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Layne asked this question about The Princess Bride:
I'm torn about reading this because I pretty much always like the book better than the movie. And in this case, I am such a huge fan of the movie I couldn't bear for the book to ruin it for me! Help?
Dennis Dunn I loved the movie. So, I read the book.
I'm a book junky, but I think this one case where the Movie -- fast paced, perfect actors and humor -- was much…moreI loved the movie. So, I read the book.
I'm a book junky, but I think this one case where the Movie -- fast paced, perfect actors and humor -- was much better than the book.
Other movies that were better than the book (in order of betterness, if I can make up a word):
1. Forrest Gump. The book is a profane -- do you know any one who finished it? As one example, Jenny and Forrest get together because she lusts after his 6' 2" hunky body, rather than his love.
2. Wicked (a play, rather than a movie). The play allows for a somewhat happy ending and the maturing of the characters. I watched previews of the play, fell in love with it and got the book. Ugh. The book has Elphaba kill a kid (somewhat inadvertently, a giant icicle goes through a boy who is bullying her son) and describes her affair that resulted in the pregnancy (the guy was married). Elphaba dies. The wizard plans his suicide.
3. The Princess Diaries (Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway -- joy!). The book is an actual diary told from a 15 year-old's perspective, her father is still alive (and bald) and grandma is an old biddy -- not that loveable.
4. Mary Poppins. The book had magic to Disney (he read it to his kids) but I could only make it halfway through the story.
5. The Wizard of Oz. The movie and music and some wonderful actors (Judy Garland, the Lion and the Witch are all fantastic). The book is OK but there is better fantasy out now.
6. The Martian. Similar to #7 below, the movie is fast paced. It has almost everything the movie has, but does it in a more fluid, powerful way. Plus, there is so much that this is better envisioned with the movie. (I only have so much imagination. I'm not Anne Shirley. As an aside, the one thing the book did better was explain the explosion that killed the potatoes.)
7. Schindler's list. Both the book and the Movie are classics. But the book -- as non-fiction -- is primarily a collection of accounts by survivors.
In the movie, Spielberg creates a more powerful narrative. (I read the book in one sitting, ending at 2 in the morning, which may mean I didn't appreciate it as much as I should.)
Please forgive my typos. I'm writing quick as I should be finishing another project.(less)
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The Princess Bride
by William Goldman
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