Movie vs Book- Which Is Better? : Classic Adaptations
Novels and their movie adaptations are significantly different artistic and creative forms of expression. Book and movie lovers have been in the age-old debate of how one medium tells a better story than the other.
Now both books and their on-screen adaptations are works of creativity and are highly dependent on audience taste, so one cannot have a rigid opinion about them.
Here are five movie adaptations of classics and what we think of them
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
We know some things get lost in the adaptations. While the 2005 adaptation starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, of Jane Austen’s book is indeed a defining moment in cinema, we cannot overlook the predominant changes they made to the original work. The movie changed the time period of the novel, but Jane Austen’s writing and perspective are timeless and therefore everything fits equally well in the movie.
The movie, however, focuses majorly on Elizabeth and Darcy’s romance; given the 127 minutes of the movie, many events and incidents have been skipped.
The movie, however, focuses majorly on Elizabeth and Darcy’s romance; given the 127 minutes of the movie, many events and incidents have been skipped.
Silence of the Lambs
No one can deny that both the book and movie are excellent works of art. But, we can unanimously agree that Thomas Harris’s flair for language got lost somewhere in the Johnathan Demme movie. Although the movie is almost re-telling the story, it still had to be toned down a notch. The book dealt with the transgender topic with a certain level of sensitivity which was seriously missing in the movie. If for the argument’s sake, one has to answer it- the book by Harris wins this battle of screen and shelf.
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump the movie is a definitive piece not just in American Cinema but in cinemas worldwide. This Winston Groom book had almost faded into obscurity until Eric Roth and Robert Zemeckis adapted the story and took it to different levels of fame. The book is long and unnecessarily tires its reader with tedious details, ultimately leading to them skipping pages altogether and this is where the movie wins. The film focuses entirely on the exciting and obviously realistic parts of Forrest’s life, for going to space was a heightened idea and not having it didn’t seem much of a negative aspect to the viewers.
Persuasion (2022)
Book lovers especially Austen fans declared a crusade against this movie. Regardless of how utterly beautiful Dakota Johnson looked on screen, there was utter disapproval of the dialogues and changes made to the film. While we understand the importance of making it more Gen Z friendly we simply couldn’t digest the “He’s a ten. I never trust a ten.” This period drama film directed by Carrie Cracknell is based on a screenplay by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow of the original work. This can be called a loose adaptation and has been entirely disappointing and no Netflix numbers can change classic book readers’ views.
To conclude, no one can ever attempt to review a book vs a movie in black and white. Movies tend to show more than tell while books set our imagination to fire. One can explore multiple perspectives in books whereas films lack that liberty. Both have enough points that work in their favour and choosing one of the two should entirely be left to the readers and viewers.
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