How many times have you heard the phrase “The book was better.”? If you’re a friend of readers, then I’m sure it’s been more than a couple of times. As someone who loves both books and movies, it’s frustrating that sometimes it feels like I have to choose. I can either enjoy the book or the movie (which ever is consumed first), but not both.
I recently read The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (via DailyLit) and I’m still looking forward to the movie and I doubt the movie will diminish my opinion. The reason being, the movie is WAY different to the story (and much longer). I can tell this from watching the trailer, and because I knew of the film first, and was excited about the film (you rock, David Fincher), I read the short story out of curiosity.
C claims he never finished The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books because he watched the movie while still reading the book, and that ruined it for him. Things like Zaphod’s heads etc. Small inconcistencies.
I have another friend (we shall call him “Denmark”, because, well, that’s actually what we call him) who refuses to watch a movie unless he’s read the book. Or, if he watched the film first, he won’t read the book at all. So for him, it’s about priorities. If it’s not his kind of book (like Benjamin Button), he can take it or le
ave it, and enjoy the movie.
I prefer reading the book first, but with some, I just don’t care. I hear Slumdog Millionaire is based on a book. I may read the book one day, I may not. But wild horses couldn’t keep me from watching that movie.
Does it depend on what is more important to you? Do you have to pick a favourite in your love triangle with books and their adaptations?
I am slowly and sadly resigning myself to the conclusion that there just is no right or wrong (how many arguments end this way?). I give two examples:
Before watching A Clockwork Orange, I read the book, frequently paging to the glossary at the back. In the movie, there was no glossary. So reading the book first helped me understand the movie better. And, often, having read the book helps one understand the characters and their motivations so that you don’t feel lost. Which frequently happens if you are not familiar with the source material.
However, I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest before reading the book. This allowed me to be surprised by the ending in the movie, which is not a surprise in the book.
Perhaps it’s also a prestige issue. If David Fincher takes some short story which is not nearly as famous as The Great Gatsby, but turns it into an Oscar nominated movie, is that somehow okay? But if some unknown director decides to take a much loved book and try to turn a profit on the book’s success, is that less okay? Surely it’s all done for profit and prestige.
Is this true for any movie based on something else? What about movies based on graphic novels? Epic poems? TV shows? Games? Other movies?
So my conclusion is, I suppose, that it depends on the situation. A cop out, I know. But I do lean toward reading the book first, if I have the opportunity to, because then I would catch all those references in the movie. So for a richer experience, I think the book is better. Just learn to not judge the movie by the standards of the book.
So, if you’re sitting in a darkened movie theatre one day and as the credits roll up you hear a whisper “The book was better, but this was good too.” That may just be me.
PattiLain 
Book first too. No use reading the book when you all ready saw it in video.
If I read a book and then watch the movie, I’m always disappointed because they change it. If a movie comes out and there is a book that goes with it, I prefer not to read the book because I might have enjoyed the movie and deep down know that the book is different.
Btw, my husband suggest that I read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but I’m a bit hesitant because I watched the movie first.
I read the hitchikers guide before the movie came out, and am still thankful that i did. it was alot funnier than the movie, and it didn’t feature that annoying guy from the office in every scene. You just can’t cram the wealth of ideas springing from Douglas Adams’ brain into an hour and a half of celluloid. it can’t be done. other than that i usually find it interesting to see someone elses take on a book, as long as its a deeply intelligent person, who has the abilty to grasp the brevity of the source material. there will be blood is great example of a film adaptation that has arguably more gravitas than the book its adapted from. however when it came to the passion of the christ for example, i thought the book was better.
apologies for poor grammar and bad spelling, i’m not a writer.
A bad movie shouldn’t stop you enjoying a good book and visa versa. Saying that I’m trying to find an example when I’ve actually watched a movie before reading the book…
Now reading books before the movie doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the film – it depends on how good the film is.
I read Q&A before watching Slumdog Millionaire and I think this made me a hell of a lot more excited about seeing the film. The film didn’t follow the book exactly but that didn’t ruin the film for me.
I read A Scanner Darkly before watching the film – turns out the film helped me understand the book a bit more probably by dulling it down to my level 😉
I’ve read the Watchmen comic book before watching the trailer and now the trailer makes a hell of a lot more sense and I’m a lot more excited about seeing the film. Even if the film doesn’t live up to the book – so what? It’s not going to ruin the fact that it’s a great book.
The hitch hikers movie was pretty disappointing but but not because I never imagined Ford Prefect to be black and imagined Zaphod to have one head under another but because it was a terrible, mediocre film. It shouldn’t stop you reading the most fantastic series of books! God damn it!! Patti give C a slap from me 😉
Anyway rant over. Just ask people what they make of the media you’re going to experience. If people say the film is crap but the book is great read the book and visa versa!
I feel the same way you do. I try to read the book before I see a movie unless it is something kind of weird. But most of the time I am disappointed with the movie. For instance. Ella Enchanted. The book was wonderful. The movie, well left a lot to be desired. But then there is the case of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. Loved the movie, can’t go near the book. It all depends.
Rudy: Yeah, a big problem for me is when they chop so many cool parts of the book just to suit the average movie watcher’s attention span. They lost so much good stuff.
Steve: I’ll remember to give him a smack 😛
Also, I like reading a book before the movie is even in the works. Otherwise I just envision the actors rather than imagining the characters myself.
Book.
Always the book.
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-ab