Quality of Books v. Movies? Will You Shy Away From the Movies...
By thrwbckjay67
@thrwbckjay67 (2870)
United States
July 13, 2007 11:45am CST
because you've heard that they are not like the books. I know this debate goes way back to even the first one, "The Sorcerer's Stone" when Neville was not included in the detention even though he was out with the three (Harry, Ron, Hermione) and the storyline about the dragon and Charlie picking it up...
my question is: how big of a fan are you of the books? would you even consider not seeing the movies because you've heard they do not match the books in all cases? have you skipped the movies? do you go to the movies and complain about it?
I will be honest, I enjoy the movies. I think they are very well made, being a former film student in college. However, I do know that I walk out of the theater shaking my head and trying to compare exactly what is different and how they changed it from the book. I don't complain, it's hard to adapt a book into script form, but sometimes I would like a little more continuity with the books.
How do you feel about the movies vs. the books?
2 people like this
9 responses
@krebstar5 (1266)
• United States
13 Jul 07
I personally prefer the books to the movies. I find that there is a lot more to the books and you learn more about the chracters that way. With the books I feel as though I can really get immersed in the story that the author intended.
That being said, I would not shy away from the movies. It would be quite impossible to put every little thing from the books into the movies. If you did, the movies would be extremely long and at times a bit slow. the purpose of the movies is just to take the best from the books and move things along fast ebnough to keep you entertained for 2 hours or so. I also agree that the movies are pretty well made and I even like some of the changes that were made. For instance, I was glad to see SPEW and Winky put aside. Some of the smaller story lines are entertaining, but not needed to tell an interesting story.
I do go to the movies and talk about what has changed and what is missing. It is interesting to discuss why they made the changes that they did. Soemtimes I like the changes, sometimes not.
1 person likes this
@thrwbckjay67 (2870)
• United States
13 Jul 07
In terms of the Harry Potter series, I definitely preferred the books. There is a lot more in the books than the movies. My wife never read the books, so I find myself telling her all the time, "well, in the book" and she hears it so much she's interesting reading them, now.
It definitely would be hard to get these books to movie form verbatim, especially since they have progressively gotten longer as they've gone on.
Thanks for your response!
@jodenton (222)
•
13 Jul 07
I enjoy the movies also but I always wonder why movie makers even try to make films from books. Probably because they are not authors and can't think up original stories....which is fine...its definitely a different talent.
I have not gone to see many films as I liked the books or at least postponed seeing the films till I've read the books. I've had many a book spoilt by the film (and the films have been great....e.g. lord of the rings)....films just can't live up to your own imagination
@thrwbckjay67 (2870)
• United States
13 Jul 07
Sometimes, it's nice to be able to read a book and "fill in the pictures" in your head, it uses one's imagination better. I do wonder as well; sometimes, you get screenwriters who are very adept and making the adaptation into film work out pretty well. I do know that sometimes people make comments about how a movie is "too much like the book" to, so I guess it's an argument with two sides.
@binga724 (29)
• Philippines
17 Jul 07
personally, i prefer the books to the movies although i also enjoy watching the movies. i just wish that the movies could be closer to the true storyline. sometimes important characters are omitted which somehow alters the storyline in the movie a bit. like in GoF, i think the house elf, winky, shouldn't have been omitted. it somehow simplified the story too much and made the character of the fake mad-eye moody too obvious. but i guess its really hard to condense an entire book into a 2-hour script. if i hadn't read any of the books and just saw the movies, though, i would not be disappointed with them and i would still love the story of harry potter..i just feel that the books give us more in-depth understanding of the characters since we can even get into their heads, read their moods more thoroughly, and even feel their emotions more accurately than in the movies. the movies are just too "concise" for my taste.
@jaichen (142)
• Philippines
16 Jul 07
i like books and i like movies... anyway, about books, it is the complete and true story, the movie is just to see the action of the book in person, in short, it is for fun.. anyway, both are fun, so just enjoy the whole thing.. :D make it like a collection of harry potter things... :D
@jibu87 (78)
•
16 Jul 07
i dont say i dont love the movies.but i would say movies are nothing compared to what u feel while reading.while reading we can assume a lot of things and the situations are all given in description.i prefer books over films
@Shaun72 (15959)
• Palatka, Florida
14 Jul 07
I like watching the movies to compare them to the books although I know they aren't the same. Like the last movie The goblet of Fire. I liked the book a lot better myself. I still like the movie to though. I own both the book and the movie on dvd.
@creative_freak (352)
• Philippines
15 Jul 07
it depends if books is much more nice to read than viewing a boring a movie...one can easily tell a quality book from a boring movie...
