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book vs movie:

which was better?

by abel delgado

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I’ve been a Stephen King fan for over 20

years, but I make it a point to never see

any of the films made from his books.

They’re almost always terrible. Firestarter?

Awful. Christine? Bleech. Dreamcatcher?

Unwatchable. The Shawshank Redemption

and Stand By Me are the only possible

exceptions. The film adaptations were bad

because they cast the wrong actors, mangled

the plot or made cheesy additions to the

original story. Of course, I’m not the only

acidly critical critic: book fans often tear apart

movie adaptations of their favorite novels.

Lots of times, they’re right. But not always.

In many memorable instances, films stack

up very well next to the books that inspired

them—and even outshine them.

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The original three novels by J.R.R. Tolkien are classic fantasy stories, with memorable

characters, rousing action and touches of gentle humor. Tolkien’s Middle Earth seems

just as real as our regular Earth, and that’s due to the details on customs, language

and culture. Of course, the wealth of detail that won the books their devoted fans

may be a bit much for the casual reader. For instance, in The Fellowship of the Ring,

Frodo and his friends meet Tom Bombadil, a minor character who sings a song that

goes on and on for pages. And by the time you get to the second book in the trilogy,

it can be tough to sort out the dozens and dozens of characters who come and go

and have similar names, like Sauron/Saruman and Boromir/Faramir. If you can hang

in there through all three books, you’ll either be a devoted fan or, frankly, a bit wrung

out from the heavy traipse through Middle Earth.

The films by director Peter Jackson are much more accessible for a general

audience. He shrewdly pared down the books’ plots to the key points and brilliantly

staged scenes while pulling off groundbreaking visual effects. Casting also helped:

Andy Serkis as Gollum, Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

are just a few of the standout performances that brought Tolkien’s characters to

vivid life. Modern technology can allow hack directors to try and fool the audience

into thinking they’re watching an epic, but Jackson actually delivered three epics

with these films by balancing technology with superb cinematic storytelling.

Winner: the movies

“The wealth of detail in the books may be too much for the casual reader—the films are more accessible.”

The lord of the Rings Trilogy

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alice in wonderland

“The film ends up balancing wonderland’s wackiness with a potent storyline.”

It’s hard to compete with a classic, and both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

(1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871) have delighted millions. Both children

and adults respond to the wacky characters and the loose plot that allows the

imagination to roam. You find yourself exploring Wonderland and Looking-Glass

World along with Alice, and that’s the true power of the novels. What draws

readers down the rabbit hole or through the looking glass is the vivid imagery and

rich language, whether it’s nonsense words or rhythmic poems that delight with

just their sounds. Not surprisingly, the novels also inspired Tim Burton, a highly

visual director, to make Alice in Wonderland in 2010. The challenge was that films

have finely structured plots, while the novels are much more free-form. Burton and

screenwriter conserved the vivid imagery of the novels—adding the typical dark

tones that the director favors—while creating a new plot. A teenaged Alice ends

up in Wonderland years after her first visit, but with a purpose: she must slay the

monstrous Jabberwocky and topple the Red Queen on behalf of the White Queen.

She runs into the same characters as in the novels, but the encounters are part of

a growth process, not just a fanciful, fun journey. Against a stunning Wonderland,

Maia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter add depth and

nuance to the original characters. The film balances Wonderland’s vivid wackiness

with a potent storyline, creating a memorable work that stands on its own.

Winner: a tie

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Dennis Lehane writes about crime and mysteries, but he’s no mystery writer. His

writing is distinctly literary, with sharp symbolism, well-developed themes and fluidly

descriptive sentences that far outshine the more formulaic approaches of most

mystery writers. Shutter Island is a prime example of this. In 1954, U.S. marshal

Teddy Daniels travels to a small Alcatraz-like island to investigate the disappearance

of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane. That’s the jumping-off point for

a work that explores sanity, the power of delusion and what is actually real.

Director Martin Scorsese’s 2010 film version was generally faithful to the original

novel in terms of the plot. The success of his adaptation was using a visual palette of

grays and browns to convey the isolated grimness of Shutter Island. Scorsese also

built on water as a symbol for Teddy’s turmoil, which he also conveyed with deftly

framed shots that hold clues as to what’s really happening. As Teddy, Leonardo

DiCaprio convincingly conveys the descent of his character into instability as Shutter

Island seems to close around him. The supporting cast, including Mark Ruffalo

and Ben Kingsley, also turn in nuanced performances. However, the unsettling

atmosphere that Scorsese creates through lighting, camera angles and composition

seems to be the real star of the film. While the novel develops the underlying themes

more fully, the film’s rich visuals and subtle acting make it just as enjoyable in terms

of storytelling.

