Is it always best to read the book before you see the film?

Question

What are your reasons why/why not?

Answer 1

Yes. You can compare and contrast and see if the film goes with your mental images - not someone else's vision.

Answer 2

Yes I think so because in my experience the book is always better than the film and you have in your head a visual picture of what the characters look like. Also if you re reading a book you wouldn't look at the last page to see the outcome or it would spoil the story. But if you watch a film it is not as important if you know whats going to happen. If you saw the film first and it wasn't very good it may put you off reading the book and this would be terrible if it was a well written good story and you had passed over the chance to read it.

Answer 3

The normal sequence of events is that the book is published and then the film is made. I have been horribly disappointed with some, if not all of the films. Huge chunks of the book have been discarded and not mentioned at all in the film, characters pop up from nowhere in the film but in the book they are carefully crafted to be a part of the plot.

The one film/book that stands out in my memory for this is the Day of The Jackal. In the book the preparation of the snipers rifle being disguised as an aluminium crutch took perhaps a page to explain. In the film you saw the character cutting metal and then tieing them together, before hiding them underneath an Alfa Romeo. If you had not read the book you'd had been puzzled as to where he got the rifle from.

Answer 4

If you read the book don't bother watching the film! When I was a child I read The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe about a million times and when the film came out I was really excited!
But I just kept comparing the film to the book and I was really bored and disappointed basically I thought the film was crap! and I probably won't read the book again!

Answer 5

The book always gives you more details, whereas the film always misses out many things, eg, what the characters are thinking about. There isn't enough time to show a complete book in a 2 or 3 hour film.

Answer 6

No, it isn't always best to read the book first. You should probably decide on a case-by-case basis, the guiding principle being that if it was a really good book then it'll probably make a rubbish film.

Many films are adapted from books. Most of them are not nearly as good as the sources.

John Huston is a case in point. Many of his films (Moby Dick, Wise Blood, The Dead) are adapted from pre-existing stories. In every case they become entertaining Huston films. But none of them are even remotely as good as the sources from which they are derived. In every case, you are much better off reading the original work and not bothering with the movie.

Huston's mistake was to believe that literary works of genius could be translated into the language of film without losing anything essential. The evidence suggests that the process of converting a story from literary origins into filmic effectiveness entails robbing most of what made it singular and wonderful as a book in the first place. Almost no film versions of great works are good as films; most great films adapted from books are adaptations of rubbish books.

Answer 7

I prefer to read the book then watch the film coz if you watch the film before reading the book it takes the excitment out of the book as you know hows it going to end.

Answer 8

Always read the book first as this is normally the true details. Films often change the plot to suit their needs either for audience effect or financial gain.
The shining is a prime example. Read it then compare it to the film. You will be surprised

Answer 9

It is better to read the book first. The book will tell the reader what is going on in the minds of the characters. The film has to have the character's actions explained by himself or another character or it doesn't explain at all and leaves you wondering.

Answer 10

no
becaue the book requires some inteeligence and imagination to understand and appreciate, whereas the film does it all for you, so no thought is required.

the great thing about a book is that you can create the image and background out of your experiences and the author, bu thte film presents a predetermined saccarhine package.

so if you want to read the book fine, if you want to se the film fine. but dont pretend the two are the same. film demands that you suspend thought and imagination and recei ve the mages, books require that you create your own interpretaion of the story.

Answer 11

Definitely read the book first. With a book, you're getting the author's vision, not some director's, and books also leave much more room for imagination. If you're the not the imaginative type, you'd probably prefer watching the movie so you can just sit there and drool, letting your brain go to sod.