Which is version is better? The book or the film?

Question

Another thing I'd like to compare is the original version of a song, and cover versions.

I'm thinking that it matters more which one we experience first- that will always be the original to us ;-) On the other hand, is it pointless to compare two things which are separate and unique objects, even if the one is manifestly an attempted copy of the other?

Over to you...

It's interesting that some people are scolding me, like 'read the book', it's the original... what about when they write the book of the film? Admittedly, that's usually quite a dire prospect, but it does happen.

Also, what do you say- original language version, or the translated version? Can the translation be as good?

Answer 1

Personally, if I've seen the movie first I tend to read the book with those particular actors in mind & I end up liking them equally. If I read the book first & love it, I tend to dislike the movie because it can never include all the details that the book had. (Don't get me started on book vs. movie with "The Firm"!)

Songs don't really make too much of a difference to me. It depends on how much I like the artist & their particular rendition.

Answer 2

In my opinion the book version is always better than the movies as the book has the minutest details about the subject while due yto the time restrictions you would always find only abridged part in the movies. I have read the books and have seen the movies made on the same. I have always been disappointed to see an abridged version missing the most favourite part of the book in the movie. Also while reading a book your imagination is higher than the movie can ever depict it. Only thing about the movies based on the books is that some of them make the character alive. The best example of the same is Harry Potter. I just loved the books by Rowling and have seen all the movies. Still feel that though the movie gave Harry a face, while reading the book I was more imaginative than the either of the movie has been.

Similarily the original songs are always better than the cover versions as in cover version someone else is singing the old songs of the legendary voices which can not be compared to the new singers however talented they might be. The cover versions are going to create an environment where tomorrow the coming generations would not be able to recognize or appreciate the legendary voices of Kishore Kumar or Lata Mangeshkar.

Answer 3

Book is always infinately better. I read Bless the Child and then brought the film and was seriously disappointed. I loved the book with all the egyptian stuff but the film was all abot christianity. Very disappointing.
I have read books after seeing the film (vampire chronicles, silence of the lambs and loads more) and still find the book beats the film each time.
The worst one i ever found was the Bridget Jones books / films. The films were so different from the books it was almost as if the scriptwriter had not read the book but instead just took the general idea. And second one was changed so dramatically it was if they film makers made their own film instead of going on anything in the book.
Regarding covers of songs, it really depends. Sometimes i think the original is best but others i really like the remake. Some i love both (Heaven by Bryan Adams and the DJ Sammy sticks in mind). What i do find annoying is when the song has been covered Karaoke like (with no change in it whatsoever). I just think that's lazy.

Answer 4

The book version of Harry Potter seemed much more detailed than the film. After reading the series, I found the films merely a series chosen events taken from the book which somehow missed the essence of the story, something like the edited highlights from a football match.

However, everybody I know loves the films. If you haven't been exposed to the books first, then it follows that you're not going to experience any disappointment since you would have nothing else to compare a film to.

Film and book are of the same entity, though expressed into different media. One couldn't possibly recreate the the experience of of anything and expect to be able to control the way it might be received.

The only conclusion I can come to is that the book and film belong to the same story. No two individual experiences of anything can be measured or quantified by any particular standard.

We are all individuals, using the same language to express a personal unique experience of a work. Hope that I haven't diverged from the question too much.

Answer 5

I think the book is always better than the film, for 2 main reasons. First, because of obvious time restraints a film has to leave so much out it is generally disappointing. There is usually at least one favorite scene from the book that didn't make it to the film. Second I feel your own imagination is greater than any film can ever be. A well written book causes so many mental images that cannot be represented nearly as well on screen as in your own mind.
As for original vs. covers of songs, that one is much more complicated. You have to take in personal preference of bands, style of music, etc. A lot of the times with covers it is not just a matter of a carbon copy of the original, the new artist makes it their own, changing the style completely, essentially making it a new song. (and I'm not talking about sampling) And you made a great point of whichever we heard first will be the original, whether it was or not. ;) Great questions.