Winner: a tie

“The unsettling atmosphere that scorsese creates seems to be the real star of the film version.”

shutter island

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The Da Vinci CodeThriller novels usually involve a good guy or gal battling bad guys, corrupt

corporations or a deadly virus gone amuck. They don’t usually involve a professor

and a cryptologist trying to find the Holy Grail while being chased by a killer albino

monk and the French equivalent of the FBI. That alone made Dan Brown’s 2003

novel stand out, but what really pulled in readers were the historical “facts” he

dropped in about the Catholic Church and the Crusades. These brought depth

to the plot points and made people wonder if the novel’s version of history is true.

Spoiler alert: it isn’t. However, Dan Brown did have a great premise about a massive

conspiracy related to the role of women in the Church that made it hard to put the

novel down.

Screenwriter Akiva Goldman and director Ron Howard managed to streamline

the book’s plot for their 2006 film version. Tom Hanks anchors the movie strongly

as the good guy, professor Robert Langdon, while Audrey Tatou plays off him well

as Sophie. The rest of the cast also delivers, especially Ian McClellan, who does

some fine scenery-chewing as Sir Leigh Teabing. What really makes the film work

are the stunning visuals, including shots of Rossyln Chapel, the Louvre and Chateau

Villette. This lends ambience and an air of authenticity to the film, but ultimately it

can’t match Brown’s absorbing—though fictitious—version of history.

Winner: the book

“The historical ‘facts’ Brown dropped in about the Catholic Church and the Crusades made people wonder if the novel’s version of history is true.”

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In this case, the book and movie have the same basic plot but are completely

different experiences. Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel is a character study. He explores

the motivations and psychology of both major and minor characters, including killer

Luca Brasi, singer Johnny Fontaine, a doctor named Jules Segal and of course, the

lethal chess master known as Don Corleone. Because of his deep character plunge,

Puzo ends up tracing out interesting subplots not seen in the film that cover aspects

of Italian immigrant life and the seamy world of Hollywood. With the novel, you get a

much better understanding of why the characters do what they do—and a deeply

cynical take on human nature.

The film is more thematically driven, with the main theme being the tragic descent

of Michael from straight-arrow war hero into a cold Mafia don. This is conveyed

through music and editing, like the dramatic crescendo when Michael kills Sollozzo

or his renouncing Satan and his works at a baptism while his men kill rival mob

bosses. Director Francis Coppola also works in the concept of family, contrasting

the traditional warmth of Italian American families against a mob “family” handling its

business. Of course, what really makes the film a masterpiece is the acting: Marlon

Brando as Corleone, James Caan as Sonny, Al Pacino as Michael, Robert Duvall as

Tom Hagen and the memorable work of John Cazale as Fredo. Except for Brando,

all of them were unknown, and studio executives at one point wanted Coppola to

have Robert Redford—supposedly as a blond northern Italian—play Michael instead

of Al Pacino. Yipe. Fortunately, Coppola had the acumen and backbone to stick with

Pacino, who delivered the perfect blend of intensity, subtlety and distinct character

progression as Michael.

Winner: the movie

“with the novel, you get a much better understanding of why the characters do what they do—and a deeply cynical take on human nature.”

The godfather

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The Twilight saga

“The books will be perennial favorites long after Robert pattinson sprouts gray hair and wrinkles.”

Honestly, I’m not ready to join the ranks of the Twihards—but I think I understand

why they’re so devoted. In this four-novel series, Bella Swan is a typical angsty

teenage girl who moves to a small town she’s not crazy about. Then she meets

a gorgeous, intriguing stranger—Edward Cullen—who saves her life, protects

her from thugs and is eternally patient and tender with her. He’s also a vampire,

which adds to his hotness. Later on, another amazingly hot guy competes for

Bella’s heart, and he’s a werewolf, which naturally increases his spice factor.

The films have been generally faithful to the books in terms of characters and

plotlines, but also add atmosphere and suspenseful touches that give more of an

edge to the basic love story. They also are better paced and add some welcome

touches of humor not found in the broodier novels. However, we don’t have all

the evidence in yet: the last book in the series, Breaking Dawn, will be released

as two movies, the first tentatively coming out in November 2011. That said, the

novels were monster hits because of the way author Stephenie Meyer taps into

the psyche of teen girls and gives them a world they can step into. Ultimately, the

power of imagination is what fuels the books and is what will likely make them

perennial favorites long after Robert Pattinson sprouts gray hair and wrinkles.

Winner: to be determined, but the books are the odds-on favorites

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