Better than the original source...

[InBendiswetrust]

After seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I realized it was better than the book. Are there any other movies you would consider better than the original source? (book, comic book, video game, graphic novel, tv show, etc.) Discuss and what not.

[Dan McLellan]

Transformers
Each subsequent Friday the 13th movie
A History of Violence
Road to Perdition
Chronicles of Riddick Video Game

[YouStayClassy]

Fight Club.
Princess Bride.

'tis true.

[Dan McLellan]

Fight Club.
Princess Bride.

'tis true.

Yes and NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOO! A MILLION TIMES NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[TheKraken]

I'll second Fight Club.

Also: Out of Sight. Book was good, movie was great.

[Dan McLellan]

mortal kombat the movie

[modungo]

Godfather.
L.A. Confidential(whick is saying alot since the book is almost perfect)

[c. page]

Transformers
Each subsequent Friday the 13th movie
A History of Violence
Road to Perdition
Chronicles of Riddick Video Game


mortal kombat the movie

you are a strange man...

[Dan McLellan]

you are a strange man...

Friday the 13th sucks. It's incompetently made and boring. Not even laughably bad. EVERY sequel was more entertaining than the first one. Even number two which almost equally bad, it had a higher body count though.

Oh and Mortal Kombat games didn't get good until number II.

[Jerome Gibbons]

Godfather, for sure.



I hear Brokeback Mountain, too (don't know for sure since I haven't read the short story or seen the movie).

[c. page]

Friday the 13th sucks. It's incompetently made and boring. Not even laughably bad. EVERY sequel was more entertaining than the first one. Even number two which almost equally bad, it had a higher body count though.

okay. i thought you were saying each sequel was better than the one that came before it, making either jason x or freddy vs. jason the best one overall. (depending on how you look at things)

but better than the first, i'd say probably.


Oh and Mortal Kombat games didn't get good until number II.

here you're just wrong, though. ;)

[Josh!]

Ghost World
Mrs. Doubtfire
The Natural

[Josh!]

Godfather, for sure.



I hear Brokeback Mountain, too (don't know for sure since I haven't read the short story or seen the movie).


I disagree on the Godfather-- both the movie and book were amazing, but I don't think I could pick one over the other. I think it's the rare case where I love both about equally.

[Jerome Gibbons]

I disagree on the Godfather-- both the movie and book were amazing, but I don't think I could pick one over the other. I think it's the rare case where I love both about equally.

Well, you can see how my perceptions might be a bit tainted, seeing as how The Godfather is my favorite movie of all time.

[Akira]

Fight Club, LotR, MGS2, Tomb Raider Anniversary

[Josh!]

Well, you can see how my perceptions might be a bit tainted, seeing as how The Godfather is my favorite movie of all time.

That'll do it.

[TheKraken]

Fight Club, LotR, MGS2, Tomb Raider Anniversary

LOTR? Really? I'd say the first movie's damn near perfect, but things like Faramir not trusting Frodo until he sees him try to sell out humanity and Denathor spending the entire 3rd movie as a raving loony really mucked up the other two...

[Dusto]

Fight Club
L.A. Confidential
Shawshank Redemption
Godfather
Ghost World
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Graduate
The Man Who Knew Too Much

[Dusto]

Star Wars > The Hidden Fortress

But let me say preemptively that I think anyone who mentions a Philip K. Dick adaptation is wrong.

[jfp2004]

Jurassic Park. Mind, the book was really good, but there was something about seeing it on the big screen that brought it to life.

[stevapalooza]

Jaws. In the book the shark just sort of dies of exhaustion. And Hooper bangs Brody's wife and dies in the shark cage.

[Marcdachamp]

Jurassic Park. Mind, the book was really good, but there was something about seeing it on the big screen that brought it to life.

What's it like living in the Bizarro World?

[R0cketFr0g]

Bacon

[Black Roman]

300.

[Tony Bang]

The Shining
The Night of The Hunter
Fistful of Dollars
David Mazzucchelli's City of Glass

[Black Roman]

The Shining
The Night of The Hunter
Fistful of Dollars
David Mazzucchelli's City of Glass

Uh-huh. NO WAY Shining the movie is better than the book. They're BARELY RELATED.



EDIT: The Shining is an awesome movie but it has virtually nothing in common with the book whatsoever.

[Tony Bang]

The Shining is an awesome movie but it has virtually nothing in common with the book whatsoever.

Yes, which is the reason it's better than the source.

[Caley Tibbittz]

300.

NO. A thousand times no. Movie=good, book=great.

[Black Roman]

YES. A thousand times YES. Movie=GREAT, book=good.

Ya got that backwards buddy so I fixed it.

[Dusto]

Fistful of Dollars
David Mazzucchelli's City of Glass

Fistful of Dollars is good, but the whining kid alone makes it worse than Yojimbo (which was, however, better than Red Harvest).

And City of Glass the comic was good (I didn't even realize it was Mazzuchelli!), but the book is so much more complex.

