Booking Through Thursday — The Book Is Usually Better

Even though it’s usually a mistake (grin) … do movies made out of books make you want to read the original?

In most cases, the book is better. Though I have found a few instances where a movie actually works better than the book or is as good as the book. The case for the movie is better is seen in “Forrest Gump” where the movies borrows the few good ideas the book has and expands them into a far better script and film. As for the movie being as good, I still think “Silence of the Lambs” works well and “Jurassic Park” works to some extent though they leave out the primary dramatic tension of the book (namely the raptors are clinging to a boat headed back to the mainland).

But that’s not why we’re here….

In most cases, I find that I want to read the book before I see the movie or TV show based on it. I like to get an idea in my head of what the characters look like and how the world looks before I see it on TV. Sometimes it helps me enjoy a film more because I fill in the details they’ve had to leave out to due to time or I like seeing how certain characters are merged in the film or tv version.