Litwit Lounge discussion

This topic came up in the What Are You Currently Reading? thread.

Do you prefer reading a book before seeing the movie? or vice versa? And why?

Most often I find that this is an apples and oranges issue because the movie is intent on developing visual images of things, even when they include conversation. This is why the great Hemingway novels have never made better than average movies: the dialogue is critical and frankly a great deal of that would be boring in a movie.
Of course others like The Time Traveler's Wife departed from the book a great deal and missed a lot of important detail and background. I remember seeing Catch 22 and wondering what people who had not read the book would think of it.

I have nearly always read the book long before a movie is made of it. The one exception I can think of is Everything Is Illuminated; I caught the movie on TV one lazy Sunday afternoon and liked it so much that I decided to read the book even though I'd never been especially interested before. To be completely honest I liked the movie better, an almost unheard-of thing for me.

I prefer to read the book after I've seen the movie, since the book fills in gaps the movie leaves. However, I'm often curious to see the movie version of a book I've read; and then I usually complain about what was left out. ;p
There have been a few instances in which I preferred the movie to the book, including Practical Magic and Out of Sight.

If I hear a book is being made into a movie I read it before it comes out. because I usually won't read it if I already saw the movie.

It is interesting to see the different thoughts on this. I much prefer reading the book first so it can fill in the gaps of a story while I watch the movie, because more often than I like to admit, I have trouble following it.

There have been a few times (just a few) that I liked the movie better. I think one of those may have been A Beautiful Mind, perhaps because in the book I got bogged down with scholarly geniuses discussing mathematical equations far beyond my understanding. And after reading The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring I just did not feel committed to finishing the series, although I did eagerly view the subsequent LotR movies.

The movie of Fellowship of the Ring encouraged me to read Lord of the Rings, but I did find it a challenge to get through. The movie made me want to know what happened to certain characters, which gave me the motivation to continue. But there was a point partway through The Two Towers at which reading it felt like trying to hike uphill in six inches of mud. Then Faramir appeared, and things got better.

I don't really have a preference between reading a book first or seeing a movie/TV adaptation of it first (though like Charly, I rarely go to movies in theaters). But either way, I enjoy comparing the way the story is delivered in the two different art forms; so I'm always game to see a dramatic adaptation of any book that I liked. And seeing a movie/miniseries based on a book or books will always whet my appetite to read the book, even if I don't get around to it right away.

Saw a great quote today on Google home page:

Never judge a book by its movie.

Syra wrote: "Saw a great quote today on Google home page:
Never judge a book by its movie."

Good one, Syra!
The Quotations Page attributes it to J.W. Eagan, whoever HE is!
"Never judge a book by its movie." - J. W. Eagan
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/...

There are also T-shirts available with the quote:
http://www.zazzle.com/never_judge_a_b...
http://www.zazzle.com/never+judge+a+b...

I'm saving that quote! Thanks!

I prefer reading the book before I see the movie. Then I like to compare the two.

One movie I remember as being better than the book was: "The Piano" (1993).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107822/
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Pian...

The Piano: A Novel by Jane Campion
The Piano: Screenplay

Hmmm, just now I realized that I read the screenplay and not the novel (both by Jane Campion). I didn't realize there was a novel until now! Of course the book of the screenplay couldn't deliver the same impact as the film because stage directions are so dry, and the printed dialogue alone just lies on the page.

The movie was very erotic (especially the love scenes), well done with no prurient qualities. It was just beautiful. I've never forgotten it.

Now I MUST read the novel!

Here's the book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Novel-Jan...

PS-About "The Piano", it looks as if the novel (1994) was written (or published) AFTER the movie came out (1993). Very unusual!

PPS-Here's the IMDb award page for the movie, "The Piano".
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107822/a...

I read Atonement by Ian McEwan before I saw the movie.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Atonemen...

Each had its good points. IMO, the movie did a better job of explaining the ending, which in the book was very hazy.

Otherwise, I liked the book a bit better. Actually, it's a toss-up between the two because certain things were clearer in one than in the other.

It was great fun comparing the movie to the book!

Quote from a review:
"The ending packs an emotional punch."
-Film Review by James Berardinelli

PS-In case you might be interested, below are some raw notes about _Atonement_" which I copied and pasted from various sources:
=====================================================
-good story, but too full of spiritual / metaphysical / psycho babble - Joy H.

-"an ending that blindsides us with its implications." -Roger Ebert review

-"the tome’s metaphysical depth" -Variety movie review by By DEREK ELLEY

-"the book’s perpetual shuffling with time" [ibid:]

-the ending (wherein lies the book's full, brutal power) "The ending packs an emotional punch" -Film Review by James Berardinelli

-"The story is told ... from several points of view. -customer review of book at amazon.com

-"It was difficult for me to get into and while some moments seemed to drag on for 50 pages, others seemed to pass in a paragraph. I found myself skipping over pages and saying to myself "Ok, I get it already, move on". -another customer review at amazon.com [By T. Wolff - title of review: You'll Love It or You'll Hate it", June 3, 2008]

-"the writing is over-detailed to the point that it makes a reader struggle to remember what is actually happening in the story. It is with great regret that I am forced to add another book to my "Unbearable" list, and hope that no more innocents are trapped into reading Atonement." "unable to finish" [customer review, amaz.com, By Nicole Loew "Bibliophile"-title of review: "Abandon all Hope ye who Enter Here" 6/1/08]

