So my usual phrasing when I've read a book and enjoyed a film adaptation but still think the book is the better experience is to say "If you liked this film, I highly recommend checking out the novel it's based on. It really [insert character or plot that gets more depth or whatever]".
When I say "the book was better", snippy-like, it often is because something about the film has made me feel negatively toward it.
But I've also said some variation on "the book was better" many times without it being a slam on the film.
I do hear what you're saying, though, that it can be more about being dismissive (and maybe even feeling a little superior?) than about genuinely wanting to compare two versions of a story.
I don't think that books or films are superior. They're different mediums with different strengths.
When I say "the book was better", snippy-like, it often is because something about the film has made me feel negatively toward it.
But I've also said some variation on "the book was better" many times without it being a slam on the film.
I do hear what you're saying, though, that it can be more about being dismissive (and maybe even feeling a little superior?) than about genuinely wanting to compare two versions of a story.
I don't think that books or films are superior. They're different mediums with different strengths.
But I’ve encountered pithy dismissal with this path of discourse far more often than someone voicing an appreciation for both, usually quickly and easily nothing all the ways in which the adaptation is “wrong.”
Like with TV, with novels, I frequently find the case of “more” really not meaning “better.” For instance, I quite like the novel of Let The Right One In. It’s very good.
However, the film (scripted by the novelist) towers over it. It’s subtle and streamlined interpretation elevates a pulpy vampire story into something truly masterful and artistic. I think there’s something to be said of the brevity (the soul of wit, right) that feature length demands. It can often lead to poignant choices.
While I agree that they are very different mediums, with different strengths, many novelists don’t exploit the strengths of the medium and try to write what are tantamount to verbose scripts (the “page turners” most people gravitate towards). I almost always find a comparable genre film more impressive, due to the aforementioned and relative complexity of making a film vs writing one of those paper backs.