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Was it better than the book?

Writer: goldenstateservicesj
goldenstateservicesj
Apr 1, 2023
2 min read

I asked my wife what her top book-to-movie experiences were. Unlike me, she didn’t want to put these in any kind of order (Honestly, I don’t know how or why I put up with this!). Keep in mind: she’s seen quite a lot of movies where she read the book beforehand. These are the ones where she had a great experience both in reading and in watching: 

  • (series)

  • (series)

  • (series)

  • (series)

  • (series)

would definitely be her #1, but other than that, I won’t try and order the others. …As much as it pains me.

It’s rare when both the book and movie are considered classics, and I would suggest the following as the short list:

  1. Sophie’s Choice (1982, Pakula; 1979, Styron)

  2. The Shining (1980, Darabont; 1977, King)

  3. Jurassic Park (1993, Spielberg; 1990, Crichton)

  4. Little Women (2019, Gerwig; 1868, Alcott)

  5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1976, Forman; 1962, Kesey)

  6. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, Mulligan; 1960, Lee)

  7. The Lord of the Rings (2001-03, Jackson; 1954-55, Tolkien)

  8. The Godfather ( 1972, Coppola; 1969, Puzo)

And then there are the few movies that are touted as being better than the novel they were based on. Again, these aren’t according to me, but according to what I hear and read about through podcasts and Internet articles.

  1. Forrest Gump (1994)

  2. Blade Runner (1982)

  3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

  4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

  5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

  6. Fight Club (1999) The author himself, Chuck Palahniuk , makes this claim!

  7. Jaws (1975)

FInally, here are a few movies that share the same originating author:

NICK HORNBY:STEPHEN KING:ANNIE PROULX:VICTOR HUGO:WILLIAM GOLDMAN:

As for this week, the decision was unanimous. Congratulations . This is your week. 

However, an even bigger congratulations goes out to not only my wife, but to Leah, our daughter, who also turned a year older on the same day as her mom. That, AND SHE GOT ENGAGED! Congratulations Leahbelle. We love you and we’re so happy for you.


Best Actress:

Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz in

Best Actor: Denzel Washington as Eli in

Best Quote: “If your eyes could speak, what would they say?” – Ben Schnetzer as Max Vandenburg

I have watched very few movies where I’ve read the book. The most exhaustive list I could come up with relying completely on my memory (not counting children’s picture books like ), I have seen a total of 21. Here they are:

  1. The DaVinci Code (2006)

  2. The Chamber (1996)

  3. Angels and Demons (2009)

  4. A Walk to Remember (2002)

  5. The Hobbit trilogy (2012-14)

  6. Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

  7. The Rainmaker (1997)

  8. Ready Player One (2018)

  9. The Runaway Jury (2003)

  10. Romeo + Juliet (1996)

  11. Life of Pi (2012)

  12. The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy (2005-10)

  13. James and the Giant Peach (1996)

  14. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

  15. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)

 
 
 

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