I know you’ve all heard people say things like, “Yeah I saw that movie but the book was way better.” I usually feel the exact same way. With books you let your imagination run free and when you see the movie a lot of times what you visualized is not what is portrayed in the movie. It is very rare for me to prefer a movie to the book. The only one I can think of right now is Atonement. I loved the book and the movie was almost exactly how I pictured it. The cinematography was so amazing which is why I like the movie slightly more then the book. However I would still recommend you read the book before you watched the movie.
Anyway after I saw Twilight I got to thinking. How many people when after seeing a movie, decide to go and read the book? I can honestly say that I have never done that before. Before seeing Twilight I was determined to read the book before I saw the movie, because I knew if I didn’t I would never read the book. Also in books there are usually a lot of subplots that happen that never make it in the film and I hate being left out of things like that.
Take the Harry Potter books. I saw the movie before ever reading the books. I love the movies but can’t seem to make myself read the books. Even though a lot of people tell me the books are much better and there are also a ton of subplots that never make it in the movie. I just feel like, because of seeing the movie, my imagination will be limited when reading. Everything has already been laid out for me. What the characters look like, their mannerisms, and the locations will already be set. For me that’s half the fun of reading. To dream up your own images.
Have you ever seen a movie and then read the book? Did you like it? Did you end up preferring the movie or the book afterward? I’m very curious.
4 comments:
Actually I can't remember a single movie that I've seen before I read the book. I have a copy of that book... the movie, with Tom Hanks... The Da Vinci Code sitting on my bookshelf that I can't seem to read.
I generally prefer to read the book first because I love reading and getting those little surprises you find in the book that get glossed over in the movie.
I agree with you about the imagery of reading is much better than in the movies. When I was younger I would read while listening to some of the cassettes that I had while I was reading, and this one time I was listening to the Smashing Pumpkins when I read the section in The Stand (Stephen King) where someone was attacked by wolves. For months after that everytime I heard that song I'd get the mental images from that scene in my mind. It was kind of freaky, wished it would have been something to do with flowers and rainbows.
I try really hard to read the books before seeing the movie version because I never go back and read the book after I've already seen the movie. It's too hard for me to try to imagine things once the images are in my head already.
I do love the Harry Potter books though and feel like the movies are great but they are different from the books.
Harry Potter books are a ZILLION times better than the movies. There is so much more character development and things make so much more sense.
Even with classics like Gone With The Wind and The Godfather, the movies just end up leaving out stuff that makes awesome.
I am reading Twilight right now, and I will see the movie after.
In general I like the books better, I guess.
i have read books after seeing movies and it's amazing. because there is so many details and background info, etc. that movies seem to leave out that really help the story.
if you go back and read any books that are movies you've already seen, i would ABSOLUTELY suggest doing so for ALL of the Harry Potter books (A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER!) and Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. Also a thousand times better.
I almost ALWAYS love books better than movies.
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