Monday, May 20, 2013

Monday Musings: From Book To Big Screen

This past weekend, I went to see The Great Gatsby based on the infamous novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Although I enjoyed the movie and the special effects a great deal, I wasn't totally in awe with the movie either.  At times, I felt as though certain aspects were overly exaggerated and at other times the character of Jay Gatsby, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, seemed rather "cheesy" for lack of a better word.  But overall, the movie certainly captured the essence of human nature as originally portrayed in Fitzgerald's novel, and certainly worth seeing.

I have several favorite movies that were adapted from books; The Harry Potter series, Balzac And The Chinese Seamstress, Fried Green Tomatoes, Forrest Gump, most movies based upon Stephen King novels, The Color Purple, The Godfather,  and I could go on and on.  But no matter how much I enjoy the movie, I still find that I prefer the novel itself.  There are just some things that cannot be captured on the big screen, such as the author's play on words, the atmosphere of the novel, or my  own interpretation of the novel itself.  And, I prefer to read the novel first before viewing the movie when possible.  The exception to this  was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.  I have never read a book by this author (I know some of you may be gasping at this very moment) but after viewing the movie and sobbing throughout, I'm a bit more determined to follow up with  a few of his books now.  But for the most part, I prefer to read the book first.  What are some of your favorite films based on books?  In the end,  do you prefer the book or the movie? Why?

3 comments :

  1. I was worried about the movie and how faithful it would be to the book. Glad to see you thought it worthwhile. I hope to see it soon.

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  2. I just finished reading TWO books that are movies and the movies were awesome and both of them weren't as good as the movie (at least to me). Most of the time, I prefer the book, but sometimes the movie adaptations change things in better ways. The Chronicles of Narnia movies were also better than the book, too, in my opinion. It's rare, but it happens!
    I think the Notebook is so much better than the movie, but that's just me. =) It's pretty close, but there was something about the book that I preferred.

    Great post! I still haven't seen The Great Gatsby, but I was never a big fan of the novel, anyway.

    Here's my Musing Mondays Post
    Megan @ Love, Literature, Art, and Reason

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  3. Always the book rather than the film. But I do love 84 Charing Cross Road, Fried Green Tomatoes and The Old Maid. I'm with you on The Notebook: have also never read Sparks but he's on my list now, as that story is stunning. Don't think I'll see TGG though, despite your recommendation. Too much media-hype which for me is never a good sign... :0)

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