# Works where you liked both the book and the movie, but for different reasons **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154 "2012-08-11T03:04:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![oreally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ab992/32.png) [@oreally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oreally)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/21 "2012-08-12T17:13:43Z")
2001 and Jurassic Park. Tempted to say Da Vinci Code but I found the movie just passable and “liked” a bit too strong. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/22 "2012-08-12T17:55:06Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > **One Flew Over The Cukoo’s Nest** > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > …both the books and the BBC adaptations of Wodehouse’s **Jeeves and Wooster**. Me too. My entry in the sweepstakes: **Deliverance**. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/23 "2012-08-12T20:19:22Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Kubrick rules this thread. > A Clockwork Orange I came to post this one. The book is a clever political fable; the movie is…well, you know what the movie is. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/24 "2012-08-12T20:29:54Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Kubrick rules this thread. > > \ > One Flew Over The Cukoo’s Nest > \ It is not a Kubrick movie. It was directed by Milos Forman. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/25 "2012-08-13T00:04:17Z")
Hello, SDMB! First post! My vote is for **The Exorcist**. The book is very much about Father Karras and his demons, and I love the psychological complexity of it. The movie has some of that, but it’s more of a scarefest. It lacks the depth of the book, but it’s grade-A entertainment. I also have to admit to fondness for dual versions of **The Hunchback of Notre Dame** , the novel and the Disney version. I absolutely love the book, and while the movie bears very little resemblance to it (especially with the stupid wisecracking gargoyles), I think it has one of the best scores and set of songs ever for a Disney movie. “Hellfire” is sheer brilliance. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/26 "2012-08-13T10:58:35Z")
The Right Stuff Book for the depth of detail. Movie for the perfect casting, just dead solid perfect cast choices. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2012, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/27 "2012-08-13T12:48:14Z")
**Who Framed Roger Rabbit** – The movie is amazingly good, and not just because of Jessica Rabbit’s excessive voluptuous body. It really did set out to show the place of animated cartoons in American culture, to send up and prauise _film noir_, and to be a consistent mystery film on its own. The animation by Richard Williams is superb. The gathering of major animation characters in a single film was a _coup_ for someone (it’s worth seeing Donald Duck and a pre-Chuck Jones Daffy Duck sharing screen time and jabs, and to see Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse on screen simultaneously). The film is surprisingly sexy and sex-positive and gets away with stuff I’m surprised they did in a Disney film. And it gives a _film noir_ a happy ending (and marital fidelity!) without feeling like a total sellout. Plus it’s filled with tons of little throwaway bits that you don’t catch untril repeated viewings. Gary Wolfe’s novel was an off-the-wall blend of _noir_ novels and comic (not cartoon) characters, with all the dark stuff still in there that the film excised. An interesting piece of oddball speculation. **Pudd’n’head Wilson** was done as part of Nebraska Public Television’s 5-film Mark Twain series. The entire series was pretty awesome, bringing to the screen seldom or never-before-dramatized Twain pieces. This one featured Ken Howard in the title role as an eccentric freethinking Southern attorney. It’s an interesting mix of humorous character and a biting story on race relations that Twain wrote in his later years. They changed Twain’s orioginal story for the film, but the result is so good that I can’t complain. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/28 "2012-08-13T13:45:59Z")
**The World According to Garp** –The book for Irving’s fantastic writing and his tale of 1960’s sexual mores; the film for the great acting of Robin Williams, Glenn Close, and John Lithgow. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/29 "2012-08-13T13:55:29Z")
LotR, of course. I re-read the trilogy every couple of years, but I just adore the movies. I never get bored with either. Harry Potter - I’ve only read some of HP, but again, I adore the movies. As I have not read every page of every book, I’m not perturbed by any changes or compressions that cause such an outcry among fans. Gone With The Wind - I like the movie, I apologize, I think it’s all that an older epic movie should be, andl I think it’s perfectly cast. (though Paulette Goddard would have been just as good as Vivian Leigh, IMO). The book is awesome. Much more detailed in every way. More history, more psychological stuff between Rhett, Scarlett, and Ashley, more descriptive of life after the war ended and how very difficult llife was. Plus the book has a character or three that were left out of the movie altogether - I’m thinking of Will, and Scarlett’s other children, and I’m sure I’m leaving someone out… ---
**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:** [August 14, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/30 "2012-08-14T21:09:23Z")
**One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest** –The book for kowing from the get-go that the story is being told by a crazy Indian who pretends to be deaf and mute, and how McMurphy recognizes him as a fellower pretender practically from the first time they meet. The movie for that moment when Chief says “Thank You” and McMurphy’s reaction. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/31 "2012-08-14T21:31:18Z")
The Circus of Dr Lao, and the 7 Faces of Dr Lao. The book is a gem of brilliant wit, writing, and wordplay. The movie (if you can get over the antiquated racism) is wonderfully wacky-60’s-ensemble-cast fun. