Films that are better than the book...

Wow! I love the film Deliverance, but James Dickey is one of my wife's favorite poets.

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I would also have to mention this epic ...

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I would say that books are almost always better than the film. recently ive seen Into the Wild and i read the book after seeing the film. The book is...better.
I think with this book specifically you are able to create the landscape for yourself to a large degree. The book got me wanting to travel more than the movie did. I also found the movie to be corny at times. the book was just flawless.

I read Stone Angel, but have not seen the movie yet. The book i read in school, and ive been told that the movie reproduces the book quite well. can anybody confirm this for me? I wouldn't mind seeing ellen burstyn, shes an awesome actress. All the reviews online for this one are standard 3.5 stars out of 5 or 6.8-7 out of ten.

I am DEFINETLY doing to get flamed for this but I think that the film versions of LoTR are better then the books,
*gets behind bullet proof glass*
I mean I love reading fantasy books, I have read everything from thomas covenant to sword of truth, dragonlance, belgaid series, wheel of time, etc. (pretty much most well know fantasy books and many not-so known) and I love them all but as much as I respect J.R.R tollkien for revolutionizing the fantasy series and the LoTR series has become a staple for every fantasy reader, I personally believe that the books seemed almost too short, which is wierd i know, there are many different stories being told at once and many of the characters suffer because of that because everytime some development happens, it switches to a different narrative... But I think It was well suited for the movies kind of because this exact reason (not really getting my point across but I tried)

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I recently read Christopher Preist's The Prestige and didn't enjoy it much at all. I love Nolan's film though.

Also, Children of Men is one of the greatest science fiction films of all time and the book is just mediocre.

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These are all instances where I liked both the book and the movie.

I agree that The Prestige was a better - or at least more memorable - movie than book.

I also would say I liked watching A Streetcar Named Desire better than reading the play, and the primary reason is Brando.

The Magnificent Ambersons was notoriously butchered but overall I probably would still like Welles' adaptation better than the novel by Boothe Tarkington.

The Eel by Shohei Imamura is a much weirder and wilder experience than Yoshimura's fairly straightforward melodrama. It's also got a much happier ending.

But you are pointing out the inherent nature of the two mediums, and citing it as a flaw in one of them. Because one medium is much more subjective than the other shouldn't be counted as a flaw, IMO.

I could just as easily counter and say that books will usually be better because they are easier to make, and authors get off easy because they don't have to make a bunch of other things work beyond the story itself, like sound, visuals, and actors performances. That stuff is just there in the story and the reader fills it all in. I could say that - I just don't think it would be very fair.

It's apples to oranges in most cases, I think. Meanwhile, I would much rather watch the LotR films instead of reading those Tolkien books again - I just don't dig his digressive writing style.

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Godfather and Forrest are two excellent examples of films that were better than the novel. Not taking away anything from those two novels. They were both excellent. It's just both movies were absolute masterpieces.

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I wouldn't say it's better than the book, because the book was a masterpiece of fiction, but a damn good representation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited was the BBC miniseries.

...the 1981 miniseries mind you, and NOT that 2008 blasphemic bastardization....

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Kagemusha is better than the Shakespeare play it is based on, because it was never written.

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I thought the lord of the rings movies were as good as the books.

also 1408

No one has or will agree with me but I say Watchmen was better as a film. I loved the graphic novel but the film apadtion captured it so well.

Fight Club. I loved the book but the portrayal of the characters was marvalous on film.

Harry Potter was nothing like the books. Nor was Narnia. Lord of the Rings was about equal IMO.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was better than the book, imo, but still not very good.

I've recently read the Percy Jackson series and enjoyed every god damned minute of it. They're just a fun and easy read when you don't feel like investing the time and commitment in heavier volumes.
I thought the movie was averagely well done even though it sported a relatively big plot hole. Why would Luke even send them after the pearls if he wanted them to die in Hades? Couldn't he have just given them the flying shoes and a few tips like he did in the book? But they chose the easier way out and let themselves off the hook, by not explaining the prophecy and the intricate Olympian politics but opted instead to slap a cool pair of flying shoes on Percy and have him paraded around the more popular Greek myths like Medusa and the Hydra with the cute girl and the cool black friend on a quest for the pearls. They laid none of the groundwork necessary to go on with the story if they decide to make the other books into features.
But this one will do for the kids I guess.

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In my opinion, The Prestige is far better than the book, although the book is still very good. The book is well written and clever, but it just seems to run out of steam and ideas.
I believe the author, Christopher Priest has seen the film 3x and commented that he "wished I had thought of that". Again, bearing out Nolan's brilliance.

I am agree. I do not like to read books ever rather i like to watch movies and which is far more entertaining.

The Shining
The Silence of the Lambs
Bourne Idenity
The Wizard of Oz
Stand By Me

Fight Club.

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Nice posts. I only thought that most films based from books gone bad these days.