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Book vs movie comparison
List of differences between books and movies
Book vs movie comparison
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According to the article, “ Are Books Better than Films?”, “Films can bring whole worlds to life before our eyes, make characters into living, breathing fleshing blood, but books let you live everything” (“Are Books Better than Films?”). Very often book lovers are unsatisfied with the movie adaption of their favorite book. No doubt there have been great book based movies but that does not take the place of reading the actual novel. Reading books is better than watching the movie. This is better because often the movie tends to misinterpret information, which changes the plot, and lack sufficient character development.
One of the many famous movie adaptions is from the teen novel series The Twilight Saga. Written by Stephanie Meyer, it has been extremely successful. The series is about a male vampire (Edward Cullen) and human female (Isabella Swan) who fall in love and struggle to keep their relationship. Teens ran out and got the books hot off the press and staked out movie theaters the first weekend it came out. The first weekend the movie came out in theatres it made over $69,637,740. It also ranked the number one movie in 3,419 across America ("Twilight (2008) - Box Office Mojo.").
In movie versions, the director seems to overlook material that the reader finds vital to the plot. In the first Twilight book, when Edward and Bella get out of the car he does not touch her because he does not want to risk losing control (Meyer). In the movie, Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, he swings his arm around Bella shoulders and states he was going to hell anyways (Hardwicke). When the director did this he changed the plot because in the book none of the other characters knew Edward and Bella talked. Then all of a sudden Edward and Bella w...
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...the chance to increase vocabulary and knowledge. Movies do not equate to books because they lack the following criteria. They do not have full character analysis as the book does nor do they stick to the story line of the book. Directors tend to take their creative liberties too far and begin to alter the plot and create new images of the story. Readers would love to see a great novel come to life but keep it the way the book has written it.
"Are Books Better than Films?" Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 06 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
"Are Movies Better than Books?" The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. London: Atom, 2007. Print.
"Twilight (2008) - Box Office Mojo." Twilight (2008) - Box Office Mojo. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Twilight. Dir. Catherine Hardwicke. Paramount Pictures,2008. Film.
In conclusion, details involving the characters and symbolic meanings to objects are the factors that make the novel better than the movie. Leaving out aspects of the novel limits the viewer’s appreciation for the story. One may favor the film over the novel or vice versa, but that person will not overlook the intense work that went into the making of both. The film and novel have their similarities and differences, but both effectively communicate their meaning to the public.
Petrie, Dennis and Boggs, Joseph. The Art of Watching Films. New York: McGraw Hill, 2012.
Usually movies try to take the story to a different level or by adding parts or just try to change it to a completely different story. Some of the differences between the movie as to the book are some little and large differences. They might also try taking little parts away that will change how the readers see the story characters. An example of that would be Walter not smoking in the movie (Pg 115). Walter usually smokes because he is stressed or just as a way to relax. Walter also does not get punched by Mam...
When novels are adapted for the cinema, directors and writers frequently make changes in the plot, setting, characterization and themes of the novel. Sometimes the changes are made in adaptations due to the distinctive interpretations of the novel, which involve personal views of the book and choices of elements to retain, reproduce, change or leave out. On the contrary, a film is not just an illustrated version of the novel; it is a totally different medium. When adapting the novel, the director has to leave out a number of things for the simple reason of time difference. Furthermore, other structures and techniques must be added to the film to enhance the beauty and impressions of it. Like a translator, the director wants to do some sort of fidelity to the original work and also create a new work of art in a different medium. Regardless of the differences in the two media, they also share a number of elements: they each tell stories about characters.
Movies based on books try to captivate the audience while staying true to the story.
From a structural perspective, movies and novels appear as polar opposites. A film uses actors, scripts, and a set in order to create a visual that can grab and keep the attention of their viewers. However, an author strives to incorporate deeper meaning into their books. Despite these differences in media, 1984 and The Hunger Games present unique, yet similar ideas.
Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.
Whenever books are adapted for film, changes inevitably have to be made. The medium of film offers several advantages and disadvantages over the book: it is not as adept at exploring the inner workings of people - it cannot explore their minds so easily; however, the added visual and audio capabilities of film open whole new areas of the imagination which, in the hands of a competent writer-director, can more than compensate.
At this point, the readers create their own movie in a way. They will determine important aspects of how the character speaks, looks like, and reacts. Whereas, in the movie, the reader has no choice but to follow the plot laid out in front of them. No longer can they picture the characters in their own way or come up with their different portrayals. The fate of the story, while still unpredictable, was highly influenced by the way the characters looked, spoke, and presented themselves on screen.
Many novels have been adapted into films. It gives the readers a solid picture rather than leaving it up to their imagination. One very famous example of this is The Hunger Games series. The iconic novel written by Suzanne Collins follows Katniss, a girl who volunteered to be in the brutal killing competition her country puts on every year called The Hunger Games. The series consists of three novels, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. It also consists of four movies The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2. As in any novel that becomes a movie some things are changed. Some scenes are taken out, some are added in, and some are altered from the novel. One scene that is taken out of the movie, is when the mayor’s daughter Madge gives Katniss the mockingjay pin that
In his essay, “It’s Just a Movie: A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes”, Greg M. Smith argues that analyzing a film does not ruin, but enhances a movie-viewing experience; he supports his argument with supporting evidence. He addresses the careful planning required for movies. Messages are not meant to be telegrams. Audiences read into movies to understand basic plotlines. Viewers should examine works rather than society’s explanations. Each piece contributes to Smith’s argument, movies are worth scrutinizing.
In the famous novel and movie series, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, an average teenage girl, Bella Swan, is forced to move from Arizona (where she lived with her mother) to Washington to start an almost new life with her father. She attends a small-town high school with mostly average people, besides one family, the Cullens. As Bella and Edward Cullen get closer, she uncovers a deep secret about him and his family. Their relationship faces many hard challenges and conflicts as the story develops. Both the novel and movie share very similar storylines, however, differ in many ways. From themes to author’s craft, or to relationships, these important parts of the story highlight the significant differences and similarities of Twilight.
As stated numerous times throughout this essay, movies must stay true to their book predecessor for full effect. Books are normally beautifully described and written, and help the reader visualize a completely new world. Most movies, not just The Book Thief, normally omit several
Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..
Also, books usually have more characters and give continued suspense so that the reader will be hooked or addicted to finish the book to find out the story. On the other hand, movie producers need to eliminate so many details about the story in order to squeeze everything into one to two hours. Due to this, those people who love detail information about stories usually prefer books than movies as movies does not have a detailed information about the story. Furthermore, reading books can not only enhance the reader’s vocabulary and creativity, but also increase their reading and writing skills, while watching movies only provides entertainment (Lee, wordpress.com).