Movies vs. Books

[Elsch]

yes, we all know that books are much better than movies, but sometimes the movies are still decent.

The question of this topic is: when there is a movie that comes out that is based off of a book (lord of the rings, harry potter, memoir of a geisha, twilight, inkheart, etc) do you usually read the book first, watch the movie first, or is it random? maybe you only see the movies and never even read the books. talk about it!

for me, I always must read the book first. I feel that I will be able to appreciate the movie much much more that way. I know I definately would not have enjoyed lord of the rings or harry potter even half as much if I had not read the books first. reading a story, and then seeing it come to life on the huge screen, is really an amazing thing that I think everyone should be able to experience as many times in their life as possible

[Chaos92]

For me I would say if it is my genre of movie i will read the book first but if it isn't then usally i watch the movie and if i like the movie i will read the book. For example i read harry potter first and then i watch the movie which allowed me to enjoy the movie more because i had read the book and knew what everything was about. So yeah I think I enjoy reading the book first in all out reality it helps with understanding terms someone just watching the movie and never read the book wouldn't.

[idl12]

well, in most cases for me, by the time they make a movie I've most likely already read the book and in most cases it helped me enjoy the movie, except for Eragon, which I must say is the most atrocious adaption of an amazing book series ever.

[† poetictragedy]

I usually like to read the book first. Unless it's something I didn't know was based on a book. I usually find that out after seeing the movie, so I don't have a chance to read the book first, obviously.

[Elsch]

well, in most cases for me, by the time they make a movie I've most likely already read the book.

this is also the case with me most of the time. I always felt proud to be able to say that I started reading the harry potter and lord of the rings books, before they ever announced to be making movies for those two. (or maybe it just means that I'm getting old...)

it's actually a pretty strict rule with me that I will not see a movie if a book has been published first. I still haven't even read the Da Vinci Code, even though many people say it's a brilliant movie.

[† Talena Mae]

for me reading will always come first, I have read a lot of books in my 20+ years. so having said that all the movies based on the books I have already read so when I do watch the movie I get disappointed when they skip things or change things that are important to the storyline...

[Oblivia]

reading a story, and then seeing it come to life on the huge screen, is really an amazing thing that I think everyone should be able to experience as many times in their life as possible

I so agree with that! I myself usually first read the book (like poetictragedy) then watch the movie, and it is a great feeling when you see how your favourite books are making its way on the big screen. Sure, you will always enjoy the movie more if you had previously read the book; however, sometimes i think that it is better for me to first see a movie, like I did with Eragon and the Da Vinci Code, and then read the book cause books rarely disappoint you, while in vice versa situations you are always left a bit disappointed (or with the feeling WTF??) by the movie. For that reason I actually liked the Eragon movie, cause I didn't read the book before watching it.

And in my opinion the only movie that can come close to the greatness of the book is The Lord of the Rings.

[† poetictragedy]

I usually try to think of books and movies as two separate things. I try not to judge a movie against a book, or vice versa. Because usually, everything that's in a book does not fit in a movie. Sometimes, however, a movie can blow a book completely out of the water. I think some things work better in movies than they do in books.

I may compare the two, but I won't say "That movie was dumb because it didn't match the book."

[Elsch]

of course, you can never expect the movie to be as good or as full in content as a book. however, I think it is fair to want it to be a decent representation of the book at least.

lord of the rings was an awesome representation of the books. The only disappointment I had was that they didn't put Tom Bombadil or his wife, Lady Goldberry in the movie. yes, it worked out well enough with the characters exempt from the movie. you didn't lose any of the story...but they were awesome characters.

[Bindy]

I will normally try to read a book before I watch the movie for it. I find that once I watch the movie I just cannot sit down and read the book because the movie is normally so different to the books, that is normally why I like reading the book before. One thing about watching the movies after reading books though, for me, is that I am constantly annoyed when they change things. But yes, reading books before watching the movies is normally a must for me

[SenSei]

I watch tha movie than I read tha book (my option when I get bored of reading), sometimes I'm doing it versa when I'm getting curious from what my friends say about some of them, I really like good writers , and so I really enjoy reading even if I sow that movie or I didn't D:...

[clara88]

it depends. i find i tend to read the book first but sometimes i watch the movie first if i've never heard of the book. with Ella Enchanted i'm glad i saw the movie first cuz i loved it, then read the book and loved it cuz it was different. but people who read the book first hated the movie for being different.

[crazdawgs90]

It depends on the movie/book. If I have read the book then I will definitely go see the movie though I usually think the movie is worse after doing this. Occasionally I will go see a movie that I haven't read the book for and if I liked it I may read the book or I may not it just depends on the storyline and if I remember who it was that wrote it... It is amazing however, when a director actually does the movie well based on the books. With LOTR I definitely think Peter Jackson did an excellent job though he did leave some important scenes/characters out, he did an amazing job. One that will be hard to duplicate.

[MsTamablee]

Ususally when I see a preview of a movie and learn it's based on a book, I'll probably read the book but most of the time it's me reading the book after I saw the movie. The only drawback about reading the book first is if the characters in the movie look nothing like how I imagined them

[DigitalPimp]

I am an avid reader and the books are allways better.I perfer to read the book first but sometimes it doesnt work out that way.For example ive watched movies and wasnt aware of there being a book..

[Slayer]

If it's a really good movie and I had no idea a book existed, I'd skip the book and go directly to the movie because if it's a good movie I won't need the book to fill me in. I'll probably never read that book but if I wanted to read something I'd go for it. I like reading but I'm pretty lazy and wouldn't pick up a book after I've seen the movie though I would if I just had to read. but the payoff is great when you've read the book and then the movie is good too. unfortunately my memory is shit so watching da vinci code was almost as good as not having read the damn book though i remember enjoying it (the book) immensely.

I guess the perfect case would be Watchmen. My brother told me we'd watch it someday because he had bought the blu-ray. I was volunteering at the library at the time and brought the book home because I kept hearing how revolutionary it had been. I was greatly pleased when I realized everything from the book had been faithfully implemented in the movie plus with that additional movie magic ( i'm talking soundtrack)

[Wake]

I always read the book first. I mean sometimes (or a lot actually) movies don't fully explain what is really happening in some parts; and I think I would rather read the better truer version of the story first which is normally the book. So actually I would have to say whichever was made first I'll view first. If it was the book then I'll read it then go see the movie, or if it was the movie then I'll watch it then read the book.

[Mr_Owl]

i gotta read the books first. i read shutter island before i went to see it. i just like to read more than watch i guess.

[apr118]

Personally, I prefer movies than books because movie tickets are cheaper than availing the book itself.

[Linemile]

In the case of movies that are based off of books, I think that the book should be the book, and the movie should be the movie. They should be able to stand alone from each other as different forms of media. Imagine them as like an alternate universe to whatever book they are based on. If you have to read the book in order to understand the film, the movie writers are doing it wrong.

Personally for me, it just depends on which book(s). If I read and enjoyed a book and find out there will be a movie, I'll go see it because I liked the book. In the case of Watchmen, I had only barely heard of the comic before the movie was announced, and after seeing the film I had to go read the comic.