# Movies that were BETTER than the book they were based on **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2018, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515 "2018-01-13T05:36:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/21 "2018-01-13T16:16:54Z")
_Fried Green Tomatoes_. The book was quite good, don’t get me wrong, but the movie preserves everything good about it \*and \*lets me watch Mary-Louise Parker at her prime. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/22 "2018-01-13T16:20:59Z")
I haven’t decided for sure, but I think I like the movie better than the book _John Dies at the End_. The movie is tighter and more coherent, while keeping plenty of the weirdness and sense of menace. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/23 "2018-01-13T16:24:04Z")
Lord of the rings. Come at me. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/24 "2018-01-13T17:02:20Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Lord of the rings. Come at me. Torture this guy in the Pits of Mordor for an eternity! 😃 ---
**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:** [January 13, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/25 "2018-01-13T17:08:50Z")
Does _2001: A Space Odyssey_ count? It was from a short story. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/26 "2018-01-13T17:12:38Z")
Bullitt was far better than Mute Witness. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/27 "2018-01-13T17:58:08Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > _Fried Green Tomatoes_. The book was quite good, don’t get me wrong, but the movie preserves everything good about it \*and \*lets me watch Mary-Louise Parker at her prime. Yeah, but they totally puss-ed out on the lesbian angle! 😉 In the book it is clear that Ruth and Idgie are lovers. In the movie it is hinted at with the lightest of touches. I didn’t think at that in 1991 homosexual angles in written works still needed the Tennessee Williams treatment when translated to film. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/28 "2018-01-13T18:00:55Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > M_A_S\*H Definitely. Hooker benefited from Robert Altman ditching much of the books style and making his own movie. Hooker was able to make a bunch of sequels later. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/29 "2018-01-13T18:20:54Z")
The Poseidon Adventure. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/30 "2018-01-13T18:31:31Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Lord of the rings. Come at me. You do not deserve a frontal rush. You may not even be killed. You will simply be disappeared in your sleep! ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/31 "2018-01-13T18:33:54Z")
Moby-Dick. I can’t even name one particular version, but the movies weed out the large chunk of the novel that is really a treatise on whaling. I’m a very high-level reader, but I have little patience for classics that use many pages not moving the plot forward. I don’t think I can say the Harry Potter movies were better than the books, but once I saw the first movie, it was much easier for me to visualize the settings in the books. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/32 "2018-01-13T19:11:22Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Yeah, but they totally puss-ed out on the lesbian angle! 😉 > > In the book it is clear that Ruth and Idgie are lovers. In the movie it is hinted at with the lightest of touches. > > I didn’t think at that in 1991 homosexual angles in written works still needed the Tennessee Williams treatment when translated to film. I think it’s perfectly clear in the film. What other possible interpretation of the bee scene is there? I think the film captures the manners of the time - why would one ever discuss, or even speculate on, the sex life of others? Oh, and Horatio Hornblower series with Ioan Gruffudd was much better than the books. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/33 "2018-01-13T19:14:25Z")
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Runs like a Swiss watch. On crack. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/34 "2018-01-13T20:17:16Z")
_Jaws._ The movie dropped the stupid sub-plot about Hooper having an affair with Brody’s wife. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/35 "2018-01-13T20:18:13Z")
I tried reading _The Princess Bride_. I couldn’t even get through the first chapter. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/36 "2018-01-13T20:19:39Z")
I totally agree about Jaws and add The Devil Wears Prada. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/37 "2018-01-13T20:19:40Z")
_The Spy Who Loved Me._ Ian Fleming himself described the book as “a failed experiment”, and when he sold the movie rights, he told them to just use the title and ditch everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/38 "2018-01-13T21:02:43Z")
Ted Hughes’ _The Iron Man_ is a galumphingly clumsy and dull piece of hamfisted 60s whimsy and bong-addled parable about - something. _The Iron Giant_, on the other hand, is a wonderfully adept and touching movie. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/39 "2018-01-13T21:05:24Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Lord of the rings. Come at me. Man, the movies were overly long and self-indulgent, but at least there was action. I can’t imagine how tedious the books must have been. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515/40 "2018-01-13T21:08:15Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > The Godfather. The book is a potboiler. The movie is a masterpiece. > [@nelliebly](#): > > M_A_S\*H > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > The book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Phillip K. Dick, is excellent. I started reading it at the kitchen table during lunch and didn’t budge for hours because I was that engrossed. It was bizarre, thought-provoking, and kinda emotional. The movie based loosely on that book, Bladerunner, is a masterpiece. It’s one thing for a film to surpass a shitty book, but when the film surpasses an excellent book, that’s really something. > [@madsircool](#): > > Bullitt was far better than Mute Witness. Agreed. > [@Biffster](#): > > One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was a good novel but a great movie. I humbly nitpick this one. I think the novel is a masterpiece, one of my two or three favorite books. I’ve read it many times. The movie is no less a masterpiece, and I can’t imagine a better adaptation of the book to screen. I think it’s a rare case of the original novel and the film adaptation being equally great, for their similarities as well as their differences. > [@Biffster](#): > > The movie handled the narrator problem expertly. Yes! Bromden as psychotic narrator, one of the novel’s strongest aspects, couldn’t possibly have made the transition to film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-better-than-the-book-they-were-based-on/806515.md?page=3)