Is The Book Always Better Than the Movie?
I don’t believe the book is always better than the movie.
At times, the movie did a stellar job and deserves its flowers.
Readers hate to admit this.
They feel yucky watching something.
They think reading is the nobler form of consumption…
These people are biased.
The movie can definitely be better than the book!
That’s not always the case though.
There are movies that do such a poor job of capturing the essence of the book that it makes you question reading the book at all.
The Kite Runner
My favorite writer of all time is Khaled Hosseini.
His ability to tell stories, spread lessons, and keep it simple is astounding.
The first book I read by him was the Kite Runner.
I was hooked from beginning to end.
I read the book last year.
This year, I discovered there was a movie on the Kite Runner available on Amazon Prime.
I decided to watch it.
I gave it a chance…
I really did.
In my opinion, the movie was awful.
‘Why do you say that, Armani?’
It lacked soul.
It seemed like the intention of the movie was to capture the biggest moments from the Kite Runner and slap it onto the big screen.
If you read the book, then you will see that the most important lines were successfully captured by the movie.
But it seemed like the movie was trying too hard to recreate the lines and scenes of the book rather than to create a great story for the movie theaters.
Granted, being too original will piss off core fans.
However, something was missing…
Lord of the Rings
With Lord of the Rings (LOTR), I believe the movies were way better than the books.
I don’t care what anyone says, but Lord of the Rings is dry and boring to read.
LOTR fans will say:
‘You just need to give it a chance. Eventually, it gets more interesting.’
It does, I believe that.
However, I believe Lord of the Rings was one of the series where the movies were better than the books.
The amazing use of CGI, graphics, and relatable characters made the story come to life.
Also, it didn’t seem like the movie’s goal was to try to fully recreate the book like the Kite Runner movie did.
LOTR creators seemed like they were looking to make a great standalone product BASED on the book.
The film directors took what worked and left out the items that wouldn’t translate well to the big screen.
The Type of Books That Make for a Great Movie
You need to take a stance when translating a book into a movie.
- Either your book has to be super fictional or super literal.
The middle ground territory is a no-no.
An example of a super fictional book that was turned into a movie was Harry Potter.
The book series had wizards, witches, and ogres.
Those are fictional characters that the CGI could bring to life.
When the book is super fictional, it gives the graphics team more freedom to use technology to capture the consumers’ imagination.
The other side of the spectrum is a super literal book like the Outsiders.
The Outsiders is an iconic movie and book.
Why?
Because the story can easily happen in real life.
No CGI needed.
The problem occurs when you try to dance in between the super literal and super fictional territory.
Sort of like Salman Rushdie’s books.
Salman’s style of writing is known as magical realism.
Where he blends fantasy with reality.
I believe his style makes for compelling writing, but not always for the best movie styles.
If his writing was translated into movies, then it would only confuse the audience.
Be Honest When Evaluating Art
We tend to side with the first thing that we consumed.
So, if you watched the Harry Potter series before you read it, then you will default into saying:
‘I like the movies way better than the books.’
Notice this tendency in yourself to choose the first thing you consumed as being the superior thing.
Just because you consumed one style first doesn’t automatically make it better.
Our ego will also go against the grain just to feel unique.
If everyone is saying they liked the movie better, then we will say we liked the book better just to stir up a debate.
Be honest when consuming the art.
Which one made you feel more feelings?
It’s okay to switch your opinions over time.
Be a Fair Critic
If I watched the Kite Runner movie before I read the book, then I wouldn’t even want to read the book.
After watching the movie, I thought:
‘Eh…’
If a movie made me feel ‘eh’ then why invest into the book?
Here’s why…
Just because you don’t like the story via one medium does not mean that you won’t love it via another medium.
Don’t rule off the story so soon.
Give it a chance.
If you find out that a movie that you loved was based on a book, then give the book a chance too.
You will discover another lens to percieve the story from.
Reading vs Watching
Hollywood is struggling with a lack of good scripts nowadays.
So, they are turning a lot of books into movies.
Some of these movies will be hits, while others will be flops.
Just because the story was a hit via the written word does not always mean it’ll be a hit on the big screen.
In my opinion, I like reading stories because the author gives context to what is happening.
The author shares the internal thoughts of the character as the character is going through turmoil.
At times, the movie will wow us.
During moments like this…don’t be biased.
Give the movie its props.
When you can’t decide which one you like more…the movie or the book, that’s when you know it was a win-win for all parties involved.
For more insights into storytelling, check out the Art & Science of Storytelling Book
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