What do you like better? I’ve always said that the movies that are based on books are either way worse than the books, or almost as good as. Never better; for the simple reason that, however extraordinary the direction or the acting or the camera angles (or whatever) might be, it’s still nothing without the story! And you have got the book to thank for that!! Here are two books that I loved the MOST, and the movies based on them were only a tad bit worse; probably only because I had already decided that the books were going to be better! Anyway:
1. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King:
Andy Dufresne is wrongly accused of murder, and is sentenced to imprisonment at the Shawshank prison. There he meets the narrator, Red, an inmate who is known for smuggling contraband into the prison. Andy gets Red to deliver him a rock hammer and a large pin-up poster of Rita Hayworth. Then he goes on to do something that has never been done before: escape Shawshank!
This is a novella by Stephen King that was published in 1982 as a part of his collection called Different Seasons. If there’s any author who knows how to create wonderfully complex characters and build up their lives, it’s Stephen King. And this book is definitely King at his best. The 1994 movie Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman received multiple award nominations including seven Academy Awards!
2. Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris:
Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee, is assigned to the case of a certain serial killer known to all as ‘Buffalo Bill’. She has to interview the infamous serial killer, Hannibal the Cannibal, as he is the only one who might be able to help them solve the case. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, once a brilliant psychiatrist, is now kept in a secluded chamber in high security in a mental institution. As the story unfolds, it is he who leads Clarice to the solution and helps her uncover the truth.
Silence of the Lambs is a book written by Thomas Harris, published in 1998 as a part of his Hannibal trilogy. This book has won the Bram Stoker Award for thriller fiction. The novel is one of the best in its genre. The 1991 movie based on the book, starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins has won the five most prestigious Academy Awards.
Do make sure to read these books too, by the way, since I cannot imagine anyone who hasn’t seen the movies!
(This slightly uncalled-for post is my attempt at getting rid of a case of writer’s block that isn’t allowing me to write some things that I want to finish writing today! Hope it has worked!)
(This slightly uncalled-for post is my attempt at getting rid of a case of writer’s block that isn’t allowing me to write some things that I want to finish writing today! Hope it has worked!)
Tabula Rasa 
Love those movies. did not read the books though. will try to catch up. definitely books are better than movies.
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I know, I loved the movies too!! I even saw the Silence of the Lambs movie before I read the book…but both the books are just genius!!
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True in most cases, except (and I can already hear scores of fans preparing to kill me for saying this) Lord of the Rings, where the movies were infinitely better than the book.
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I haven't read LOTR, but the Hobbit was one of the slowest books I have ever read (at least of all the ones that pretended to be exciting!).
But I haven't seen the LOTR movies either; however I have seen you fuss over that Gollum-guy! So I'll take your word for it 😛 ;D
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Nice post!
You know i've met so many people who didn't know that the movie they are talking about is based on a book… 😀 like there are people who don't even know that Harry Potter is a book!
But i think that almost 90% of the time, the books are better than the movies made on them!
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Harry Potter? Really? Such people should be hit on the head with a bat! (says the Harry Potter maniac in me!)
Thanks! Yeah, that's what I think too! But I like watching movies so I am looking for more exceptions!!
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books r good… n i think the reason is when we go through a book our own creativity decides all things like character's image… actions…n other things… In a way we ourself r making a movie on that book in our mind…
N most of the time it is difficult to last as second to any one n that too when we r the people who r judging ….:-) (ofcourse we can be settled on tie option..)
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Hey, I like that explanation! Never thought of it that way!! Thanks 🙂
Ya, you can say it's a tie for now!
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I have made a point to read the book and watch the movie.In all cases books are better than movie.
About Shawshank Redemption , i saw it for the 6th time few days ago and wrote a post on the same.
abhinavvijaykumar.blogspot.com/2011/03/on-shawshank-redemption-and-friend.html
Do read LOTR , i postponed the movies and managed to find time for the bulky book, but was an awesome read. here is a review of the same.
abhinavvijaykumar.blogspot.com/2010/12/lord-of-rings-by-jrrtolkien.html
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I guess you're right! But I'll read LOTR sometime when I have a lot of time on my hands, and till then I won't see the movies 🙂
Shawshank Redemption is classic – both book and movie!!!
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Thanks for dropping by my blog.. As for books or movies.. I am more for books.. But I love movies as well..
I loved Sparks The last song.. If u like his books u will like it.. Will be posting the review sometimes soon next week or so..
Cheers
Jyoti
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Thanks for stopping by; I haven't read any of Sparks books but I wanted to, so I guess I'll start with The Last Song. Actually, I'll wait for your review first 🙂
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