Thursday, August 28, 2003

Books or Movies?

I love both - I even love when books are made into movies, but there have been some really bad adaptations that have soured me on the movie when on it’s own the movie was actually pretty good.

Case in Point #1 - The Firm - that’s a good movie. With years of distance between my reading the book and viewing the movie, I can say that I like the movie. However, when that movie came out, I hated it - because I had just read the book and I was ticked that they made a crucial plot change about halfway through the movie and the ending of the movie in no way resembled the end of the book.

Case in Point #2 - Simon Birch - this movie was loosely based on A Prayer for Owen Meany, which is one of my all time favorite books. It’s in my top 5 all time reads. By comparison, the movie is utter crap - whole parts of the story have been cut out, the end is not the same as the book, it’s a weak (WEAK) version of the story. There is one scene that I do love - the nativity - because it’s the one that truly captured the same scene in the book (although the book’s version is way funnier, imho). Simon Birch on it’s own is a sweet little movie that I probably would have liked if I had never touched the book.

Then there are the successes…

Case in Point #3 - Pride & Prejudice - granted this is a TV mini-series, but I think it qualifies. This is a perfect example of a well done adaptation. If you’ve seen it, then you know how great this is. If you haven’t, then try to see it - it’s fantastic.

Case in Point #4 - Lonesome Dove - it doesn’t get any better than this TV mini-series. Again, it’s the perfect adaptation. When I read that book, I could clearly visualize the barren desert landascape of that tiny Texas town. The characters were finely written. When I saw the mini-series, it was the book in visual form. I was floored.

Honorable Mention goes to Band of Brothers and I’ll go ahead and mention The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, only because I’ve read enough of Fellowship... to know that PJ got it mostly right.

So, I welcome your thoughts - which is better? Books or movies?