[InBendiswetrust]

What was Fight Club based on? I don't think any other form of it could be better than the movie though. Best movie of the 90's!

[Jef UK]

The Lord of the Rings.

[Jef UK]

What was Fight Club based on? I don't think any other form of it could be better than the movie though. Best movie of the 90's!

It was based on a novel called, Fight Club.

[R0cketFr0g]

What was Fight Club based on?

Umm.. Fight Club.

[InBendiswetrust]

It was based on a novel called, Fight Club.

D'oh.

[jason hissong]

The Shining
The Night of The Hunter
Fistful of Dollars
David Mazzucchelli's City of Glass

Not sure about the top three.

And while the City of Glass Graphic Novel is epic, poignant, remarkable and an all around great read, it doesn't really compare to the book.

Because City of Glass is only one third of the story. I realize that all three of them can and do stand on their own, but reading them as a whole is one of the most memorable things in my literary autobiography.

The New York Trilogy is a remarkable work. As is most of Auster's catalogue.

[Tony Bang]

Not sure about the top three.

And while the City of Glass Graphic Novel is epic, poignant, remarkable and an all around great read, it doesn't really compare to the book.

Because City of Glass is only one third of the story. I realize that all three of them can and do stand on their own, but reading them as a whole is one of the most memorable things in my literary autobiography.

The New York Trilogy is a remarkable work. As is most of Auster's catalogue.

Huh, I could be wrong about this, maybe I need to go the library and give it another read.

[Angeles]

I disagree with the opinion that the book is always better than the movie. That's utter B.S. Any work should not be judged based on the medium, but on its individual merits.

I agree with these already mentioned:

Jaws
Godfather
The Graduate
LA Confidential

Nobody's mentioned:

Trainspotting
A Clockwork Orange
Dr. Strangelove
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

[chazbot]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Forrest Gump yet.
I enjoyed the movie so much when I was about 15 (whenever it came out) that I sought out the book it was based on.
A heart-warming and poignant movie came from a pretty damn crappy movie. Like you would not believe how mediocre the book was, I can't explain it to you except to have you sit down and read the novel, but then you would hate me.
They truly deserved the best adapted screenplay cause they spun shit into gold there.

[Akira]

LOTR? Really? I'd say the first movie's damn near perfect, but things like Faramir not trusting Frodo until he sees him try to sell out humanity and Denathor spending the entire 3rd movie as a raving loony really mucked up the other two...
No, I meant the the movies as a whole are better than the books.

[Foolish Mortal]

Star Wars > The Hidden Fortress.
Mmm. Well there's only elements of Star Wars based on The Hidden Fortress. Star Wars is not an adaptation of the Kurosawa film in the same way as Magnificent Seven is of The Seven Samurai.


Jaws. In the book the shark just sort of dies of exhaustion. And Hooper bangs Brody's wife and dies in the shark cage.
Yes. The book isn't nearly as good.

[joespam]

The Hunt for Red October. The movie really streamlined the story in great ways.

I'm willing to bet that Die Hard is better than the book it's based on, but I've never read the book. It's just that Die Hard is one of the best action films of all time, so I can't imagine the book being one of the best thrillers of all time.

[changingshades]

Fight Club.
Princess Bride.

'tis true.

I liked Fight Club equally in book and movie forms, but I shall not begrudge you liking one more than the other, even if it is wrong.

[changingshades]

Star Wars > The Hidden Fortress

But let me say preemptively that I think anyone who mentions a Philip K. Dick adaptation is wrong.

even blade runner?

[changingshades]

The Shining
The Night of The Hunter
Fistful of Dollars
David Mazzucchelli's City of Glass

oh fuck yes, The shining.

I just read that a few months ago. totally agree.

[changingshades]

D'oh.

it's okay, we all have stupid moments from time to time.

would you like a cookie?

[Andy Kuhn]

i can't say for sure because i haven't read or seen either one in a while, but, stephen king has said in several interviews that he thinks the movie CARRIE improves on his book.

[Boris the Blade]

Even the writer of Fight Club agrees that it's better than his book.

[changingshades]

Even the writer of Fight Club agrees that it's better than his book.

yeah, but what the hell does he know?

[Tony Bang]

Almost forgot, Cronenberg's Crash.

[LordKinbote]

The movie "A Simple Plan" is better than the book.

[InBendiswetrust]

it's okay, we all have stupid moments from time to time.

would you like a cookie?

Surely, shirley.

[changingshades]

http://www.delicedefrance.co.uk/dynamic/img/Giant%20Oatmeal%20&%20Raisin%20Cookie.jpg

there ya go

[InBendiswetrust]

http://www.delicedefrance.co.uk/dynamic/img/Giant%20Oatmeal%20&%20Raisin%20Cookie.jpg

there ya go

Sweet there are four! and they're oatmeal! you're alright shirley you're alright.

[Dusto]

even blade runner?

Yeah, Blade Runner is good. So is Minority Report. But neither is better than the original. In fact, I'd say Minority Report comes closer, just because the original is not one of PKD's strongest stories.