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/32 "2012-08-14T22:16:58Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > **Starship Troopers**. Love the book for it’s discussion of warfare, politics, and the character’s dry wit. And of course, for the powered armor. Love the movie for the music, scenery, and beer-and-popcorn fun of it all. This is what I came into the thread to post. I also love the “and that’s how we became space Nazis” undertone of the movie. I think the book has some interesting ideas, but the movie makes a decent deconstruction/satire of it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/33 "2012-08-14T22:44:31Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > The Circus of Dr Lao, and the 7 Faces of Dr Lao. > > The book is a gem of brilliant wit, writing, and wordplay. The movie (if you can get over the antiquated racism) is wonderfully wacky-60’s-ensemble-cast fun. Ensemble? Tony Randall IS the ensemble! I love this movie, always forgetting how good it is until it actually shows up on TCM once in a blue moon. And I have the book somewhere, too. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/34 "2012-08-15T00:37:43Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > This is what I came into the thread to post. I also love the “and that’s how we became space Nazis” undertone of the movie. I think the book has some interesting ideas, but the movie makes a decent deconstruction/satire of it. The whole trilogy of movies make for some fun over-thinking fodder, actually. They present just enough extra info to let you totally reevaluate what they just presented you and what “actually” is going on (each movie, in context, is a movie-within-a-movie, complete with commercial breaks, you never see the “real” world of the SST movie universe.) ---
**Author:** ![slm2955](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@slm2955](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slm2955)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/35 "2012-08-15T02:42:50Z")
harry potter series ---
**Author:** ![oreally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ab992/32.png) [@oreally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oreally)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/36 "2012-08-15T03:02:36Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Ensemble? Tony Randall IS the ensemble! I love this movie, always forgetting how good it is until it actually shows up on TCM once in a blue moon. And I have the book somewhere, too. Exactly - wow what a blast from the past, forgot about this, great little movie and showcased Randall’s surprising versatility. Underrated actor. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/37 "2012-08-15T12:07:47Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Ensemble? Tony Randall IS the ensemble! I love this movie, always forgetting how good it is until it actually shows up on TCM once in a blue moon. And I have the book somewhere, too. Well, not entirely. There’s Barbara Eden and Arthur O’Connell and a host of other actors who mever became famous, but contribute wonderfully. And there’s Ji Danforth’s animation, whivch is sub-Harryhausen in execution, but still cute. Randall didn’t play ALL the faces. He reportedly refused to get into the Yeti suit in that desert heat. Although, to make up for it, he also plays a nondescript customer sitting on the benches. I like the movie, but I don’t love it. It seems to be missing sometrhing. When I found Finney’s book it was a revelation – great bizarre writing. I sto;le two epigraphs from it for my own book. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/38 "2012-08-15T12:54:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Well, not entirely. There’s Barbara Eden and Arthur O’Connell and a host of other actors who mever became famous, but contribute wonderfully. And there’s Ji Danforth’s animation, whivch is sub-Harryhausen in execution, but still cute. > Randall didn’t play ALL the faces. He reportedly refused to get into the Yeti suit in that desert heat. Although, to make up for it, he also plays a nondescript customer sitting on the benches. > > I like the movie, but I don’t love it. It seems to be missing sometrhing. When I found Finney’s book it was a revelation – great bizarre writing. I sto;le two epigraphs from it for my own book. I spotted him as the customer on the benches! Not meaning to ignore the other actors (and somehow this movie reminds me of “The Music Man”). I’ve always wondered if Tony Randall did play all the faces. Did he play The Medusa, anyone know? If so, he makes a very comely woman! My favorite part he played was the blind seer, that was rather chillingly depressing and kinda stopped the show for me, for a moment. Though Barbara Eden getting all hot and bothered by Pan was rather hot and bothering, lol. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/39 "2012-08-15T13:13:46Z")
> [@phxjcc](#): > > The Right Stuff > > Book for the depth of detail. > > Movie for the perfect casting, just dead solid perfect cast choices. You beat me to my first choice, so I’ll go with my #2 for much the same reasons. _L.A. Confidential._ I’m amazed that anyone had the balls to attempt to make a movie out of this. The movie is simply pared down perfection. The book is so sprawling that the movie seems like a suppository pulled from its ass. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154/40 "2012-08-15T13:27:57Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I spotted him as the customer on the benches! > > Not meaning to ignore the other actors (and somehow this movie reminds me of “The Music Man”). I’ve always wondered if Tony Randall did play all the faces. Did he play The Medusa, anyone know? If so, he makes a very comely woman! My favorite part he played was the blind seer, that was rather chillingly depressing and kinda stopped the show for me, for a moment. Though Barbara Eden getting all hot and bothered by Pan was rather hot and bothering, lol. I’m pretty sure he played Medusa, as well as Pan, Merlin, Apollonius of Tyana (although in the book Apollonius had the Merlin role), and, of course, Dr. Lao. He didn’t play the Abominable Snowman (which is never called that in the book – it’s a Charles Beaumont imposition. The book calls it a Russian ot a Bear or something) or the Giant Serpent (although the internet Movie Database credits him with both) – the serpent was played by a hand puppet and a Jim Danforth animation, and resembled O’Connell, not Randall. And he doesn’t play the Loch Ness Monster (just a Sea Serpent in the book) So he doesn’t actually play seven faces, but the symbolism is all that’s important. The DVD box the imdb shows gets seven faces by using the unadulterated Randall (the customer, I guess) along with the yeti. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/works-where-you-liked-both-the-book-and-the-movie-but-for-different-reasons/631154.md?page=3)