Anyone who knows me knows I have a slight obsession with the Harry Potter series. I’m not quite at support group status, but I have read each book a few times, and do enjoy an animated discussion when the conversation turns to Harry and his adventures. So it never fails that whenever a new HP movie is released, I am inundated with emails and phone calls from friends and family looking to have a discussion about the movie, how it differs from the book, how good or bad it was, how they will fill in story-line holes in the next installment, and so on. Having also been part of the publishing world for quite a few years, discussions among colleagues comparing books to their movie adaptations was a common occurrence. But, having moved on and expanded my circle of acquaintances, I am beginning to realize that many people I talk to either A. have no idea that certain movies were actually based on books, or B. knew a film was based on a book, but now that there’s a movie, feel there’s no reason to read the book (this I find particularly appalling).
It took me a while to recover from the shock, but I began to Zen with the idea that maybe I’m just a horse of a different color. That’s when I decided to poll my friends: can you name a movie that’s better than the book? And some of them could. Everyone had their two cents on which books were better or vice versa, and why, and how it is often just a personal preference. That’s when I realized that I didn’t have to challenge people to read the book before watching the movie, but just remind them. To me, it’s really slapping a book in the face to just watch the movie. Don’t get me wrong, I think the movie deserves attention, but I like to think of the adaptation as an artistic representation of the book it's based on. Think of a book as if it’s a person: it has a skeleton, organs, muscles, and skin. The movie version only has the skeleton, some organs, and maybe a few of the muscles—it’s almost always incomplete. For example, in the latest installment of the Harry Potter movies (HP and the Half-Blood Prince), a lot of what was in the book was left out of the movie and there were quite a few holes in the story line.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that, in general, most people feel shortchanged by a book’s movie counterpart. I’m nervous about the next installment of the Twilight series, New Moon, which comes out this November. I personally thought Twilight, the movie, was a horrendous adaptation of the book. If you liked the movie (and I know many people did) but haven’t read the book yet, I triple-dog dare you to read the book and tell me the movie was better. There was just so much va va va voom in the book that did not come through in the movie. Stephenie Meyer’s writing allowed me to feel the unbreakable love that both Edward and Jacob had for Bella—but you only get about ten percent of that intensity in the movie. If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out.
I could go on and on about what’s good and bad or wrong and right with so many movie adaptations, but that’s not my point; the point is for you to decide for yourself. And you can only do that if you both read AND watch.
My Movie/Book Recommendations
I’ve listed for you a few made-from-book movies, some you might not realize were based on books, and others are just favorites of mine. I look forward to hearing which books that became movies you liked or didn’t like and why.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling. Though the movies for books 1–6 are out (and fairly decent adaptations), I chose the first book and the first movie to showcase for a few reasons. For the book: the first book of a series is usually the most enchanting because it’s your introduction to the author's world. (It took a while to get into it, but once you get through the first 90 pages, you’ll be hooked.) The movie is a great example of one that tried to keep as close to the book as possible, but it still fell short. I don’t think the movie is bad; I did enjoy seeing the wizarding world come to life, but it didn’t quite have the magic that the book did.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. This book was the most brilliant of the 4 (in my opinion) and the movie was, again, in my opinion, one of the worst adaptations I’ve ever seen. Please don’t miss out on the brilliance of this book by just watching the movie.
Holes by Louis Sachar. This is a movie that I can say is very very close to the book. I loved both the book and the movie and I highly recommend them.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Shame on me for not even realizing that this was based on a book! I’ll be going to B&N tomorrow to pick up the book, and the movie, which is now available, is number one in my Netflix queue. I’ll post my opinion as soon as I’m done!
And don’t forget what’s coming up!
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. The second installment of the Twilight Series. (November 2009)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. This book will be broken up into 2 movies. (2010 and 2011).
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. A classic children’s picture book; I am definitely planning to check out the movie version. Don’t forget to read the book to see how—and how well—they expanded the storyline. (2010)
