Book vs. Movie

[finarvyn]

As a rule of thumb, I think whichever came first tends to be better. If a movie is made from a book the book is usually better, but if a book is made from a movie it tends to lack depth.

Great point and that's what I was thinking in my head but it didn't come out that way...

I know that I've been suckered into buying a movie "novelization" on many occasions, and very rarely does it contribute anything to the story.

One exception that comes to mind is Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith. My memory is a little hazy because it's been years since I read it, but there is an excellent scene in the book where Anakin hears only part of a conversation between the Emperor and someone else (maybe Yoda but probably Mace Windu) and from the part he can hear it's clear how he could totally mininterpret the entire conversation's message. Very cool and well written, and I don't recall it being done like that in the movie. (Probably glot sliced out and is on the cutting room floor somewhere.)

And a clever scene in one of the Star Trek movies where Kirk has a conversation with Scotty's nephew, who is an ensign on the Enterprise. I think in the movie you never find out he's related to Scotty but seems like some random ensign. Again, probably in the script but edited out somewhere.

An exception the other way around was THE LAST SHIP, which was a dreadful 20-year-old novel and a cool TV miniseries. Much better than the original book!

Overall, the first one is the best one.