Book Adaptations into Books

Last updated on 26 April 2021

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People always say that the book is better than the movie.

Of it is. Most of the time. There are some movies which I think are certainly better than the book though. Sometimes the scenery descriptions in books are too much; so there are lots of trees and they’re green. Got it. Move on. Sometimes the chapters are too long and there’s just no way you can ‘just read another chapter’ because it will take you al night (this often means that it takes way too long to read, and because you are constantly picking it up and putting it down, you don’t really enjoy it and ergo like the movie better). Sometimes the characters are so flat that you can’t even remember reading if they actually had a face or not.

Yes, sometimes books are a little ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading and have done ever since I can remember, and a lot of the time I get really excited when I hear they are making a movie about a book I really like. For example, the new craze at the moment is The Hunger Games Trilogy. I have yet to read all of them yet, I’ve just read the first one (I’m thinking I should just stop waiting for the library to have them in and just buy them), and I was excited AS to hear to the movie was coming out…but still haven’t seen it yet. Do you realise how freakin expensive it is to go to the movies in England?! In New Zealand, my friends and I would often to go a movie a week, or a fortnight. I’ve been here nearly three months and haven’t been to the cinema. I’m getting withdrawal symptoms.

ANYWAY! Moving on.

Here’s a list of movies that I reckon are BETTER than the book (sorry the pictures are blurry. Copied them straight from IMDB):

1. Stardust

I saw this movie and absolutely loved it! When I heard that it was actually based on a book, I was really excited. I rushed to the library and borrowed. What.A.Let.Down!!! It’s just a thin little thing, but by golly, it was not as fun as the movie! Don’t read it. If you HAVE read, sorry. Should have warned you earlier.

2. Lord of the Rings

When I was about 10 years, my dad read me all three Lord of the Rings. I can’t believe I sat through it all! I love Lord of the Rings, they are three of my favourite movies ever (and not just because they’re filmed in New Zealand), but the movies are so much better! No offence to J. R. R Tolkien, his story is EPIC and I love it, but I don’t want to read 6 pages of Elvin song, or 5 pages about the ent wives (these arn’t exact…just work with me here). The movies are fantastic.

3. Sherlock Holmes

The reason both movies are better: Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. Enough said.

4. Atonement

This is NOT one of my favourites. Not sure I even really like it. I do know, that I liked the movie better than the book. But that’s probably I had to study the book for University in my first year, and often, when you study a book, all enjoyment of it goes out the window. Except for that time we had to study the Hobbit…which only made it better.

5. The Vampire Diaries

I know, I know. It’s not a movie. And I have to confess I haven’t actually read the books, but my friend has and she is always giving me updates about how different they are from the show and how the show is better. After her comments, I decided I wasn’t even going to bother reading them. The show is amazing, and I know it’s all vampires and witches and whatnots, but it’s actually amazing and I’m not ashamed of loving it.

Of course, there are lots more, but those are the only ones I can think of right now. There are heaps of movies that other people have said are better than the books. I can’t really comment, because I haven’t read them, but here’s a list anyway and you can decide for yourself:

• The Devil Wears Prada
• Shawshank Redemption
• Ben-Hur
• Gone With the Wind
• The Princess Bride (this is certainly in my top 5 of my favourite movies. I love it. But I haven’t read the book, so wouldn’t know if it’s better. I assume it is.)

And so on and so forth.

So there we have it. Movies that are better than their books.

What are your favourite (or not so favourite) movies that are better than the book?