I totally agree with you! Saw the movie 1st. The book I struggled with and finally put away. Can’t forget the classic lines: My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!
@Claire Hated the book but enjoyed the movie. The only thing better about the book is I preferred the London setting and had a hard time adjusting to the fact that they set the movie in NY.
I found the film at my local library. It appears to be a Hollywood/Bollywood production. The only actor who I recognized was Shriya Saran. Absolutely great movie. Well worth looking for.
@Julia I briefly thought of The Godfather myself considering the movie may be one of the best all time…but the book was so unbelievable. I say a tie… 🙂
The Godfather, The Notebook, Psycho. Bridges of Madison County, Jaws, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Shutter Island. The Shinning. The Silence of the Lambs, Fight Club. The Paperboy, No Country For Old Men. The Girl With the Dragoon Tattoo.
I love Les Liaisons dangereuses with the power of a thousand suns but the movie (based on the brilliant Christopher Hampton play) is fantastic. I’ll also give a vote to the cinematic versions of Planet Of The Apes, Jaws, The Silence Of The Lambs, Twilight and Fifty Shades Of Grey.
There is, The Children of the Roses, but I haven’t read it because I wasn’t impressed enough by the first novel. It was adequately readable, but nothing better than that. However, the movie is a brilliant black comedy. And I think the movie did the right thing in keeping any hint of children out of the adaptation.
Nope; sorry. No adaptation, however well done, has ever conveyed the incisive perfection of Austen’s writing. She wrote with a razor that drew blood without causing pain. That’s near to impossible to replicate on screen.
Very rare, imo, for that to happen, but the cinematic renditions of 2001 and A Clockwork Orange, back-to-back adaptations by Stanley Kubrick, pleased me more than the books…and, don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the books. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road translated to the movies very well also. Ditto for his No Country for Old Men. Hollywood usually botches fine novels, but they got those right!
Quite a few. ‘A Town Called Alice, for example. Well, I guess I have in mind Masterpiece Theater adoptations and the like, rather than movies, for the most part. I’ve long felt that second string novels have worked up wonderfully as their period pieces, with charming actors filling-out parts that were underwritten. Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels were too deliberately obscure, and the actor portraying him and the one playing the young girl are more engaging than these characters were in the novels.
(I’m expecting to be held to task for this opinion by some of you who are more sophisticated readers than I am .)
Fight Club
The Devil’s Advocate
The Princess Bride
I totally agree with you! Saw the movie 1st. The book I struggled with and finally put away. Can’t forget the classic lines: My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
I agree with you. Or perhaps it was a cast that made the movie winner.
I loved the movie! Never read.
Brokeback mountain
The Silence of the Lambs
Blade Runner! Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Not better but different and equal in its creation, “The Shining”
Better, I thought.
Fried Green Tomatoes (at the Whistle Stop Cafe)
Everything is Illuminated
I loved the book! But haven’t tried the movie yet.
“The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society “ was a good one.
The Girl On the Train
@Philippa I have only watched the movie. But I didn’t find the ending shocking…to be honest.
@Claire Hated the book but enjoyed the movie. The only thing better about the book is I preferred the London setting and had a hard time adjusting to the fact that they set the movie in NY.
@Philippa I agree . I liked the book but when I learned the film was set in US , I thought “ oh no way “ , didn’t watch it.
Shawnshank redemption
Yes. Even King fans agree
And the green mile
A time to kill
I don’t remember much difference
@Jay I watched the movie first, then read the book. I think I was biased ?
Midnight’s Children
@Christopher I had no idea there was a film adaptation! The novel is amazing, I can’t imagine surpassing it
I found the film at my local library. It appears to be a Hollywood/Bollywood production. The only actor who I recognized was Shriya Saran. Absolutely great movie. Well worth looking for.
The GodFather, Planet of the Apes .
@Julia Yes, Planet of the Apes! I found Pierre Boulle’s novel a gripping read, but it has some serious flaws.
(Haven’t read The Godfather yet, on my TBR shelf).
