Discussions

Do you like watching a movie after reading the book?  
 
Do you avoid it?  
 
Do you ever read the book after seeing the movie first?  
 
Give your thoughts and experiences careful not to reveal spoilers.

Often find the books are so much better than the movie. Usually question their choice of actors, or that the script differs from the book.  
I am, however, wanting to see "A Dog's Purpose" when it is released.

I've read a few Lee Child books on Jack Reacher.  
Jack is portrayed as 6'5",blond hair and blue eyes.  
Along comes a Jack Reacher movie & who do they have portraying him.....Tom Cruse. ..

I too am usually disappointed after reading the book. It's when the story lines change that bugs me. The only movie I have seen that I thought was as good as the book was Shawshank Redemption and this has to be my alltime favourite film.

Braid, Tom Cruise bought the movie rights to the books....that's why he starred in the movie!

Read "The Book Thief" before watching the movie - both were excellent.  
 
Also read "A Woman in Berlin" before watching the movie - both excellent - Russian troops in Berlin at the end of WW2 - definitely not a family movie.

I have to read Cloud Atlas for an English course in September so I borrowed a copy from the university library. I understand why this is for the third level course, but it was very interesting.  
 
I was about 3/4 of the way through the 500+ page novel when the public library got the Neepawa copy of the movie for me. I was so impressed that I acquired a copy from Amazon.  
 
Both are exceptional works of imagination and genius. I think if I had not read (most of) the book first, the movie would have been very confusing. They complement each other. It has been interesting to compare the different structures (the book is like nesting Russian dolls whereas the movie is more like a six layer checker game) and that one would not work for the other.  
 
The university bookstore finally got the course book in and I am now re-reading it, but with the movie helping to fill in a few of the gaps until they are explained later in the book.  
 
Basic research has led me to conclude that the movie's screenplay was written by the author with help from a trained screenplay writer. I believe the Harry Potter movies started with the screenplay writer getting most of it down on paper before JK started to review what was missing and what could be edited out. When comparing movies and books, this process might be one to research.

This is one of my favorite novels by Stephen Hunter. It was made into a movie called Sniper with Mark Wahlberg as the lead. Book way better than the movie but still an enjoyable read or view either way

CG42 said "I too am usually disappointed after reading the book. It's when the story lines change that bugs me. The only movie I have seen that I thought was as good as the book was Shawshank Redemption and this has to be my alltime favourite film. "

Big time agree with this CG42. I think because of Morgan Freeman's narration, this made it like a book. Books can let you in on the character's thoughts and intentions where you may not catch it in a movie. The des:cription in text format is powerful for the imagination, whereas a movie will often miss important events that trigger your emotions in the way a book can with des:criptive contexts.  
Andy Dufresne's intentions were never laid in plain sight, you could identify with his character and interpret what was coming. Shawshank was a masterpiece to keep you hanging in the same way that you could not put down the book.

Only movie I feel that stayed true to the book, was the first Harry Potter. Everything was exactly how I imagined it, the actors, set. Everything.  
 
The other movies were great to, with only minor changes.

Love to read the book first. The book is usually better with more details but I like to compare how I imagine how the characters look to how they look in the movie. Almost done reading "The Light Between Oceans" and looking forward to going to the movie that comes out this weekend.

I love reading the books first. Sometimes if I just watch the movie then I think to myself boy I wish I had read the book first.  
 
Example: I went to see Me Before You because I wanted to see "Danerys" and "Tywin Lannister" in something other than Game of Thrones. I had very low expectactions for the movie but it was excellent. I wish I had read the book first.

curlysister said "Braid, Tom Cruise bought the movie rights to the books....that's why he starred in the movie! "

That figures ...lol  
It actually wasn't too bad a movie....if you forget the name....

I found the movie to be very closely in sync with the book. I think it helps that the book is a short, quick read, so there's not a lot of "extras" that the screenplay writers have to decide whether or not it needs to be cut.  
 
If you want a story that makes you think and tug on the heartstrings a bit, I definitely recommend the book/movie!

Loved:  
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, both the book and the movie were very well done. The movie changed the beginning/end of the story slightly, but the overall idea was not lost.  
 
Disliked:  
Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay. The book series is excellent, loved every one of them.  
However the TV series only followed the plot of the books for season 1 (maybe part of 2..), and the TV series removed a character that was not removed in the book series (no spoilers given here!) The series was still decent, I just had a hard time wrapping my mind around the removal of that one character at the same time reading the next book which they were still in.  
 
There are lots of others I could list, but my opinion usually goes that the book is better than the movie.  
This is a great thread!

The Book of Negros has ALWAYS been a favourite of mine. They just did a 5 (i think it's 5) part series of it, and even though I've actually (humbly and embarrassingly will admit ) never finished the book completely till the end, I looooved the series! Is a must read and must watch!

Thought my imagination did a great job of conjuring up the horror that is that story/novel. Then came the movie, that blew what my mind could create out of this world! One of my favorite movies to this day.

xattitudex said "Loved:   Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, both the book and the movie were very well done. The movie changed the beginning/end of the story slightly, but the overall idea was not lost.     Disliked:   Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay. The book series is excellent, loved every one of them.   However the TV series only followed the plot of the books for season 1 (maybe part of 2..), and the TV series removed a character that was not removed in the book series (no spoilers given here!) The series was still decent, I just had a hard time wrapping my mind around the removal of that one character at the same time reading the next book which they were still in.     There are lots of others I could list, but my opinion usually goes that the book is better than the movie.   This is a great thread! "

Oh man Fight Club creeped the hell out of me. And that was just the movie! No way could I read that. Lol

Family4ever said "The Book of Negros has ALWAYS been a favourite of mine. They just did a 5 (i think it's 5) part series of it, and even though I've actually (humbly and embarrassingly will admit ) never finished the book completely till the end, I looooved the series! Is a must read and must watch! "

Have seen there is a show or mini series or whatever they call it. I am glad to hear it is quite good. Hopefully this winter (eeek) I will cozy up under a blanket and Marathon watch it.

I really liked this book and am really looking forward to the movie in a few more weeks.  
 
I just get so curious how the pictures I have conjured up in my wacky old head compare to the ones on the big screen.