of my favorite books is **King Rat** and the movie adaptation is well made but there’s really nothing special about it if you’ve already read the book, especially since taking place almost entirely in a Japanese POW camp the visuals aren’t that special either. There are no surprises in the movie at all. Not to say it’s a bad movie but it’s one of those “Well I might as well just reread the book instead” things since the book is fairly short too. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/51 "2022-08-28T18:49:38Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > I see **bump** beat me to it, but, a film I very much wanted to like was _Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World_. I enjoyed reading Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey - Maturin series immensely, but approached the film with more than a little trepidation, knowing it would be a herculean task to do them justice on film given the limitations of a 2.5 hour movie format. Perhaps it was because I braced myself so firmly beforehand, that I wasn’t disappointed by the movie. For me, it was that they’d captured the spirit of the books and the characters very well. For example, Paul Bettany doesn’t actually physically resemble the Dr. Maturin of the books, who is described as being ugly, skinny, and short. But Bettany does portray the Dr. very well. I think “The Expanse” TV show does a bang-up job through the first four seasons in the same way. Fifth season goes off the rails IMO, because Alex Kamal was no longer there, and they had to try and adjust. And for me, the crew of the _Rocinante_ without Alex is just not right. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395/52 "2022-08-28T22:36:25Z")
My gold standard for movie adaptation of a book is the 1984 John Hurt/Richard Burton version of _1984_. Extremely faithful to the book while visually conveying the bleakness of Oceania beyond what’s possible on the printed page. Brilliantly dark presentation of the book I’ve probably re-read more times than anything other than LotR. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-make-a-point-of-seeing-movies-of-books-you-have-read/970395.md?page=2)