# movie better than book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005 "2020-05-17T23:09:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/1 "2020-05-17T23:09:57Z")
Just got done re-reading “The Loved One” by Evelyn Waugh, and was reminded that to me the movie captured essence of book better than actual book. anyone else find this? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/2 "2020-05-17T23:46:26Z")
I never read it, but i’ve Heard “The Godfather” is a good example of the movie being better than the book. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/3 "2020-05-17T23:51:11Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I never read it, but i’ve Heard “The Godfather” is a good example of the movie being better than the book. Maybe, although I liked the book a lot. _Being There_ was better than the book. And I don’t know if it counts since it’s a short story, but _2001: A Space Odyssey_ was better than the story it was based on, _The Sentinel_. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/4 "2020-05-17T23:59:49Z")
I like the _Iron Giant_ movie better than the book. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/5 "2020-05-18T00:09:00Z")
**Nudies Go Berserk.** _Such_ an improvement over the novel. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/6 "2020-05-18T00:10:26Z")
n/m ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/7 "2020-05-18T00:14:53Z")
The Lord of the Rings trilogy There, I said it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/8 "2020-05-18T00:38:52Z")
The film “Delores Claiborne” with Kathy Bates was better than Stephen King’s novel _Delores Claiborne_. It’s a statement that can seldom be said about a Stephen King novel. In fact most SK-based movies suck. This one is superlative. And from the kiddie corner, the Disney movie “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” is actually much better than the dreary kid’s fantasy novel that I read back in 6th grade, “Bed-knob and Broom-stick”. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/9 "2020-05-18T01:08:31Z")
Granted, I did see The Prestige before I read the book but I thought the movie was much better. Maybe the twist just went off better visually than on paper, plus I thought it was one of Christian Bale’s best roles. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/10 "2020-05-18T01:19:39Z")
\*\*Jaws \*\*is a pretty popular example of this. They took a shark-attack book and made a real movie out of it. **Jurassic Park** is another one, also from Spielberg, that is better than its book. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/11 "2020-05-18T01:21:01Z")
**Jaws** is much better than the book. They wisely jettisoned the Mafia subplot as well as Brodie’s wife and Matt Hooper having an affair and went simple. Shark. Man. Munch. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/12 "2020-05-18T01:26:21Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The film “Delores Claiborne” with Kathy Bates was better than Stephen King’s novel _Delores Claiborne_. > > It’s a statement that can seldom be said about a Stephen King novel. In fact most SK-based movies suck. This one is superlative. I must respectfully disagree that “most Stephen King based movies suck”. In my opinion, the two best answers to the OP’s question are “Stand By Me” and “Shawshank Redemption”, both of which are stories originally written by King. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/13 "2020-05-18T01:30:27Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I must respectfully disagree that “most Stephen King based movies suck”. In my opinion, the two best answers to the OP’s question are “Stand By Me” and “Shawshank Redemption”, both of which are stories originally written by King. I would also say that all three (Dolores Claiborne, Stand by Me & Shawshank Redemption) are better than average Stephen King movies because they stay close to the source material and are also some of his better works (IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/14 "2020-05-18T01:51:00Z")
Howard Hawks’ \*To Have And Have Not \*is far superior to the Hemingway novel. But, hey, you got Bogart, Bacall, Walter Brennan, and Hoagy Carmichael…it would just about have to be. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/15 "2020-05-18T03:48:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The Lord of the Rings trilogy > > There, I said it. No, not by a long shot. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/16 "2020-05-18T03:58:19Z")
I have a feeling we’ve probably had a thread on this before, so I’ve probably given my standard answer - _Sense and Sensibility_, Emma Thompson version. She fixed a lot of problems with that book (excising superfluous characters, better character development of the ones that remain) to turn an ok but not great novel into a really good movie. I believe Neil Gaiman’s _Stardust_ was produced in both book and movie form at about the same time - I prefer the movie, though they’re both pretty good ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/17 "2020-05-18T05:24:34Z")
I’d say the _Harry Potter_ series. The movies dropped a _lot_ of the subplots that I found annoying, like Hermione’s giant rights initiative (SPEW? I think?). The books are pretty good, but after the first couple, they got pretty bloated. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/18 "2020-05-18T05:39:40Z")
The movie _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ was much better than the novel _Who Censored Roger Rabbit?_. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/19 "2020-05-18T06:03:09Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I never read it, but i’ve Heard “The Godfather” is a good example of the movie being better than the book. No way! The movie was fabulous, but the book was even better. I’ve read/seen both many, many times. I’ve heard that Chuck Palahniuk (author of “Fight Club”) thought that the movie was better than his book. Not having read the book, I can’t offer an opinion, but if the author himself says so, that’s got to count for something. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005/20 "2020-05-18T06:07:58Z")
The movie “Julie and Julia” was orders of magnitude better than the book. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-book/854005.md?page=2)