Books v Films - The Showdown



The argument whether books or films are better will be an ongoing war between passionate readers and cinephiles; just like the debate whether the song “Send Me On My Way” by Rusted Root is known from the film Matilda or Ice Age.

So, let’s compare. Twilight the film was much worse than the book, but perhaps that’s just because of Kristen Stewart's permanent blank stare. It's a shame because more people hate it than love it, when in fact the books are alright. I guess some people aren’t into vampires and bestiality (werewolves), but hey, each to their own.

American Psycho...definitely no comparison. I praised Easton Ellis's horror masterpiece in my last post, so you know my love for the book. The film, however, let me down. I’m sure everyone’s aware that film adaptations often leave parts out, but in ‘American Psycho’ they committed an even worse crime: they included extraneous details. I’m sorry but where in the novel does Patrick Bateman try to shove a cat into an ATM machine? Not happy.

John Green’s ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ was a massive hit - both the film and book. Again, I’d have to say the book was exceedingly better. It’s not that the movie didn’t have brilliant actors; it's just that, when you read it, you create the perfect characters. Your interpretation is unique and personal to you. Everything becomes more vivid and you get engulfed by the fantasy world your imagination has conjured. You are not only watching romance blossom right in front of your eyes, you are emotionally connected and involved, a feeling you don’t get with movies. Not to mention when you come to re-read a book, you can’t help but picture the actors. Your own creation had been spoiled and forgotten forever.

The only movies I have encountered where the book is equally as brilliant as the original book are all of the ‘Harry Potter’ books and ‘Holes’, but that may be because of Shia LeBeouf’s baby face. Although the Harry Potter films are not as accurate as they could’ve been, the whole production from the acting to the special effects was absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t have imagined anything better.

Forgive me for the biased opinion, but you can clearly see which side of the argument I am on.

#filmadapations #books #bookadaptations

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