Adapting a book to the screen is quite a challenge. Cut a scene, and critics might accuse you of ruining the narrative. Alter a character, and you risk alienating fans. But if done right, it's truly impressive.
There's a whole discussion on Reddit where people have been sharing rare examples of filmmakers surpassing the source material with their cinematic vision. From cult classics such as American Psycho to more recent productions like I’m Thinking of Ending Things, here are the movies that audiences believe are actually better than the book.
#1
Carrie. It was Kings first book and, although good, there was emotion and depth in Sissy Spacek’s portrayal that went far beyond the character in the orig story.
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66points
#3
Godfather.
The book was obviously a best seller but it had some really - REALLY — cringe side plots (involving huge d***s and huge vags; Puzo seems to have had a fetish about outsized sex organs) which Coppola wisely dropped in the film.
The book was obviously a best seller but it had some really - REALLY — cringe side plots (involving huge d***s and huge vags; Puzo seems to have had a fetish about outsized sex organs) which Coppola wisely dropped in the film.
48points
#5
Shawshank Redemption is a great movie. Book is good, as well.
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48points
#6
Jaws, in my opinion. The book is not bad, don’t get me wrong, but the characters in it are extremely unlikeable. I think Spielberg was right to eliminate some of the subplots and to buff the characters up to be more likable/relatable. Also, the end of the book kinda sucked. I won’t spoil it, but compared to the movie it’s extremely anti-climatic.
I still like both, the book is still a very good read and I understand why it was such a phenomenon, but I’ll always say the movie was better.
I still like both, the book is still a very good read and I understand why it was such a phenomenon, but I’ll always say the movie was better.
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45points
#7
Silence of the Lambs. Of course it followed the book almost exactly.
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44points
#9
Who Framed(Censored) Roger Rabbit.
The books plot is very different, and the characters are all unlikeable. Eddie isn't a tragic character who's dealing with his brothers death by drinking his life away and alienating all the toons he used to befriend. He's a hard bitten, hard drinking a*****e just because. Roger is dead, and the character who k*lled him doesn't really make any sense. The producers of the movie took the idea of a world with toons and humans and threw away the plot. They made the right choice; the movie turned out amazing.
The books plot is very different, and the characters are all unlikeable. Eddie isn't a tragic character who's dealing with his brothers death by drinking his life away and alienating all the toons he used to befriend. He's a hard bitten, hard drinking a*****e just because. Roger is dead, and the character who k*lled him doesn't really make any sense. The producers of the movie took the idea of a world with toons and humans and threw away the plot. They made the right choice; the movie turned out amazing.
42points
#10
Stand By Me (based on Stephen King’s “The Body”)… I loved the book too! But the movie is a classic to me, just perfect rendition.
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42points
#11
Goodfellas (based on the novel Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi). Wiseguy is actually pretty interesting, it’s basically Henry Hill telling his own story. But Goodfellas is a masterpiece.
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37points
#12
American Psycho.
The book really goes deep into Patrick's obsession with fashion and dining culture. It gets a little tedious.
The book really goes deep into Patrick's obsession with fashion and dining culture. It gets a little tedious.
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37points
#13
MASH. it was a mediocre novel, but one heck of a movie and a very good TV series.
35points
#14
The Martian.
The book was excellent, but after a while Mark Watney started to feel like Wile E Coyote with things constantly falling on him. The movie kept just the right amount of adversity to keep the story moving along and never got too bogged down in the details the way the book sometimes did.
The book was excellent, but after a while Mark Watney started to feel like Wile E Coyote with things constantly falling on him. The movie kept just the right amount of adversity to keep the story moving along and never got too bogged down in the details the way the book sometimes did.
35points
#15
Jurassic Park is a good book, but an all-time great movie.
34points
#16
The Children of Men. Book was good. Movie is top 20 all time.
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34points
#18
No Country For Old Men is the best literal film representation of any book I’ve ever read. Both are masterpieces.
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31points
#19
I am an avid Stephen King fan, but I have to admit, the movie version of **The Shining** was very good, and better IMO than the book. However, in most cases SK's books are much better than the movies / shows / miniseries.
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30points
