A Book’s Journey to the Big Screen and Why the Book Isn’t Always Better

Published April 29, 2008

By Sally Wiebe

Okay everybody, I’m going to disclose my opinion bluntly: although you may have read and loved all three hundred pages of it, the book is not always better than the movie. Gasp! Harry Potter and Hobbit fans, hear me out. What I’m trying to get so many of you to understand, or at least change your perspective on, is that films offer great alternative takes on impressive pieces of literature. Maybe some of you have countless quibbles regarding the viewpoints of these adaptive screenwriters and directors, but they only decided on a film version of these novels because they too felt something powerful and compelling upon completing their reading.

In my case, I have appreciated two important films released after the publication of two very noteworthy novels. I absolutely adore both To Kill a Mockingbird and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I laughed, cried, and was pissed off while reading Lee’s and Kesey’s triumphs, and I felt similarly potent emotions after watching the movies. This is a couple of book and VHS copies I can look at again and again, with the written text and script never failing to move me.

The reason I welcomed these films instead of ripping them apart the minute I finished watching them is because the filmmakers share a dissimilar, however equally interesting vision for the text’s adaptation. The actors in these films display related messages and ultimate themes of the novels, but they do so in their own way, without trying to mimic the radiance of the novel’s text.

For the sake of objectivity, I’ll say that I have most certainly seen movies after which I preferred the book. Case in point, the lesser-known but still classic Rebecca. Alfred Hitchcock’s film version of this novel was not my favorite of his. I almost wish I hadn’t seen it. I was so satisfied in fourth grade, frightening myself in bed while reading it that, when I saw the movie, I didn’t get the same effect. It was boring to see nearly the same exact plotline unraveling in a book where I had so enjoyed making up my own images and voices for the characters. To me this is the unfortunate consequence of a small number of film adaptations—the exact replication of the text on the screen.

Now that I’ve suggested this, I must admit that there have been times when I’ve watched the movie before reading the book. When I finally got around to perusing the book, I was frustrated with the direction of the movie adaptation. There is nothing worse than reading a book and walking away with a clear understanding of a character’s nuanced personality and appearance, only to have your image dashed by a production company’s failed attempt at an adaptation. This is when we all appreciate the strength of our own imaginations. But this is also why a great film version serves as a wonderful accompaniment to its novel. A movie’s variation of the book is a great way to notice some of the ideas you may not have had after reading the book. Now I can say that sometimes the movie is an interesting display of the book.

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