This idea could take many forms, book version to movie version, original to remake movie, and so on.
What got me started thinking was listening to Simon and Garfunkle’s “Richard Cory”. It was based on a poem by Edward Robinson. I’ve read the poem, and heard the music, and I think the song is better, more poignant at least. Both tell the same story of a seemingly happy and rich man who ends by shooting himself. But Simon and Garfunkle put a twist in by having the singer not get the point that Cory was sad inside, the singer still wants to be what he thought Cory was.
As to films, anyone actually read the book Jaws by Peter Benchley? An ordinary thriller, with the usual obligatory sex scene(Hooper and Mrs. Brody) Spielberg changed the plot and the characters(kept the shark though!:D) and made one of the best horror films ever, along with injections of humor and incredible suspense.
Scarlatti wrote keyboard works for primarily for the harpsichord. As did others of his time, including J.S. Bach. I appreciate them on period instruments. But the difference between that and the modern piano is immeasurable in terms of pretty much everything that makes them such a joy to discover and hear. I hope this is not too general and fits the OP.
I remember liking the newer Oceans 11 and The Thomas Crown Affair more then the originals.
ETA, if we’re counting books to movies, the movie version of Fight Club was considerably better than the book (IIRC, even Chuck Palahniuk said that).
Same goes for Transpotting. I believe it was that book that I wouldn’t have been able to follow if I hadn’t already seen the movie a handful of times.
The Spy Who Loved Me. Ian Fleming himself described the book as “a failed experiment.”
The 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon (the one with Humphrey Bogart)was the third time that book had been filmed. Some people think that the 1931 version, with Ricardo Cortez, was better. I don’t, although the first version is worth seeing.
The Wizard of Oz had been filmed about a dozen times before the Judy Garland classic.
Try to find a copy of the novelization of The Wicker Man. I won’t say it’s better than the movie, but it gives you more insight into the characters. (I am, of course, referring to the original movie, not the remake.)
I have not read the novelization of Zardoz, but I have heard it claimed that it makes more sense than the movie. (Which, admittedly, is a pretty low bar. )
Happens more with music. also happens with Books to Movies like your example of Jaws.
**Books to movies: **
Jaws
Jurassic Park
The Godfather to The Godfather & The Godfather part II
Gump
Songs: America, Yes’s version improved greatly on S&G All along the Watchtower: Jimi Hendrix owns this Dylan song. Mr. Tambourine Man: The Byrds over Bob Dylan. Respect: Aretha Franklin > Otis Redding original
*I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll *: Joan Jett’s cover > can’t remember the name of the original Tainted Love: Soft Cell > original Dazed and Confused: Zeppelin > Old Blues Guy ( I think) New York, New York: Frank Sinatra over Liza Walk Like an Egyptian: Bangles over obscure 50s novelty group A Hazy Shade of Winter: Bangles over Simon & Garfunkel
Late 70s/early 80s did some good remakes of 1950s movies. I think ‘The Thing’ and ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ greatly improved on the 1950s versions.
Here’s one for native German speakers to put me right on.
Death In Venice by Thomas Mann is real tough sledding. The best thing about it is that it’s a short story and not a novel. (Disclaimer: I read it in English translation - the views of a native German speaker on the original would be interesting).
Death in Venice by Luchino Visconti is a cinematic masterpiece.
If you’re into Richard Corey, playwright A.R. Gurney (best known for Love Letters) wrote a play about him, in which he explores why he committed suicide. Who Killed Richard Corey? came out in the mid-1970s.
My interpretation is that the singer is well aware that Richard Cory was sad but still considers it better to be a dead guy with half a lifetime of luxury than a live guy with a full lifetime of crushing poverty.
There have been lots of versions of famous books and plays, and it’s not clear to me when they should be called "remakes’.
There were silent versions of Melville’s Moby Dick, and version made since, but I still think the best was the John Huston/Ray Bradbury version.
Similarly, there have been LOTS of versions of Dr. Jeckyll and Mister Hyde (including several silent versions), but the Reuben Mamoulian/Fredric March version is the best.
For all its flaws, the Ray Harryhausen version of Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island is still better than the 1929 semi-silent version.
I think Disney’s version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was better than its predecessors (including the amazing 1916 version, shot underwater in the same location)
the Daniel Craig version of the Bond film Casino Royale is easily better than the TV version or the 1960s “Love In” version
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is much better than Ralph Bakshi’s carton version (and the Rankin-Bass Return of the King)
Merian C. Cooper’s She is much better than the silent versions that preceded it.
For my money, there is no “best” version of Dracula or Frankenstein. But some versions are better than others. And some versions, otherwise not great, contain excellent parts.
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