Meme – Book Vs Film

I saw this meme at The Bookworm Chronicles and Lynn’s Book Blog and thought it would be fun to do this meme on my blog as well…because books vs movies, we all have an opinion, right?

I have to provide 5 answers for each category:

1. Films that I enjoyed better than the book (is that possible??? Yup, realized that I could easily list more than the 5 I mentioned in this post )
2. Books that I liked better than the film
3. Books that I can’t decide between because the film did a pretty damned good job of bringing the book to the screen.

Anyway, here are my answers:

Films that I enjoyed better than the book

1. Twilight and New Moon movies

I know, I know, bad answer :(. I found the books super boring, and watched the movies with zero expectations, so I guess I ended up liking them. I liked the beautiful locations, the music, and the overall moodiness of the movies and I thought they were definitely better than the books. Definitely not good enough for me to catch the later movies though 😉

2. Gone with the Wind

Brilliant acting, superb sets, direction, and cinematography and who am I kidding, Clark Gable as Rhett Butler made me love the movie far more than the book.

3. Jaws

Who cares about the book? That mechanical shark and the background score when the shark attacks makes this one of my favorite movies.

4. The Lord of the Rings series

This is a no-brainer for me. I liked the books but felt they dragged too much. The movies brought the books to life in a fantastic and wonderful way and I love them and re-watch them when they are on TV.

5. Tie 1: Oliver Twist

I don’t remember the movie much, I watched it as a child and I simply loved it. I think it was a BBC-produced musical and I loved the actors and the music and everything. I went on to read the book later and was completely underwhelmed by it.

6. Tie 2: Romeo and Juliet

Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet was such a wonderful take on Romeo and Juliet. I read the original play when I was a teen and thought it was clichéd and boring. Reread it again a few years back and loved it. But the movie just made my heart beat faster. Starring Leonardo diCaprio and Claire Danes, they brought life to the couple. Also, the music, and the modern-day setup really removed the cobwebs from this play and portrayed the two lovers and their predicament in a completely new, relatable, and modern way.

Books that I liked better than the film

1. Bram Stoker’s Dracula

I think the book is much better than all the over sexed movie adaptations (eye roll at Tim Burton’s version)

2. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

I think the movies have messed up this book. I don’t think anyone actually managed to capture the essence of Lizzie Bennet’s character. Although Colin Firth as Darcy was just mmmm…

3. Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding

Don’t get me wrong. I liked the film and Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant are absolutely brilliant. I can watch reruns again and again, but I like the books a lot more.

4. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is my favorite children’s book. I’ve seen one movie version and it was just dull. I did like Tim Burton’s take on Wonderland, but since it’s not based on the actual events in the book, I can’t really count it as a movie adaptation.

5. Matilda by Roald Dahl

I love this book so much. The movie is nice too but doesn’t come close to the book. Just my opinion, most of the movie reviews were good. I think it’s just that the book holds a very close place to my heart, and I couldn’t swallow the parts where the movie diverged from the book.

Books that I can’t decide between because the film did a pretty damned good job of bringing the book to the screen.

1. Emma – the Gwyneth Paltrow version and the book by Jane Austen

In my mind, they are both equally good and I love GP as Emma. She did a great job as did all the supporting characters.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

Gregory Peck rocked as my favorite fictional character Atticus Finch.

3. The Sookie Stackhouse books and The True Blood series

I know the series deviated from the books a lot, but I found I enjoyed both the books and the TV episodes equally. This is probably because I wasn’t all that invested in the books, so I didn’t mind about how true the TV series was to the books.

4. Jurassic Park

I first saw the movie by Steven Spielberg and I absolutely loved it. Many years later, when I read the book by Michael Crichton, I was surprised to find that the book is equally enjoyable. The movie scored because of the actual depictions of the dinosaurs, but the book covered the setup and the characters in greater detail. I enjoyed both versions thoroughly.

5. The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris was the first thriller I read and it remains one of my all-time favorite books. The movie was also the first thriller that I was allowed to see, and man…it blew my mind. Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster were fantastic and I still remember entire conversations and scenes from the movie even though I last saw it more than 10 years ago.