When was the last time you watched a movie adaptation? The answer: probably not as long ago as you might think. With so much content to choose from these days, it’s no wonder many of them are movie adaptations of something else. Numerous popular books have been adapted to the big screen over the years, including The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, The Notebook, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. So, do these movie adaptations ever hold up to the original source material?
Defining Movie Adaptations
A movie adaptation encompasses any film that is derived from non-original source material, such as a book or real-life historical event. With that being said, we’ve all heard the age-old adage, “The book is better than the movie,” which, in most cases, turns out to be true. However, here are a few examples of movie adaptations where that might not be the case.
Movie Adaptations That Rival The Book
The Godfather
Although it is based on a book, nothing can hold a candle to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather film. Even the author of the book, Mario Puzo, admitted that the film is better than his book. In fact, he even admitted The Godfather wasn’t his best work. According to The Independent, Puzo told interviewer Charlie Rose in 1996 that he actually just wrote the book as more of a cash grab, stating, “The Godfather is not as good as the preceding two novels. I wrote it to make money.”
Jaws
When Steven Spielberg was hired as the director of Jaws, he reportedly did an overhaul of the film’s script, aiming to increase the tension of the overall plot. As a result, the Jaws book is actually a much more toned-down version of the story than what Spielberg ended up creating. Additionally, Spielberg was worried that the book’s characters weren’t likable enough to base an entire movie on. In turn, according to The Independent, he “hired a screenwriter to rewrite the script, with likable, everyman protagonists, a sprinkling of jokes, and some unforgettable set-pieces.” The result: Spielberg’s version of Jaws, which won three Academy Awards in 1976.
The Shining
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As fans of The Shining know, Stanley Kubrick’s movie differs from that of Stephen King’s book, so much so that King himself has publicly spoken out about his distaste for the movie adaptation. Kubrick took many creative liberties with the film adaptation, creating a final product that was quite different from King’s original novel. One Buzzfeed critic, Julia Rubin, described Kubrick’s version of The Shining as “multi-layered in its ambiguity, is genuinely horrifying, and is far darker than the original novel.”
In her critique, Rubin continued to elaborate that as much as she enjoys King’s version of the story, there’s just something about Jack Nicholson’s chilling portrayal of Jack Torrance that really sets the film apart. She states, “I’ve always been more intrigued by the Jack Torrance of Kubrick’s version, played here by the always enigmatic and fascinating Jack Nicholson. Unlike Book Jack, Movie Jack isn’t an inherently good man trying to do his best as a husband and father; he’s an absolute nightmare, a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, and the Overlook Hotel is less of a supernatural terror and more of a disturbing psychological journey of one man slowly losing his mind in isolation with his family.”
If you’ve seen Kubrick’s The Shining, would you agree? Or do you prefer Stephen King’s version of the story?
The Silence of the Lambs
Part of what makes The Silence of the Lambs movie adaptation stand out from the book is Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster’s performances as Buffalo Bill and Agent Clarice Starling. They’re so good in these roles it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing them. The movie’s ending is also quite different than that of the book. Per Buzzfeed, Hannibal Lecter’s final goodbye to Clarice is much more sinister in the movie. Reportedly, screenwriter Ted Tally thought the original ending “lacked the cinematic pizzaz needed for the big screen” and changed it to make the movie more memorable to audiences.
Furthermore, the film’s original ending was meant to be even darker than the one that ended up in the final cut. The publication stated, “In the original movie ending, Tally had planned to show Lecter slicing oranges before preparing to dismember a terrified victim with the same knife,” however, the version ended up being cut by the film’s director, Jonathan Demme, on account that it was “too horrifying.” As it stands, to this day, The Silence of the Lambs remains one of the most psychologically creepy horror movies of all time.
Conclusion
Arguments can be made for many other movie adaptations, and others often referenced in the research included Jurassic Park, The Shawshank Redemption, Psycho, The Princess Bride, and The Notebook. As is often the case, whether the film or book is better is a matter of personal opinion, a testament to the beauty of storytelling. Audiences get to decide for themselves which version of the story they like best and take away what they want from each.
Each adaptation also gives numerous artists a chance to interpret the story as they see fit, leading to so many creative ideas and innovative end results. If every adaptation was exactly like the source material, that would defeat the whole purpose of making an adaptation in the first place. With that being said, what are some of your favorite movie adaptations?
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