-"it takes about 75 pages until it starts to get readable." [customer review at amazon.com:]

-"a complicated, multi-layered book" [customer review, amaz.com:]

-"I just could not get in to this book at all." [customer review, amaz.com:]

-"Absolutely hated this book. I didn't read it all the way through, but I figure 260 pages of literary torture was enough. How this book has been so well received and turned out a movie is beyond my comprehension. This book was entirely inaccessible and boring. I hated the long winded laments on architecture and gardens and I hated and didn't identify with any of the characters. This has been the worst book I've read in a decade at least." [title of review "Literary Torture, May 8, 2008 By Katherine A. Kennedy:]

-"My final note would be that the film did a much better job at revealing its final twist than the book - it was acted in such an outstanding way that you felt the weight of the final revelation that much more..." [customer review, amaz.com:]

-"I wasn't keen on the paragraph-long sentences and the overwrought descriptions of just about everything..." [cust review-amaz:]

-The most inane denouement I've ever read. I actually felt cheated and this is a feeling I don't often get with my reading. And this is the twist/ending that practically everyone was saying was brilliant?! I actually re-read the last section just to make sure I didn't miss anything; perhaps some nuance that slipped by me, etc. Nope. Read everything, understood everything, and still felt cheated. Deflated doesn't even come close to describing what I felt. [customer review-amazon.com:]

SPOILER:
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SUMMARY of "Atonement': The entire story was an apology for spoiling the lives with a lie. The lovers died during WW2 & the rest of the story was what might have been. [posted at a newsgroup June 2008:]
====================================================

I prefer to see the movie before I read a book because
8 times out of 10 I am miserably disappointed by the
interpretation of the movie. An example: Misery by Stephen King was a great book but the movie was horrible for me.
www.bookaddict4real.com

After being unable to turn off the critical thinking portion of my brain while watching The Lightning Thief--that is, keeping continual track of everything that had been changed or left out--I'm starting to wonder if I should avoid most movies based on books I've read.

Callista, I agree with you and I have to comment (and please don't angerily throw rotten tomatoes... *big cheesey smile*) I was impressed with how close the Twilight movies have been with the books, thus far. I was also impressed with how well Stephenie Meyer wrote The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella it really kept with the themes presented in the last movie.

That being said I have always been a book first, movie second gal. The only variant from this is the Harry Potter books. I have happily watched the movies as I can't get into the books to save my life, I am sure it is just me.

The biggest reason I read then watch, especially when the author is involved with the movie process is because it is intriguing to see how well the author sticks to his/her original artistic vision.

That being said, I read Vampire Diaries in high school and am so upset with the T.V. series I am willing to BURN my battered copies of The Vampire Diaries!!!

I liked both the book and movie of Fried Green Tomatoes; thought they were very similar. But it is so hard to get everything in a book into a short movie, ie Gone With the Wind. I always thought Stephen King's Stand By Me (short story) made a great movie and thought they should use more of them for movies.

Ooooo, I agree with King's short stories!

Erin--no tomatoes from me about the Twilight movies. I enjoyed the first and third movies; they were better than the books in some ways, IMO. I especially liked the added Riley sequences in Eclipse. But I thought the second movie was even worse than the book.
I have enjoyed the Harry Potter movies for the most part; they've been rather good adaptations.
I've read five of the Vampire Diaries so far, and from what I've seen of the show, the only things it gets anywhere near right are Damon's amusing snarkiness and Stefan's bland goody-goodyness.

That would be about right... Callista, I loved the Vampire Diaries and this tv show has just destroyed it for me! -sigh-

Don't you hate it when that happens?

ugh! Yes! I wish authors would fit to keep things similar!

INTRIGUE!

This book is based on a screen play written by the screen writer for Shawshank Redemption!! When I started seeing movie teasers and trailors I snatched this book off the shelf of the nearest bookstore and consummed it in less than two days! It is directed by the director who did Twilight and if her vision for that movie is any indication I expect this movie (hitting theatres march 11) will be just as stunning and breath taking!

The movie does look interesting, that's for sure.

So, did you see the movie, Erin?
I did...and I was underwhelmed.

I haven't see the movie yet, but I did have someone return the book to me unread - after watching the movie. She said it was not her thing and she had no desire to read the book after watching the movie. So, I'm not sure how I feel about going to the movie now.

I am hoping that between a good screen writer and an impressive visual director it will be a great movie.

It was very pretty to look at. The scenery was gorgeous. But I wasn't impressed with the dialogue and much of the acting.

The book. I just think the film versions leave so much to be desired.

I like the film first because the book is usually so superior to its movie version that it's difficult not to be disappointed by the film.

So I watch a movie. Get all I can from it and then pick up the book and get much more from the story.

The only main exception to this I can remember is, "The Hunt for Red October" by Tom Clancy. There is a lot of technical information in the movie I didn't understand. Ex: "sneaking up in his baffles" or "doing a 'crazy Ivan'". When I finally read the book and then went back to view the film again, I got a lot more out of it.

Sincerely, Laura-Lee

Lol, Charly!

That's an interesting perspective to consider, Laura-Lee, thanks for sharing!

Book first