Books
9 Movies That Were Better Than The Books
Coming from the girl who owns a T-shirt with "The book was better" plastered across it, it's hard for me to acknowledge some books come alive better on the big screen. Although most movies don't capture the pure magic and tiny details a book does, movies can bring a new — and sometimes better — point of view to the story.
For example, I'm incredibly impressed with The Hunger Games series adaptations right now. Getting to see President Snow without Katniss around and expanding the world of Panem by visiting other districts is pretty exciting for fans. Are the movies better than the books? It's definitely a debate worth having!
Going to see a movie based on a book can be difficult for us book-lovers. Watching a film completely ignore important characters or change the ending dramatically (Paper Towns, anyone?) is hard. The story was already good, so why change it up? It isn't too common for a movie to beat a book, but when it does happen, it's a movie you'll want to own and watch all the time.
Don't believe me? I've gathered some of the best movies around that were originally based on books. Check out these books that turned out to be just as good — or, hey, even better — on film:
Jurassic Park
The novel originally written by Michael Crichton in 1990 was adapted by Stephen Spielberg only three years later. The book does offer the scientific theory and morals of bringing an extinct species back to life, but doesn't focus on story movement and action. The movie amped up the action, characters, and all around plot with some amazing special effects. Without this incredible adaptation, you wouldn't have been so excited to fill your summer with Jurassic World screenings.
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump the novel is about a man named Forrest who grew up perfectly healthy and becomes an astronaut where he meets an ape named Sue in space. Sound like the familiar Forrest Gump you'd share a box of chocolates with? The movie and the book are hardly comparable, other than the fact that they have the same character names. Thankfully, the movie adaptation created a wonderful story your heart just melts at every time you watch it.
Sense and Sensibility
After winning an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Adapted Screenplay, it comes to no surprise that Jane Austen's original novel was better on the screen than in the book. Austen is an amazing writer, and Sense and Sensibility is a great book, but this particular story was given the fresh makeover it deserved as a movie.
Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club and many more incredible novels, loved the movie adaptation. In fact, he claimed he was sort of "embarrassed of the book," because the movie connected plot lines Palahniuk never saw while writing it. The romantic qualities between Tyler and Marla were also enhanced in the movie, which the author approved of since that was one of the main points of the book.
Stardust
This masterpiece written by Neil Gaiman sparks an interesting book versus movie debate, but you know which side I fall on. The main difference is in the endings. The movie ending was much more climactic and action-packed. I love them both, really I do, but the casting for the movie and the quick-paced storyline made the movie just a little bit better in my, well, book.
The Princess Bride
Another one to debate, but for the readers who didn't quite get William Goldman's witty and sarcastic humor on the page, it definitely came across in the movie. Goldman adapted the screenplay himself, so much of what made the book so great is still within the movie. The story-within-a-story plot line of the grandfather reading to his grandson was portrayed much better on film than it was in the book, and for that reason, The Princess Bride movie wins.
The Godfather
Known as one of the best movies made of all time and an American classic, it's no question that, in this case, The Godfather book was outdone by its movie counterpart. Nominated for multiple awards and winning many of them, The Godfather became an epic trilogy still loved to this day.
Jaws
The fake model of Jaws isn't as real looking as it was back in the day, but the movie made a jaw-dropping experience the book just couldn't capture. Written by Peter Benchley, Jaws was originally more focused on a sexual affair than an exciting shark hunt. When it was adapted to film, the action was heightened, along with a climactic ending no one saw coming. Jaws the movie also presented us with some of the best horror-inducing theme music of all time.
The Notebook
For some readers, Nicholas Sparks' romantic plots and melodrama can be a bit too much on the page. Although I'm not a huge fan of Sparks, the movie adaptation of The Notebook has earned its way to becoming one of the best romantic films of all time. It's hard to deny that the teenager inside of you swooned at the tale of two lovers never meant to be together, and still do every time you watch Ali and Noah's heartbreaking tale.
Images: rpb1001/flickr; Giphy (10)
