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re: Do you think it's possible to make a movie better than the book?
Posted on 9/6/23 at 9:38 am to GoldenGuy
Posted on 9/6/23 at 9:38 am to GoldenGuy
quote:
You have my sword.
I started reading Fellowship after watching both it and the Two Towers movies, and only got halfway through Book 1 (so, a quarter of the way through Fellowship). I stopped because I realized that the amount I had read that could probably fill a whole movie, and we hadn’t gotten to hiding from the ringwraiths. Beyond what was shown in the film, nothing was going to matter in the long run, so why was I still reading.
And you have my bow.
I tried to start reading this series several times over the years, and finally on my last deployment, i fully committed to reading the entire trilogy (not really a trilogy, per se, but i digress). and i'll say, i got it read. and it was...ok. parts were very good. but it was on average a chore to get through the books, and i was glad when i was finally done.
i get the cultural and historical significance, the impact on the genre, and all that. but it was still a chore to get through. i'll put Dune in that same category, which i also read on that same deployment.
This post was edited on 9/6/23 at 9:39 am
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Posted on 9/6/23 at 10:14 am to Jay Are
quote:
I know you didn't put a Michael Crichton book on your list...right?
quote:
Yeah, I'm not going to feel crazy thinking an era-defining film is better than the good Crichton book it's based on.
In the book they drove Land Cruisers...in the movie, they drove Ford Explorers. That, alone, should be enough to elevate the book over the movie.
Posted on 9/6/23 at 10:21 am to GoldenGuy
quote:
Beyond what was shown in the film, nothing was going to matter in the long run, so why was I still reading.
Unless you only care about what happens in the movie
Also, a major part of the Hobbits and Saruman's story ends different in the books. So in the actual long run, yes, it does matter. The movies, while great, leave out a lot of great moments and character depth.
Also, you can't even make a legitimate argument on this subject because, you know, you haven't read the books.
"No doubt about it the movies are better than the books! I will die on that hill. I should clarify though, I haven't read the books."
This post was edited on 9/6/23 at 11:20 am
Posted on 9/6/23 at 10:27 am to Tigris
quote:
Figured that would show up here. No.
I love the movie. The book is still better, and I've read it at least 8 times because it is that good. The book isn't all that long. It was written as a screen play by Cormack McCarthy, and took a while for the Coen's to get to it. Almost every word in the movie is from the book. But the book has two important parts that had to be left out. The first is the hitchhiker - the other woman found at the motel with Llewelyn. Great dialogue in the book, it had to be left out for brevity I guess, OK, but this is why books are better. Second, Sheriff Bell's WWII backstory. That was important for understanding the ending and should not have been left out, period. So no, NCFOM book is better than the movie; and the movie is great.
I'd almost put these par with each other for me. It's one of the very few instances when a movie is equally as good as a good book. There are numerous cases where good movies came from average books.
The only instance I'd say where a movie is better than a great book, is Blade Runner. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is a great book, and the greatest book title of all time, but I like the movie better. Obviously you get more character/crisis depth with the book, but I find Dekker to be more interesting in the movie and I like the ending better in the movie.
Posted on 9/6/23 at 10:38 am to KCSilverTiger
The Hunger Games.
I read all the books for some reason, they’re awful, definition of someone who has a good idea but doesn’t know how to execute it. She writes like a 12yr old.
The movies are better because they’re only a few hours long so it’s over quicker
I read all the books for some reason, they’re awful, definition of someone who has a good idea but doesn’t know how to execute it. She writes like a 12yr old.
The movies are better because they’re only a few hours long so it’s over quicker
Posted on 9/6/23 at 10:45 am to GeauxTigerTM
quote:
That said, most are awful...see most sci-fi/fantasy adaptations.
I Am Legend
I hate this movie so much. The title doesn't even make sense in relation to the movie. It actually makes sense with the story in the book.
I was so looking forward to the movie and then it was an abomination.
(spoiler - but don't really care. Don't watch this movie)
How could the character say "I am Legend" when he dies?!? There is no realization of this. Why not just make the movie and call it something else?
Posted on 9/6/23 at 12:26 pm to TigerDeacon
He’s a legend because his blood saved humanity 
I think this movie is a classic example of one that if you never read the book, you like the movie because you don’t have expectations. If you read the book then watched the movie, you hated the movie because you had story expectations
I think this movie is a classic example of one that if you never read the book, you like the movie because you don’t have expectations. If you read the book then watched the movie, you hated the movie because you had story expectations
Posted on 9/6/23 at 4:01 pm to BigBinBR
quote:That's just it- you can't show the battles.quote:
To be fair, Ender's Game was never going to work as a movie;
I agree. It probably would have worked as a series though.
And you can can easily show all the battles. The set up would basically be exactly like esports are now.
Ender (and the reader) THOUGHT he was playing video games, simulations.
They even go into detail at times; like how the girl was a great tactical asset, but she got over-aggressive at one point and lost her wing/squad. And how she lost her edge there, and never really played the same afterwards.
But it was never even hinted that those were 'real' battles that the kids directed live by remote. They were detailed little bits of the narrative, as seen from a kid's/gamer's point of view, but no more important than other interactions the kids had.
The twist at the end made the entire book so powerful- Ender ran the war as a "game", with zero idea he was ordering people to their deaths for a tactical purpose, he simply wanted to "win". And in the final battle, he thought it was so much of a mismatch against his forces, that he did things nobody would ever do in real life, because he was pissed at how unfair it was. He decided to use a cheat code to destroy the enemy planet, because there was no other way to even get a stalemate. His intent was to say frick you for this stupid test, and discovered he'd just committed genocide.
Posted on 9/6/23 at 5:16 pm to Sp0728
quote:
The movie, 300
Way better than the history books
I see someone hasn't read Herodotus
Posted on 9/6/23 at 5:42 pm to KCSilverTiger
Jurassic Park was better than the book because of what it put on the big screen.
Posted on 9/6/23 at 6:15 pm to KCSilverTiger
"the princess bride" is 10x better as a movie than the book was, and i love the book
Posted on 9/6/23 at 6:54 pm to KCSilverTiger
quote:
Do you think it's possible to make a movie better than the book?
I've never seen the book. Is it good?
Posted on 9/6/23 at 9:00 pm to KCSilverTiger
The first one that comes to mind, is as close as I’ve seen, “No Country for Old Men”. Still not better than the book, but dang it was good.
Posted on 9/7/23 at 12:21 pm to Tiger1242
quote:
He’s a legend
"He" would make a little sense. However the title is "I Am Legend" Meaning he thought himself a legend. How would someone think themself a legend if they died?
Posted on 9/8/23 at 1:18 pm to KCSilverTiger
Heck yes. The Graduate was a terrible, poorly written novel which I stopped reading after the first several chapters. It was so bad. The movie turned out to be legendary.
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