@Julia I briefly thought of The Godfather myself considering the movie may be one of the best all time…but the book was so unbelievable. I say a tie… 🙂
@Julia I didn’t know there was an original fiction written….for Planet of the Apes.
Children of Men, I could barely get through the book, but it’s one of my favorite movies
I think The Virgin Suicides was a tie.
Maybe it’s because I saw it before I read it, but I think the film of “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera beats the book.
@Jenny I didn’t know the movie was made….
@Claire It’s wonderful. Daniel Day Lewis and Juliette Binoche star in it.
The Godfather, The Notebook, Psycho. Bridges of Madison County, Jaws, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Shutter Island. The Shinning. The Silence of the Lambs, Fight Club. The Paperboy, No Country For Old Men. The Girl With the Dragoon Tattoo.
@Joan yes jaws! And The Shining .
I agree with you on Psyco! Didn’t enjoy the book itself. I both didn’t enjoy book and movie when it comes to ‘Shutter Island’.
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian.
Can’t agree with this. The movie was a marvel, no doubt of it, but it didn’t surpass the book. Call them brilliant equals.
The Great Gatsby.
That’s easy. But I’ll never believe Decaprio where he plays a convincing man over 20. ?
Robert Redford every time.
Jaws and The Warriors. Two of my favorite movies from the 70s
@Cassandra Yes, the film Jaws is way better than Peter Benchley’s book!
I didn’t know The Warriors was adapted from a book
The Warriors are terrible people in the book. At one point they rape a girl
Yes, the book is a lot different. They aren’t “heros” as they are in the movie.
I love Les Liaisons dangereuses with the power of a thousand suns but the movie (based on the brilliant Christopher Hampton play) is fantastic. I’ll also give a vote to the cinematic versions of Planet Of The Apes, Jaws, The Silence Of The Lambs, Twilight and Fifty Shades Of Grey.
The Book Thief
I loved Book Thief in fiction, but still haven’t watched the movie. Would love to give it a try, though.
The English Patient
The War of the Roses.
I heard there’s a book sequel to that
There is, The Children of the Roses, but I haven’t read it because I wasn’t impressed enough by the first novel. It was adequately readable, but nothing better than that. However, the movie is a brilliant black comedy. And I think the movie did the right thing in keeping any hint of children out of the adaptation.
I’ve seen it many times and love it “I think I’ll go piss in the fish”
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
The English Patient. Bridget Jones.
The painted veil. Hated the book. Loved the movie
Man Called Ove
DrZhivago
Gone With the Wind
@Barbara I did not realize Man Celled Ove was made into a movie! I am glad you liked it! It is pretty hard to top the book!
Gone with the wind
The original Pride and Prejudice…
Nope; sorry. No adaptation, however well done, has ever conveyed the incisive perfection of Austen’s writing. She wrote with a razor that drew blood without causing pain. That’s near to impossible to replicate on screen.
Silver Linings playbook
@Stacey Ah, saw the film, and loved it, but not read the book!
Under the Tuscan Sun.
All of the Harry Potter books!
Ian Fleming’s JB books ~ except Casino Royale, wh has never fully captured the original book’s power. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Breakfast on Pluto
Very rare, imo, for that to happen, but the cinematic renditions of 2001 and A Clockwork Orange, back-to-back adaptations by Stanley Kubrick, pleased me more than the books…and, don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the books. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road translated to the movies very well also. Ditto for his No Country for Old Men. Hollywood usually botches fine novels, but they got those right!
Breakfast at Tiffanys.
Now I have “Moon River” playing in my head!
The Kate Atkinson series
Quite a few. ‘A Town Called Alice, for example. Well, I guess I have in mind Masterpiece Theater adoptations and the like, rather than movies, for the most part.
I’ve long felt that second string novels have worked up wonderfully as their period pieces, with charming actors filling-out parts that were underwritten.
Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels were too deliberately obscure, and the actor portraying him and the one playing the young girl are more engaging than these characters were in the novels.
(I’m expecting to be held to task for this opinion by some of you who are more sophisticated readers than I am .)