# The Book is always better than the movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2002, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999 "2002-05-14T12:01:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/1 "2002-05-14T12:01:17Z")
Last night, sittin’ around the bar drinkin’ some beers, _The Shinning_ came up as a topic. Stephanie said it was the best movie made from a Stephen King book. This lead to David making the obligatory statement that “the book is always better than the movie.” So various titles popped up at this point: other Stephen King novels, other Stanley Kubrick movies, etc. Then Ryan said that probably the greatest classic novel to be ruined by Hollywood was _Dude, Where’s My Car?_ I nearly fell out of my barstool laughing at that one. So what other “classic novels” can you think of that were ruined by Hollywood? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/2 "2002-05-14T12:07:16Z")
This is going to be moved to Café Society… But anyway, here’s another: Captain Correlli’s Mandolin. Grrr. Finding out the other way round is more of a challenge. My suggestions for movies that were better than the book: 2001 Shawshank Redemption ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/3 "2002-05-14T13:33:03Z")
I would agree with **jjimm** ’s suggestions for improvements and add _Bridget Jones’s Diary_ ( lousy book, fun film). Books that have been ruined as films just seems too easy a question, but I’ll throw in John Fowles, _The Magus_ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/4 "2002-05-14T13:37:55Z")
The film **Goldfinger** was definitely su[erior to the book. Auric Goldfinger works better as a megalomaniac than a KGB paymaster. Fleming’s villains in the book were even more embarrassing stereotypes than usual, and (Spoilers) in the book Goldfinger really_was_ going to try and steal all the gold in Fort Knox. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/5 "2002-05-14T13:41:58Z")
The movie Jaws was better than the book IMO. Can’t remember the name of the book but the one that Angel Heart was based on wasn’t as enjoyable as the movie. A movie that didn’t live up to the original work = Catch-22 ---
**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 14, 2002, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/6 "2002-05-14T14:05:00Z")
That would be _Falling Angel_, by William Hjortsberg. And HEY! It WAS better than the movie! Also, **jjimm** ’s right. This thread has Cafe Society written all over it. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/7 "2002-05-14T14:31:41Z")
I disagree, Fight Club. The book… kinda sucked, then again it was basically written in screen play format. The movie had a much better flow, and made a bit more sense (with the exception of the happy ending) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/8 "2002-05-14T14:34:30Z")
Best examples of movies that improved on the book: “The Godfather” (Mario Puzo was a hack; the first two films were classics) “The Maltese Falcon” (Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre worked magic with cardboard characters and wooden dialogue) “Field of Dreams” I expect a lot of disagreement here, but I think W.P. Kinsella is a snotty, petulant jerk with a mean streak. The movie had a heart that the book completely lacked (I’m well aware that many people LIKED Kinsella’s mean streak, and thought the movie was too corny, sentimental, and sweet). “Presumed Innocent.” Scott Turow is a lousy writer, but he came up with a superb idea for a whodunit. The mystery element was, by far, the strongest part of the novel. The movie gave us the mystery and the courtroom drama, but stripped away Turow’s tiresome philosophizing, political ranting, and score settling (it was pretty obvious that the negative characters represented colleagues he’d disliked). My overall attitude is this: a GREAT novel can only lose when it’s made into a film. On the other hand, a so-so novel can be greatly improved. A good actor can give life, personality and depth to an underwritten character. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/9 "2002-05-14T14:34:55Z")
The movie Forrest Gump was a katrillion times better than the book. This is true even if you didn’t like the movie. Gone with the Wind was a good book and movie. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/10 "2002-05-14T14:54:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > That would be _Falling Angel_, by William Hjortsberg. And HEY! It WAS better than the movie! Maybe I was too young for it but I just got bored with it. I was halfway through the movie when it struck me that it was from that book I’d read a few years before. Horses for courses and all that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/11 "2002-05-14T15:19:09Z")
The Lee Marvin film _The Professionals_ is better than the book it is based on, _A Mule For The Marquesa_ by Frank O’Rourke. The book is a rote “rescue the damsel” actioner with too many bland main characters. The film condenses six team members to four distinct personalities and adds depth and complexity to the motivations of all the characters. _Point Blank_, another Marvin film, is better than the source book, _The Hunter_. The book is told from the main character’s POV, the reader knows every blunt thought in Parker’s head. The film turns Parker (now Walker) into a menacing prescence, a brutal force rather than a person, unknowable even to himself sometimes. IMO, both versions of _Cape Fear_ are better than the John D. MacDonald book, _The Executioners_ IIRC. I think the ending of the film_Fight Club_ works better on screen than the book’s ending would have. The beginning and end of the film _Sharkey’s Machine_ are better than the book. But the plot development (the middle) of the book is much better than the movie. I actually like the book _The Maltese Falcon_ better than the film. I consider both versions of _Jaws_ equal but different. ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/12 "2002-05-14T15:25:38Z")