[changingshades]

Yeah, Blade Runner is good. So is Minority Report. But neither is better than the original. In fact, I'd say Minority Report comes closer, just because the original is not one of PKD's strongest stories.

I don't know. I always felt Electric sheep was good but didn't really have Dick's style to it where as Blade Runner had a great noir feel and thusly gave it a little bit of an edge.

[Dusto]

I don't know. I always felt Electric sheep was good but didn't really have Dick's style to it where as Blade Runner had a great noir feel and thusly gave it a little bit of an edge.

Well, especially with the director's cut of Blade Runner, I felt some of the point of the book was lost. If Deckard is an android, what difference does it make if he has no empathy? The book really dramatizes the fact that he is a HUMAN who has lost the attribute that makes him human.

[Nonnie]

Wait. MRS. DOUBTFIRE is an adaptation?

[Magnum V.I.]

Yeah, Blade Runner is good. So is Minority Report. But neither is better than the original. In fact, I'd say Minority Report comes closer, just because the original is not one of PKD's strongest stories.

I read Minority Report and I find the Movie a hundred times better. The short story just didn't do it for me.

[Jerome Gibbons]

The movie "A Simple Plan" is better than the book.

I bet it's better than the band, too.

[Masculine Todd]

-Circa Survive (the band that spawned from Anthony Green leaving the Saosin)
-The Deer Hunter (the band that came about from Casey Crescenzo leaving The Receiving End of Sirens)
-contemporary Post-Hardcore (traces it's roots from the Hardcore - Emocore scene of Washington in the late '80s)
-Justice League Unlimited (Justice League)
-Night of the Living Dead '90 (remake of Savini and Romero's remake of the '60s original)
-New Warriors (look, now I care about that franchise)

[YouStayClassy]

-Night of the Living Dead '90 (remake of Savini and Romero's remake of the '60s original)

HELL YES!

Best choice yet!

[Colby]

Godfather
Jaws
Jurassic Park
M*A*S*H* (Though that's not really fair- the movie and the books are quite different beasts)
M*A*S*H* (The TV show is superior to the movie. I know, I know, one of my unpopular opinions...)

[TheHanna]

Fight Club, LotR, MGS2, Tomb Raider Anniversary

I think you're the first person that I've seen claim that MGS2 was better than MGS1.

MGS2 is a fantastic game, no doubt, but why do you think it is better than the first one?

(I honestly want to know--I'm afraid of having missed something in the 2nd game that would sway my opinion of it).


Godfather
M*A*S*H* (The TV show is superior to the movie. I know, I know, one of my unpopular opinions...)

I hold the same unpopular opinion. The M*A*S*H TV show is far superior in my opinion.

[Scotty]

Transformers
Each subsequent Friday the 13th movie
A History of Violence
Road to Perdition
Chronicles of Riddick Video Game

You have no soul.

[Patrick J]

Christopher Priest has said the film of version of The Prestige, which he had written, is better than his book. I haven't read the book but I'm going to after having seen the film.

[Colby]

I hold the same unpopular opinion. The M*A*S*H TV show is far superior in my opinion.

I think in terms of sheer numbers, we're actually in the majority- even god tuned in to the series finale- but among people who know/care/think they know or care about art, well, it's hard to go up against Altman. Still, to me, the characters are better defined (and, egads, likable), there's actually a comprehensible plot, and the compromised morality of war is actually explored instead of just played for yuk-yuks.

(And yeah, I know you were agreeing with me, but during my first post I couldn't articulate why I liked the TV show more. I could by now, so I felt the need to post it.)

[RickLM]

Misery
Stand By Me

Also, I hear Children of Men is a great movie. The book disappointed me, its easily my least favorite PD James novel.

[c. page]

The Shining
The Night of The Hunter
Fistful of Dollars
David Mazzucchelli's City of Glass

absolutely not. the movie was terrible in relation to the book.

[Scotty]

Buffy

[Tony Bang]

absolutely not. the movie was terrible in relation to the book.

The question isn't what's closer to the source material, it's what better. And Kubrick's Shining is hundred times better than anything King has written.

Mostly because everything King has written-that's over 30 pages-is horrible.

[c. page]

The question isn't what's closer to the source material, it's what better. And Kubrick's Shining is hundred times better than anything King has written.

Mostly because everything King has written-that's over 30 pages-is horrible.

this is where we'll disagree, then. because i thought kubrick's movie was awful. shelley duvall and whoever the kid was gave wretched performances, and the movie wasn't nearly as scary as the book.

[modungo]

I hold the same unpopular opinion. The M*A*S*H TV show is far superior in my opinion.
If you only count the seasons where it's still a comedy, I agree.

[Dusto]

I read Minority Report and I find the Movie a hundred times better. The short story just didn't do it for me.

I thought each had its problems. Maybe you're right. As I said, it's not one of his better short stories. The movie was entertaining but wasn't as well thought out as the story.