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23 Surprising Film Adaptations That Outdid Their Books
Article created by: Kotryna Br
Adapting a book to the screen is quite a challenge. Cut a scene, and critics might accuse you of ruining the narrative. Alter a character, and you risk alienating fans. But if done right, it's truly impressive.
There's a whole discussion on Reddit where people have been sharing rare examples of filmmakers surpassing the source material with their cinematic vision. From cult classics such as American Psycho to more recent productions like I’m Thinking of Ending Things, here are the movies that audiences believe are actually better than the book.
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#1
Carrie. It was Kings first book and, although good, there was emotion and depth in Sissy Spacek’s portrayal that went far beyond the character in the orig story.
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#4
Jaws, in my opinion. The book is not bad, don’t get me wrong, but the characters in it are extremely unlikeable. I think Spielberg was right to eliminate some of the subplots and to buff the characters up to be more likable/relatable. Also, the end of the book kinda sucked. I won’t spoil it, but compared to the movie it’s extremely anti-climatic.
I still like both, the book is still a very good read and I understand why it was such a phenomenon, but I’ll always say the movie was better.
#7
Stand By Me (based on Stephen King’s “The Body”)… I loved the book too! But the movie is a classic to me, just perfect rendition.
#8
Goodfellas (based on the novel Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi). Wiseguy is actually pretty interesting, it’s basically Henry Hill telling his own story. But Goodfellas is a masterpiece.
#9
American Psycho.
The book really goes deep into Patrick's obsession with fashion and dining culture. It gets a little tedious.
#11
The Martian.
The book was excellent, but after a while Mark Watney started to feel like Wile E Coyote with things constantly falling on him. The movie kept just the right amount of adversity to keep the story moving along and never got too bogged down in the details the way the book sometimes did.
#14
No Country For Old Men is the best literal film representation of any book I’ve ever read. Both are masterpieces.
#17
The top answer should be "Paddington."
That movie had no business being as good as it is. The sequel too. Brings that bear to life like no book could.
#18
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The original text is a depressing short story of a guy dreaming of being greater than his actual tedious life. I love that movie even though it isn't terribly popular.
#19
The Mist. The book is better for most of it, but the ending in the movie knocks the socks off the book ending.
#23
Both Fight Club and LA Confidential are much better movies than books.
Sometimes taking a second pass through the narrative to tighten it up for a two hour movie can tighten up the mistakes.
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