How good are movies based on books? Are movies better or books?
Okay, I have read too much on this topic and
I've heard people blabbering on about it! Well, I guess it's finally time for
me to present my views on this.
First of all. it's based on one question: Do you like to read or watch a movie?
this question is the one according to me that defines it all! I mean come on
instead of putting your views on someone think. Think that what if someone
doesn't like reading books? Then wouldn't the movie be better than the book? Or
what if someone likes reading books better than sitting in a theater, with a
box full of popcorn in hand and just eating away while Tom Hanks says his
dialogues with utmost interest? So you see it's your choice movie or book that
matters..
Well that being said What would a person who likes both movies and books do?
Then he/she has to either rely on god to give them the better choice or either
do "inky pinky ponkey" and decide. So that's where this post comes
in. To help you out with a generalized statement. Which is better? The book or
the Movie?So i read about it and I thought and had deep conversations and this
is the conclusion I have come up with.
The Book. YES THE BOOKS IS ALWAYS BETTER. there
are some exceptions to that fact also though. Take Harry Potter Series for
example. While some would say that the books are better ( and I wouldn't like
to contradict you but hear me out too.) I would like to say it's the movies.
Why you ask? Well for the simple reason that I loved to see the spells in
action. imagine reading about Malfoy being defeated by Harry and then imagine
seeing the spells being used. Isn't the visual better? Another reason is
Quidditch!! Quidditch is better when seen than read! and "(The) world Cup scene In Goblet of Fire brings the speed and thrill of the game to life in a way the books don't"said Allan Kronzek,coauthor of the Potter guidebook, The Sorcerer's Companion. For mpre information about this go to http://www.eonline.com/news/210043/five-reasons-the-harry-potter-movies-are-gasp-better-than-the-books.
So you see exceptions are
present everywhere in society. Now do you want top know why the books are
better than their movie adaptations? Okay. Here's a list to help you out.
The Movie
gets Lost In Translation/ Only one interpretation works in the movies.
So when you're reading a book you can have your
own interpretation. There are many ways to interpret a book but there are
very very few interpretations of a movie. Infact when a book is read it depends
on the reader for interpretation but when you watch a movie it's always the
directors interpretation. Just the reason why Stephen King was unhappy with Kubrick’s approach to putting The Shining on
the screen.
It's always the way the director imagined it
Much like the first point but
still. When you read a book you can envision your own characters. you can
imagine how they are, how they look. Well that doesn't happen in the movies!
it's always the filmmakers way! Once a filmmaker decides upon settings and
characters, we’re limited to seeing the character through their eyes.
However million of readers may have different views about the characters
appearance. And if the actors or tthe movies don't measure to what you imagined
while reading the book, there's grave disappointment. Take The Hunger games for
example. Yes the movies were amazing but NOT better than the book!! It was a
huge disappointment after the thrill I got from reading the book.
Limited Time
Well it’s not the filmmakers fault in this one. They can’t do anything about the fact that they have to finish the movie in
1.5,2-3 hours. While the writers can go on writing as long as they want. So
limited time for storytelling results in cutting of scenes from the book or
modification of scenes which is unacceptable by the readers and also sometimes
makes the movie confusing if you haven’t read the book. The script writers omit
some parts which may be important for the readers. For example the film version
of Gone with the Wind, for
example, omits the fact that Scarlett O'Hara had two children by her first two husbands, and
she really disliked the children.
Detail
Books provide far more
details than movies and often you can get a sense of what the main character is
really like which is sometimes lost in movies. Also quite often there are more
books in a series than films meaning the books not only provide a longer story
they always complete the story whereas some film series do a film for the first
books and then stop leaving the story unfinished. And sometimes movies are
simply worse in comparison to their books, for example the eragon movies
was not even half as good as the series of books.
Also, there are cases when you can read a book a 100 times and not get
bored while you watch a movie twice and get bored.
All of this being said there are always exceptions to
the rule. For example many say and even I believe that the film The Godfather is
better than the Mario Puzo novel upon which it is based. To many Godfather fans,
film director Francis Ford Coppola significantly improved on the book and took
out a lot of material written by Puzo that was not particularly relevant to the
main story. Among the other well-known movies that many people consider to be
better than the book versions are A Clockwork Orange, One Flew
Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, Psycho and Jaws.
So if you liked this post pleeeease do share it or comment! i would love to know your opinions about the topic and if you think I've missed something out ( i hope not) then feel free to comment and let me know. Share it if you think this was worth the read! Also if you would like me to write on any topic mention it below in the comments! Or if you want you rwriting to be featured in Random Post #3 then feel free to send me a mail on niyati.anythingandeverything@gmail.com. I would be more than happy to reply or receive a mail!Thank you for taking out time to read! Check out my other posts if you can and again the keyword is SPREAD!
A couple of interesting thoughts...
ReplyDeleteI really like your first statement that it depends on the person, if the movie or the book is better. And I also see where you coming from that seeing the magic in Harry Potter movies is great, I would so that too, but I think still the sixth movie is the worst, because it misses so many important parts of the main plot.
What I would contradict is, that only one interpretation works in a movie. Of course, the movie is much like the director envisoned it and maybe different to the toughts of the writer, but movies can still interpreted in so many ways, good examples are "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Dark Knight" (based on a Comic, still counts for me as an example)
So long, take care :)
And my post is a good example that you should always proofread first, before you post something on the internet ;) Sorry for the mistakes, hope you understand anyway what I'm trying to say.
DeleteFirstly thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!! It means a lot to me!! So thank you! :D And as much as I hate to say this neither do I proof read what I write on the internet so don't worry we're on the same boat. ;) And as far as your thoughts are concerned well I would just say that there are exceptions to every rule and it is not easy for everyone to interpret a movie in alot of ways and again here I say that it again depends on the person.. ;) ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm really sorry for replying so late, I've just been caught up with my assignments and Projects and exams that I haven't got the time to read my blog.. :P Hope you understand. Take care. :)
ReplyDelete