Answer 6

they can be good as each other
The Da Vinci Code book has been sold out and people love it 100% I'm about to read it any day now. However the movie has been criticised because it is not as good as the book...
Lots of Stephen King books have been made into films and are always brilliant as each other. My favourite by King has to be 'The Body' which was made into the movie 'Stand By Me' in 1985/ 1986. I read the book first and then brought the DVD and they were both good as each other. The dialogue, character descriptions, storyline etc was taken from the book and i found myself repeating some of the words i read from the book when watching the DVD it is one of the greatest movies made of all time. Other examples of King include 'The Green Mile', 'Salems Lot' and 'Pet Cemetery'

Some original songs are always good as each other whereas some have been made into another genre like when All Saints took Red Hot Chili Pepper's song 'Under the Bridge'. I love both versions the original was rock and the remake was pop/ r'n'b. Both version were a hit in the charts. some times its harder to say which is better than the other unless your a pure fan of rock music or pop music its easy to make a judgement.

sorry ive been talking alot!!

Answer 7

THE BOOK!!!!
Films are for lazy people, AND the book is the original story, told to you by the person who invented it , the writer, in the way he meant to tell it, and yet you are able to see it in your way, use your brain! participate in the story a bit, picturing the characters and their voices the way you want ( led by the writer anyway) no barriers of any kind
BUT the film is the story told to you by someone else's point of view, who had nothing to do with the creation of the story. It's ok if the director loved the book, like with LOTR. But if he was interested only in the box office success and his name in a "big production" (as often happens in Hollywood) you get a silly version of the story told in the way which will "get more audience", you see the actors the director wants you to see, And you have all the obstacles that come with trying to put the story on the screen, even if special effects help a lot.
The original is always better! at least it should always get more respect
READ THE BOOK! DON'T BE LAZY!!

Answer 8

The Book

Answer 9

You can't generalise like that. Often, the book is better, but sometimes it's the film.(Glad to see someone else other than me still uses that word) I couldn't manage to get to the end of Lord of the Rings till I saw the films. Now it's my favourite book(s), but the films definitely helped.
An awful lot of cover versions are better than the original. Check out Jack White doing Jolene for example. Also Prince's version of Nothing Compares 2 U doesn't compare to Sinead O'Connor's
Mostly, tho' it's a matter of opinion. And this is mine!

Answer 10

I've only seen two movies which I thought were better than the books - Road to Perdition (a comic book) and Captain Morelli's Mandolin which was much better than the irritating ending in the book. I am immensely irritated at the latest Pride & Prejudice - arrgggh! But the worst has to be Winnie the Pooh. A gopher in Winnie the Pooh??? How horrible is that!
As for songs - well, most of the originals are more familiar, so of course are better. But aren't you glad you can hear songs you thought you'd never hear again, een if they are song by kids a third your age? I love the Fleetwood Mac song even though it was sung by the Corrs.

Answer 11

I agree with you about it being pointless to compare two things , though when one is a copy of another it is REALLY hard not to. As far as songs go, I think that we would all tend to lean towards the original (unless we really did not like it in the first place) because that is what is familiar to us and anything new is just not going to be as good - there have been a rare few occasions, okay only 2 - where I liked a remake of a song better. As far as movies and books go, unless the movie turns out to be really bad (bad acting, scenery, special effects, etc) you really cannot compare it to the book - each has its own merit. In a book you can really get inside of the characters heads, get a feel for what they are thinking and their emotions , etc in ways that oyu cannot on the screen- on screen you can experience scenery, facial expressions, voices, etc in ways that you cannot in a book. It depends on personal preference which would be more appealing to you- for me I like the experience of both- though I do like to read the book first. I dont mind watching a movie already knowing the ending but as much as I like to read, I hate reading a book already knowing how it ends.