I wanted to add a couple of movies that I thought were equal to in quality, although different from, the books upon which they were based: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Blade Runner. If you have only seen the movie of the former, read the book. It’s not at all comedic like the film and very, very disturbing but excellent. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/13 "2002-05-14T15:36:55Z")
**Yojimbo says** : > [@](#): > > I was halfway through the movie when it struck me that it was from that book I’d read a few years before. Hey, _I_ felt the same way. Only I hadn’t read it as a book – it had been excerpted in **Playboy** before the book came out. It’s very weird top get that feeling of familiarity in something you’ve never seen before. Overall, I didn’t like book or movie. Interesting and stylish, but not a great plot. ---
**Author:** ![Parrothead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/59ef9b/32.png) [@Parrothead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parrothead)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/14 "2002-05-14T15:37:43Z")
Well, I may catch it for this… because the movie was so poorly received… _The Postman_ was a better movie than it was book. I actually liked the movie. As far as critically panned Kevin Costner movies, I thought it was one of the better ones 🙂 I always had the feeling that David Brin had a contract that specified a number of pages when he delivered _The Postman_. It was a perfectly fine book, with an interesting premise… and all of a sudden, when the story probably should have ended… he starts in on all this “Hunting down a Cyborg” crap. It just felt like the story was over, but Brin **needed** about 75 more pages. The movie cut all of that. It ended where it should have. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/15 "2002-05-14T15:38:47Z")
Big John Holmes Brings it all Home made a much better film than book. cardboard characters, poor dialogue, and a terrible plot. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/16 "2002-05-14T15:39:48Z")
Two delightful light comic novels, Jack Finney’s _Marion’s Wall_ and Gail Parent’s _Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York_, were turned into abysmal wastes of celluloid. On the other hand, the film versions of Henry James’ _Washington Square_ and Olive Higgens Prouty’s _Now, Voyager_ did justice to their sources. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/17 "2002-05-14T15:40:01Z")
The best example of a great book horribly realized on screen I can think of was Tom Wolfe’s _ **Bonfire of the Vanities** _. A really lousy book superbly realized on screen was Robert Bloch’s _ **Psycho** _. ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/18 "2002-05-14T16:23:19Z")
[Hijack] Ok, I have to hijack my own thread here. ☹ That would be my fault, as I did not make the intent of the thread clear. :wally See, the idea here was… there is no book _Dude, Where’s My Car?_ Get it? It’s not a “classic novel” ruined by Hollywood. It’s not even a novel ruined by Hollywood. It’s not a novel. The point was: what movies have you seen that are so bad, the _idea_ of them even being a novel before being made into a movie is so funny you almost fall out of your barstool (thus the quotes around “classic novel”). That’s why I originally posted in MPSIMS. Again, lack of clarity is my fault, I take all blame for that. Should I have made the quote marks bigger? Should I have put Mr. Winky 😉 inside the quotes? Should I just shut up and get back to work? **TwistofFate** gets the idea. Her are some other examples: [ul] [li]Weekend at Bernie’s[/li][li]The Muppets Take Manhattan[/li][li]Shanghai Surprise[/li][li]Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story[/li][/ul] [/Hijack] 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![IMightBeGiant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc348/32.png) [@IMightBeGiant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IMightBeGiant)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/19 "2002-05-14T16:45:37Z")
I know I’m going to get flamed by the purists, but I actually enjoyed the movie _The Hunt for Red October_ much better than the book. The book was burdened with way too much detail for me. I understand all of Clancy’s books are like that, and I am so much happier watching the movies, than struggling through 20 pages detailing the process of an atomic bomb exploding. Ok, for your original intent: [ul] [li]Freddy Got Fingered[/li][li]How about “Set in the world of Seinfeld”[/li][li]Fantasia (not because it was bad, but because it would be difficult to translate to book form)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999/20 "2002-05-14T23:54:04Z")
To further **Nouveau Bozo** ’s clarification (i.e. books whose cinematic incarnations bemused you by their mere existence): there is a film version of _Finnegans Wake_. I mean, I have mentioned in another thread that I am a Joyce groupie but even if you hated the book ( or refuse to read it), if you know even the first paragraph you surely cannot imagine that this is a novel that needs to realise cinematic form. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie/108999.md?page=2)