25 Movies That Shattered The “Book Is Better” Myth

It’s a commonly held belief that “the book is always better than the movie,” but sometimes, a film adaptation surpasses its literary origin. Recently, a Reddit user posed the question: “People always say ‘the book’s better than the movie’ - well, what movie is actually better than the book?” The responses were filled with passionate opinions, and here are some of the top picks from the discussion.

#1

Image source: excaligirltoo, Paramount Pictures Forrest Gump. The book was … something.

#2

Image source: CatMom1201, DreamWorks Animation How to train your dragon franchise.

#3

Image source: wadubois, Red Bank Films Carrie. It was Kings first book and, although good, there was emotion and depth in Sissy Spacek’s portrayal that went far beyond the character in the orig story.

#4

Image source: Quiverjones, 20th Century Fox I feel like the Princess Bride was better as a movie.

#5

Image source: fonebone819, Columbia Pictures Shawshank Redemption is a great movie. Book is good, as well.

#6

Image source: johneradicated, dreamworks Shrek.

#7

Image source: just-a-scratch-, 20th Century Fox The Secret Life of Walter Mitty The original text is a depressing short story of a guy dreaming of being greater than his actual tedious life. I love that movie even though it isn't terribly popular.

#8

Image source: BCF13, 20th Century Fox Fight Club.

#9

Image source: asoiahats, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Casino Royale - the improved Felix Leiter character makes it infinitely more interesting, buttressed by an amazing performance from Jeffrey Wright. First Blood - the book is just violence p*rn. LOTR - ok I know this one is going to p**s a lot of people off. Tolkien never intended to write a story in the way we think of a novel/movie. I get that. He did what he was going for very well. But I find the movies more enjoyable. Sue me. That said, The Hobbit movies are garbage. Peter Jackson reached George Lucasian heights in making a prequel trilogy that’s so bad it diminishes the quality of the original. If you don’t have time to read the book and want to see it on screen, watch the Rankin Bass cartoon from the 70s.

#10

Image source: AurelianoTampa, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The Mist. The book is better for most of it, but the ending in the movie knocks the socks off the book ending.

#11

Image source: amerkanische_Frosch, Paramount Pictures Godfather. The book was obviously a best seller but it had some really - REALLY — cringe side plots (involving huge d***s and huge vags; Puzo seems to have had a fetish about outsized sex organs) which Coppola wisely dropped in the film.

#12

Image source: TMQ73, Strong Heart Productions Silence of the Lambs. Of course it followed the book almost exactly.

#13

Image source: annieknowsall, Universal Pictures Jaws, in my opinion. The book is not bad, don’t get me wrong, but the characters in it are extremely unlikeable. I think Spielberg was right to eliminate some of the subplots and to buff the characters up to be more likable/relatable. Also, the end of the book kinda sucked. I won’t spoil it, but compared to the movie it’s extremely anti-climatic. I still like both, the book is still a very good read and I understand why it was such a phenomenon, but I’ll always say the movie was better.

#14

Image source: anon, Columbia Pictures Stand By Me (based on Stephen King’s “The Body”)… I loved the book too! But the movie is a classic to me, just perfect rendition.

#15

Image source: eviltedfurgeson, lionsgate American Psycho. The book really goes deep into Patrick's obsession with fashion and dining culture. It gets a little tedious.

#16

Image source: Flurb4, Warner Bros. Pictures Goodfellas (based on the novel Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi). Wiseguy is actually pretty interesting, it’s basically Henry Hill telling his own story. But Goodfellas is a masterpiece.

#17

Image source: DrunkestJesus, Universal Pictures The Children of Men. Book was good. Movie is top 20 all time.

#18

Image source: Yakb0, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Who Framed(Censored) Roger Rabbit. The books plot is very different, and the characters are all unlikeable. Eddie isn't a tragic character who's dealing with his brothers death by drinking his life away and alienating all the toons he used to befriend. He's a hard bitten, hard drinking a*****e just because. Roger is dead, and the character who k*lled him doesn't really make any sense. The producers of the movie took the idea of a world with toons and humans and threw away the plot. They made the right choice; the movie turned out amazing.

#19

Image source: whatevernamedontcare, Sony Pictures Releasing Matilda. Danny DeVito k*lled it.

#20

Image source: Scevs, Miramax Films No Country For Old Men is the best literal film representation of any book I’ve ever read. Both are masterpieces.

#21

Image source: theyusedthelamppost, Universal Pictures Jurassic Park is a good book, but an all-time great movie.

#22

Image source: afriendincanada, 20th Century Studios The Martian. The book was excellent, but after a while Mark Watney started to feel like Wile E Coyote with things constantly falling on him. The movie kept just the right amount of adversity to keep the story moving along and never got too bogged down in the details the way the book sometimes did.

#23

Image source: oakcrisssy, 20th Century Fox The Devil Wears Prada.

#24

I am an avid Stephen King fan, but I have to admit, the movie version of **The Shining** was very good, and better IMO than the book. However, in most cases SK's books are much better than the movies / shows / miniseries. Image source: BigBearSD

#25

MASH. it was a mediocre novel, but one heck of a movie and a very good TV series. Image source: Neat-Ad-8987