# movie better than the book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915 "2009-01-12T15:40:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/21 "2009-01-12T16:52:24Z")
Jaws. The affair between Hooper and Brody’s wife in the book is ludicrous and by the end I was hoping everyone in the book would be eaten by the shark. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/22 "2009-01-12T16:52:35Z")
Technically not a movie, but if we were to include all cinematic adaptations of books, I’d say **Dexter** on Showtime is WAY better than the books that it’s based on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/23 "2009-01-12T16:52:55Z")
**Starship Troopers** \ ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/24 "2009-01-12T16:54:15Z")
**The Road to Wellville**. Okay, it wasn’t a great movie. Even so, it was better than the book. The book’s ending, in particular, is just absolutely retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/25 "2009-01-12T16:55:13Z")
If miniseries count, what about _The Stand-_? ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/26 "2009-01-12T16:58:47Z")
There are plenty of examples I agree with - _Lord of the Rings_ (standing tall, head held high; Tolkien was a great worldbuilder and creator of mythology, but also a writer in urgent need of an editor), _A Clockwork Orange_ (the book is very good, the movie is fantastic), _Silence of the Lambs_ (found the book just OK while the Hopkins-Foster chemistry made the movie great), _Fight Club_ (while I like the book the movie has a brilliant sense of… timing, I guess is the best word) and _Dexter_ (the book would have had to be ten times as long to fit everything they put into the first season, and I’m betting it would have been much better that way but sold way less). I’d like to add _Of Mice And Men_. If Steinbeck had lived to watch the Sinise-Malkovich movie I’m sure his jaw would have dropped and he would have exclaimed “So _that_’s what I meant!”. Definitely do not agree about _It_. Huge chunks of goodness was cut out of that book to turn it into a so-so miniseries. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/27 "2009-01-12T16:59:26Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **Lord of the Rings.** > > \ Mind if I join you? I’m sure Tolkein was a genius, but that doesn’t change the fact that I find the LotR books dreadfully boring. He gets so wrapped up in his worldbuilding that he can’t see the plot for the trees, and the reader is treated to unending streams of scenery description to the point that after a while you forget that there’s a plot at all. I like worldbuilding, but he went way overboard. (Or, what Priceguy said while I was typing) (Mind you, I didn’t care for the movies either, but at least they spent much less time focusing on the scenery) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/28 "2009-01-12T17:09:02Z")
**The Watcher in the Woods** (1980 or 1982… can’t tell from IMDB). Mostly familiar as one of Bette Davis’s later movies, I loved this as a kid. As an adult, well, it’s all right. But the book? Just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/29 "2009-01-12T17:25:36Z")
_Who Framed Roger Rabbit._ The book was nothing like the film. The film rocked. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/30 "2009-01-12T17:38:14Z")
> [@Caprese](#): > > I much prefer the filmed version of _Last of the Mohicans_ to Cooper’s book, which comes off rather stilted. Seconded. The cashier at Borders tried to tell me that it was an awful book. But would I listen? Nooooooo… ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/31 "2009-01-12T17:39:21Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > _Who Framed Roger Rabbit._ The book was nothing like the film. The film rocked. So I was scrolling down to see if this had come up yet, and here it is! The book was flat, the movie terrific. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/32 "2009-01-12T17:42:44Z")
Jurrasic Park. The book needed Spielberg’s visuals. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/33 "2009-01-12T18:00:20Z")
I’d call _Silence of the Lambs_ a draw. I read the book first and it was a creepy page-turner. The movie was suspenseful and well-acted. Liked 'em both. I think the whole _Bourne_ series is far more entertaining on the screen. Ludlum had his talents but overall the novels are pretty cheesy. If you liked the Ludlum books, stay away from the Eric Van Lustbader versions. God, he is just awful. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/34 "2009-01-12T18:29:55Z")
_2001: A Space Odyssey_. Surprised I’m the first to say it. Also I’d bet it’s safe to say that _The Graduate_ is far better as a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/35 "2009-01-12T18:29:59Z")
I might put The Godfather into this list. Mostly because the book has that completely needless middle section about Sonny’s mistress and her giant vagina. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/36 "2009-01-12T18:32:01Z")
I’ve always suspected that the writers for **The Sopranos** named one of the characters “Big Pussy” as an homage to that subplot from **The Godfather** novel. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/37 "2009-01-12T18:32:06Z")
> [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](#): > > It’s been long time since I’ve read the book or seen the movie, but I always thought Stephen King’s The Dead Zone worked much better as a movie than it did as a book. The Dead Zone and Firestarter were better than the books…and most King movies SUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK compared to the books. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/38 "2009-01-12T18:59:46Z")
The Neverending Story and The Princess Bride. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/39 "2009-01-12T19:04:42Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > If miniseries count, what about _The Stand-_? I dunno. I actually enjoyed the book a lot and don’t recall skipping over much,if any. The mini-series was definitely good but I’m not sure I’d call it better than the book. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915/40 "2009-01-12T19:18:14Z")
I’m with **Hazle** about _The Princess Bride_. It’s not that I dislike the book - it’s great. I just like the movie more. _Mister Roberts_ was an okay collection of wartime vignettes. The movie, with Henry Fonda, William Powell, Jack Lemmon and Bogey is just gold. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-better-than-the-book/480915.md?page=3)