As the title suggests.....
what is your fave book?
was the film version better or worse.
have we done this thread?
mine is 2001? great book great film
book was slightly better

lord of the rings movie was far better than the book.
jaws was a better film
and harry potter book

I enjoyed the book Around The World in 80 Days as a kid. I can't stand the horrid Jackie Chan version, but the 1989 mini-series with Pierce Brosnan and Eric Idle was a near perfect interpretation!

"Out Of The Dust"

Will make a good movie but the book will remain special.

also "Scary Dark Rides"...won't be a movie though.

I know I know...but there is nothing as satisfying as writing your own stuff or as exciting as reading it in book form...at least for me. It's Gigantic!

For me:

Mr. Frederick Forsyth's book: "The Day of the Jackal" a.k.a. Chacal. (1971)
Movie, 2 years later.
Starring: Mr. Edward Fox, as The Jackal.
(Plot: To assassinate President Charles de Gaulle)
Tough call. Have to lean, slightly, towards the book. BTW, Loved the film.

Warmest regards,

Sixten

Favorite book: A Prayer for Owen Meany, but John Irving. Made (VERY loosely) into a godawful movie called Simon Birch.

Others on the short list of books: The Sun Also Rises, The Accidental Tourist, The Great Gatsby.

Books that I read and liked a lot that were made into very good movies:
The Godfather
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner).

The Hobbit, reading the trilogy first, ruined the movies for me, that and the background music was so loud I could not hear the actors deliver their lines.

Lonesome Dove on the other hand, I saw the made for TV movie first and read the book second. In this case, I think the movie trumps the book hands down.

I like Shawshank Redemption so much I refuse to read the book it just could not be better than the movie.

Lonesome Dove film over book mostly because of Robert Duvall. Awesome performance.

Dune...book WAY over the ponderous ugly movie (and stupid TV series)

Doing it in reverse fashion I saw silence of the lambs,the film,first.
I thought it was a truly great film,then I read the book and was blown away.
Even knowing the story from the film,the book was still outstanding and I was unable to put it down.That led me to read the rest of the series and other Thomas Harris titles.Some as good,some not.
Ray.

To Kill A Mockingbird - as I usually find, the book was better than the movie but the movie was great. Gregory Peck, I think, was a perfect choice to play Atticus Finch.

The movie "Coma", book by Michael Crichton. The book and move were both excellent. Small differences between the two did not matter. It helped I think that Crichton himself directed the movie.

To Kill A Mockingbird was Robert Duvall's first movie role also if I'm not mistaken. It was a none speaking part and you don’t see him till the very end.

"A Scanner Darkly" by Philip K. Dick. Richard Linklatter did a pretty good job of making an un-makeable movie...




Still waiting for the film version of "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

I used to think so, too, until I saw the Keanu Reeves version.

Book by Robin Cook, movie directed and screenplay by Crichton.

This could go on and on. (great topic)

godfather, great book, great movie (considering the book was almost GF1 and GF2, GF being my favorite movie)
fear and loathing in las vegas, good movie better book
catch 22-book slightly better than movie
all the presidents men-movie was better
hunt for red october-movie was slightly better
breakfast of champions-book was WAY WAY better than the movie
hitchhikers guide to the galaxy- book was again MUCH better
the shinning- movie was better
Apocolypse now- never got all the way through heart of darkness, but had to mention the film

2001-nearly equal. the movie could be taken to another level altogether. Kubrick rules!

I am going to have to add more, wether or not you care...

No book has given me more lifelong pleasure than Lord of the Rings. I first read it when I was 13 and I read it 1-3 times each year until I was in my 20s. I probably read it every 2-3 years now.

The films were an enormous disappointment. The cinematography was beautiful, and one scene exceeded my imagination: the inside of Bag Eng. Wow!

Unfortunately, the book is all about character and the film did a horrible job of establishing characters and relationships.

John

My favorite book is probably "Inferno" by Larry Niven. Will never be made into a movie as it suggests that God's purpose for the Underworld is NOT never ending punishment.

Another by Niven would be Lucifer's Hammer. Another one that'll never be made as it ends with the survivors fighting to defend the last nuclear power plant in the country.

One flew over the cuckoos nest-both were excellent
the right stuff-book was slightly better
I would say the book lonesome dove was better, the movie was great though-awesome cast and performances

Book: Donny Brasco Great book, good movie.
Book: Goodfellas Great book, very good movie.
Book: 21(not correct name and there are 2 versons out) Great books, ok movie.

Hey, Mary is in the bar! Have a beer:

:stout:

Actually, here's a round for everyone in the thread:

:stout:
:stout:
:stout:


As for my own on topic contribution: for a time I was rather obsessed with the book A Clockwork Orange. Must have read it fifty times. (It's a short book. )

The movie changes a few things--a few very important things. Important enough to suggest that Kubrick is actually offering a different interpretation of the human experience rather than simply putting the book on film. The result is that the book and the film become a sort of dialog between thinkers. Neither is better. Both are profound and worth paying attention to.

Just for comparison, I think that Kubrick IMPROVED Clarke's version of 2001.

Kubrick was really something, wasn't he?