Book Vs Movie

Movie adaptation of a novel...Or the book itself? Take a pick!

‘Which is better?’ is the question we have been asking since we climbed down from the trees. And I don’t know the answer too. What is so strange is that your perception of the film depends on whether you've read the book before seeing the film. When you've read the book first, the film will likely disappoint you because as you already have a perception of the story in your mind. When you've seen the film first you don't feel disappointed after reading the book because the book only adds to the perception of the film for some. But it hinders the imagination for many. And in the end that's what fantasy is about: using your own imagination!

Ask any reader who has seen the movie version of a favorite novel, and the answer will usually be, "The book was better."

That's because readers of a novel have already made their own perfect movie version. They have visualized it, fleshed out the locations and set the pace as they either zipped through the book or scrupulously savored every word. Often they have even cast it.

Great classics like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Homer's Iliad have been made into movies. Of course, it's nothing new. Over the years, many fantastic movies have been based on literary classics: Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Edith Wharton's House of Mirth, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, and Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleeping Hollow."

Carefully but critically, for it's simply not an option to be totally faithful to a fat novel. The movie version of Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha takes 2 hr. 24 min.; reading his text could take weeks. Almost any novel's plot must be compressed into a black hole of incident and image. Then there's the challenge any movie faces of putting thoughts into words, emotions into gestures, descriptions into actions. And always the adapters must worry not just about satisfying those persnickety readers but also about pleasing the audience ignorant of the book.

But nevertheless, there are certain movie adaptations like Star Wars, Harry Porter, Lord of the rings which turned out to be equally successful as movies. Action packed page-turner and action packed visual assault. Winner on both fronts!

Books are always going to be able to build up a much more real world as, there’s more information and your imagination coupled with the authors actual written word will surpass any film made. Where the film comes after the book it’s all going to be interpretation using tools not available to the writer, a complimentary soundtrack, the cinematography, the actors used and their interpretation of the part. We also feel personally connected to the stories we read after all we make them real in our minds so when you watch a film you can’t help but think, “this isn’t as good as my version was”. But conversely speaking, some of the movies resemble the books closely, some less closely. "Yes, the book is better," they say. But it's always fun to sit back in your seat with a box of popcorn, Coke and enjoy the visual treat while watching a movie! :)