Films that are better than the book...

In most cases i think the books are better than the movies, but Million Dollar Baby is better than the book it is based on.

__________________
"Get busy living or get busy dying... That's ******* right"

bit controversial but i'd have to say... Jurassic Park.

The ending is completely different and the film really sells the tension in a way the book just fails to do.

the film It was ****ing terrible, but the Stephen King novel wasn't too bad.

The Shining

The Shining is kind of tough to call. The reason why is, the book and the movie are two completely different animals.

Bear with me, it's been many years since I read the book. Hopefully I won't foul this up too bad.


They're both set at the Overlook, they get snowed in, Jack Torrence goes off the deep end, and but for a few other things, that's pretty much where the similarities end.

The movie has ghosts wandering the hotel, but in the book, the hotel is actually the ghost.

In the movie, there's a maze. In the book, it's a botanical garden in which the animal shaped bushes and whatnot seemingly move towards the hotel.

Also, there's no swarm of bees in the movie, like thee is in the book.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the movie. It's one of Jack's best performances. He just makes you feel uneasy from the first time you see him.

The true horror of the movie was watching Shelley Duvall *ahem* act. Man, she was just soooo bad in that.

The best part of her performance is the last 30 minutes when literally she runs around with that huge knife and trembles and looks horrified. That all she does.

__________________
"A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer" ~ Comedian Mitch Hedberg (1968-2005)

The Green Mile

the green mile

this is the exception as all stephen king books are better than the adaptations
misery was close though
I havent read the shining

I'd say King's other old-timey-prison-drama, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, was also better on-screen than it was on the page. More fleshed out in some ways, combined some superfluous characters, etc. It felt backwards, where the story (which was a novella in a collection of several of them) generally felt like the shorter, less polished version of the film.

Just rewatched Misery the other day still a great movie

__________________
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

The Bourne Trilogy, Found them quite a clunky hard read.

I thought the Bourne books were okay, but I agree that the movies are better.

As for Stephen King, I like the movie adaptations of Carrie and The Shining better than the books. I think the only other King books that I've read are Firestarter and the first couple-hundred pages of The Stand.

I've read all his books. I like his writing style. The Stand is my favorite.
I also like Ray Bradberrry and James Lee Burke's style. Their prose is acutely desriptive and sounds often like poetry and very strong in character development and story line but my favorite writer is Earnest Hemingway, not flowery but very consice and to the point.

Absolutely, a lot better.

Ive read Jurassic park and The lost world by Michael Crichton. Jurassic park was better as a movie. Mostly because they got rid of needless characters and changed the casts age a bit. The Lost World was way better in the book. It didnt have that stupid storyline of the trex running loose in the city. In saying that: if they had the budget/actors/directors needed to recreate the original story im sure they could have made a more than interesting/enticing film :

__________________
Look, I... I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker, or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am.... I am a Librarian

Papillon by Henri Charriere was at least as good as the book.

You didn't like the movie?

On, no, I loved the movie but I also think the book was extremely well written. There was a book sequel, but nowhere as good as the original.

Oh ok misunderstood you

Story of my llife, but that's ok, you are in good company