The film of the book Reviews

This is a good topic for me, because I would say I am as much a book man as a film man. Do they ever make a good film out of a book? Invariably the answer is no, but there are exceptions, notably the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Here's what I think: Firstly, the thing that makes books better than films nine times out of ten is the time ...  Read the complete review

Books vs. movies, how do you compare the two. They are such different creatures. I love them both. There is nothing like curling up on the couch on a rainy day with a good book. But on the other hand, there is nothing like curling up, late on a Friday night with a bowl of popcorn and a good horror movie. Two completely different things. ...  Read the complete review

The cinema has always plundered bookshelves in search of material, from golden oldies like "Gone with the Wind" to more recent "Harry Potter". Many films that don't advertise their source book turn out to be book based - so are directors picking books because there are some fine plots that would transfer well to the big ...  Read the complete review

In the past few years, four of my favourite books have been written- The Beach, Chocolat, Bridget Jones's Diary and Captain Corelli's Mandolin. For those of you who don't read, you will only recognise these as film titles - because they have all been made into films. Whenever the film is released, the inevitable will always be asked ...  Read the complete review

After going to see Lord of the Rings at the cinema i think that if you want to see the film don't read the book till afterwards. Having read the books several times over the years i found that i spent most of the time whilst watching the film thinking oh they've missed this or that out, and found the film lacking the depth of the book. ...  Read the complete review

Descartes was right. I think, therefore I am. When we read are book, we are forced to think, to use our imaginations to bring the characters and the setting to life. When we watch a film, all this hard work is done for us; the appearance of the hero, the rolling countryside, the frightening monster, all of these are presented to us. We do not ...  Read the complete review

When thinking about the film of the book in my opinion it depends on how much the person concerned reads, for example, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, the first half of the book is purely historicla and is not as detailed in the film whereas the film focuses on the last half of the book - the love story entwined in the history. Only a strong ...  Read the complete review

Read the book if you can be bothered, It's much better - Advantages: Many people are to lazy to read books, can be more exciting - Disadvantages: never as much detail, "the pictures are better on the radio" (or in the book), sorry, I've quoted that before too much

I love reading and I love watching films, but it’s not often I do both for the same piece of work. I will begin with a few brief examples of comparisons, then concentrate on a case study. Thinking back, there have been a few times I have read a book, then watched the film or vice versa. I studied Shakespeare’s Hamlet ...  Read the complete review

Before I started thinking about this topic, I'd definitely have said that the book will always beat the film and that there are some books that just can't convert to film. But that's not always the case, and some adaptations do work, maybe not as well as fans of the books would like them to, but enough to bring wonderful ...  Read the complete review

Film adaptions offer a clear example of how the same story can be given a different interpretation. Whenever we read the book we produce our own version or picture of the story, so when the film is adapted it distorts out impression of the story. Parts are missed out or portrayed in a different way in which we imagined from reading the book. ...  Read the complete review

After weeks of writing no opinions, I have finally slipped away from my lair, grabbed some inspiration and am raring to go! Opinion number eight, ‘The Film of the Book’. Movies based on books often get put down for various reasons, I’m sure you would discover that after looking at a few other opinions in this topic. I ...  Read the complete review

No, not the type I suppose. They would rather beat a great novel to death with a stick than keep the integrity of the book intact for a screen adaptation, or any adaptation for that matter. If the screenwriters are so utterly gifted, why can't they write a good story themselves rather than rip apart a brilliant novel? Bang! There it ...  Read the complete review

I have seen many films and read many books. However, I do not make a habit of watching the film of a book i've read or vice versa!! It is such a disappointment to see the film once you have read the book. When you read a book you form these ideas of what the characters look like and picture what the scenery must look like. A book also goes ...  Read the complete review

The thing I love about books, is that there is only so far the book can take you. Although it describes, it cannot give you a set image. Unlike a film. I think making films of books is really bad. Admittedly, some very good films have been made but I think it's such a shame when people's interpretations are spoiled. When ...  Read the complete review

Well When we started to witness hit books converting into movies we thought it would be good or we could skip a book report if we watched the film but I think most of the public have been qiite disppointed by some shoddy attempts of these convertions. Most have a major lack of detail, atmosphere and getting thewatcher/reader involved. If ...  Read the complete review

What I mean by it depends on the author is this. For example, if the author has control over the making of the movie it will be more like the book therefore just as good. Stephen King movies are a good example of this. This movies are he had control over making were rather good and followed the book. It, the tv min-series the Stand and the ...  Read the complete review

There have been some appalling films of great books, y'know. These are the cases that give rise to this perpetual argument. So stand up and be counted: 'Christine', 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', 'The Tommyknockers', 'Cujo'... You may have noticed that some of the above titles are from ...  Read the complete review

Always will people discuss this point and here is my say. I will tell you this I enjoy reading books and would fail to recall every book I have read so I hope that I my opinion is fair. It seems that a popular talking point is 'Oh., they will ruin the book it will never be as good' I just can't understand why people ...  Read the complete review

When I first saw this topic, my immediate reaction was No, a film can never replace a book. I'm not much of a book person, however my daughter is book mad, and buys books whenever she can, on any subject, her favourite subject though is horror, and I must say she does have an impressive collection. I do read now and again, and ...  Read the complete review