Better than the Book
As we all know, it's a common complaint that the book was a lot better than the movie. Here are some movies that I consider exceptions to that rule. I guess the fact that the list is so short implies how common the complaint is.
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.This is a case of apples and oranges, different from the other movies on the list. The movie's ending works for the movie, because it's more cinematic. The book's ending works for the book, because it completes the story. You could argue - correctly - that the book's ending should have been in the movie, but in the end, I think it would only have taken away from the overall effect.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsAnthony PerkinsArnoldo FoàJess HahnAn unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.Like "A Clockwork Orange," this is kind of another case of apples and oranges. The movie maintains a mystique by never really letting us know what anyone is thinking. The book, on the other hand, goes into great detail, spelling out each character's thought process and motivations. It's another case in which the book works best as a book, and the movie works best as a movie.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsAaron EckhartCameron BrightMaria BelloSatirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his 12-year old son.SPOILER ALERT (for the book) : Having made all its points and touched all its bases, the book devolves into a high-stakes battle of office politics, and the threads of the story unravel. The movie cuts out most of that, and stays focused on the issue at hand.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyJennifer LopezVing RhamesA career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.This feels a little like sacrilege, saying that the movie is better than an Elmore Leonard novel. But I'm not, really. Even after a number of changes, it's still comparable (which in my opinion, speaks highly enough of it). I guess the most profound change was the expansion of the Ripley character. But my favorite addition - and one of my favorite movie scenes of all time - was the closing moment with Samuel L. Jackson's cameo.