Saturday, November 29, 2008

Movies that are better than the book

I could have sworn I posted about this earlier, but I can't find it on my blog. So, my current list of films which are better delivered than books:

1) Children of Men. P.D. James might be able to write mysteries, but her attempt at A Handmaid's Tale fell pretty flat (in the book, it was men who had the problem, not women, which changed the whole dynamic).

2) Lord of the Rings. Eat me. 1200 pages, over half of which is elaborate description of hobbits walking across the plains was a bit much. The movie was distilled, while maintaining the themes and ideas of the main story. Watch the movie, it's only eight hours, compared to the days you will spend wading through heavy prose.

3) Starter for Ten. Hardly surprising given that David Nichols is actually a screenwriter.

4) Bourne Identity. Touchy - the film is really only better because the novel is so dated.

5) Bridge on the River Kwai. Although a great book, the film really captured the experience better.

6) The Prestige. Don't like epistolary novels in general.

7) V for Vendetta. Although a great story, the art in the comic book was a bit lacking to me.

8) Spartacus. Same as Bridge on the River Kwai, see above.

9) Stardust. The book was obviously written when Gaiman was still figuring out his style, the movie later in his career. Better story arc, stronger characters.

10) Count of Monte Cristo. I end with this one, because although it was not a particularly great movie, it inspired me to read the book. Unfortunately, at 600 pages, it was too much.

1 comment:

Momagain said...

I think Handmaid's Tale is by Margaret Atwood. Perhaps one or the other uses a pseudonym?

Also, just over the weekend I was trying to remember the name of the Alec Guinness Colonel in Bridge. Do you know?