Adaptations You Prefer To The Original

[R. U. Sirius]

This thread is about a topic that I've had discussions with others about before.

It's true to the point of cliche that most adaptations fail to live up to the original. This is especially true when a book is adapted for other media. However, I've found that there are some adaptations that, in my opinion, actually do a better job telling the story than the original.

1) Lord of the Rings. Yes, the books are good, but I tend to enjoy them more for the scope and mythology than the actual writing. Tolkein's writing tends to tell rather than show, and I feel the story suffers for it. Additionally, I feel that Tolkein was WAY too proud of his poems; the number of times the characters burst into random song or poetry only serve as a distraction in my opinion.

2) Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis, like Tolkein, tends to tell his stories rather than show them. This is especially egregious in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", where the climactic battle is only told in flashback. I understand that he was aiming for a younger audience, but even as a child I found the stories boring because of this weakness.

Anyone else have any they'd like to contribute?

[Witchyjoshy]

I tend to think of adaptations as accessories to the things they adapted, so generally, I tend to enjoy both things equally (though sometimes I enjoy the adaptation far more than the original)

Lots of things that are epic in books are boring in movies, and vice versa.  On that note, I do agree with you on both counts.  Lord of the Rings is an epic concept, but actually sitting down and reading the books is kind of a trial.  On the other hand, I absolutely love Chronicles of Narnia books, and I'll agree that the movies were generally more fun.

Though I will admit that the ending to Voyage of the Dawn Treader made me cringe, not because it deviated from the book, but because it actually stayed to the book.  I do not like Christ!Aslan, I preferred the movies keeping it ambiguous.

[RinellaWasHere]

The new Zelda games to Ocarina. Yes, they're all quite similar, but they're refinements on the form.

If it counts, Assassin's Creed 2 to Assassin's Creed. It's everything a sequel needs to be.

[Witchyjoshy]

What shits me is when people complain when Nintendo does something different (see: Star Fox, Skyward Sword), and they complain when Nintendo makes things similar to each other.

Which way do you want it?  Do you want variety, or do you want consistency?

[Katsuro]

Jurassic Park. Reading about dinosaurs cannot compare to SEEING dinosaurs. Especially when you're 8 years old (as I was when the movie came out).

[Dakota Bob]

I prefer the Goldeneye remake to the original N64. That game just did not age well. I've pissed off a few people when I say this, but the Harry Potter films are way more entertaining than the books.

[Witchyjoshy]

I prefer the Goldeneye remake to the original N64. That game just did not age well. I've pissed off a few people when I say this, but the Harry Potter films are way more entertaining than the books.

As a fan of both the books and the films, I gotta say, I can see exactly where you're coming from.

Oddly, that's a case where I don't really prefer one over the other, except that watching a movie is easier than reading a book.

[Søren]

Sin City

That movie kicks so much ass on so many levels

[Pak]

What shits me is when people complain when Nintendo does something different (see: Star Fox, Skyward Sword), and they complain when Nintendo makes things similar to each other.

Which way do you want it?  Do you want variety, or do you want consistency?

Something entertaining and enjoyable.

But in all seriousness, I do prefer Twilight Princess to Ocarina of Time, which I think totally counts as preferring an adaption over an original in this case. Though, TP has a lot of big flaws too, to me it took the best parts of OoT and improved them.
Wind Waker and Skyward Sword feel less like adaptations and more like original endeavors, so they don't count in this case for me.


For other works:

Jaws. Book is ok. Movie is excellent. Streamlines the story, tightens up the characters, Robert Shaw as Quint. Awesome.

In a similar vein, The Godfather the movie over The Godfather the book, though not as big a gap as with Jaws.

And a different one: the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic games when compared to the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The prequel trilogy tried to expand on the world and themes of the original through epic plots and the exploration of deep questions and concepts... and got bogged down in laser light shows and bad romance. The KOTOR games do a much better job of opening up the Star Wars universe with interesting characters, concepts, and themes and actually have some interesting takes on Star Wars philosophy and morality (especially in KOTOR 2). They aren't perfect, but they're miles better than the prequel films.

[Katsuro]

The Davinci Code and Angels and Demons movies. Because Dan Brown is a horrible, horrible writer.

[Distind]

Sin City

That movie kicks so much ass on so many levels

They brought Marv to life, the comics didn't stand a chance after that. The rest certainly doesn't hurt matters either. Though I did like a few of the stories that didn't get adapted into the movie quite a bit, particularly silent night.

[Sleepy]

I prefer the Goldeneye remake to the original N64. That game just did not age well. I've pissed off a few people when I say this, but the Harry Potter films are way more entertaining than the books.

I think this is kind of inevitable, because the filmmakers had no choice but to include the most critical parts from each book, lest they make a movie that runs on for six hours. That tends to result in a lot of action scenes and a lot of aha moments that thrill the audience.

Anyway, the movies are pretty good, but I prefer the books.

[nickiknack]

The Dune TV miniseries that aired on the SciFi channel when it still was good. To me it's a better adaption of the book than the 1980's movie was.

And a different one: the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic games when compared to the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The prequel trilogy tried to expand on the world and themes of the original through epic plots and the exploration of deep questions and concepts... and got bogged down in laser light shows and bad romance. The KOTOR games do a much better job of opening up the Star Wars universe with interesting characters, concepts, and themes and actually have some interesting takes on Star Wars philosophy and morality (especially in KOTOR 2). They aren't perfect, but they're miles better than the prequel films.

One of the main problems with the prequel films is Lucas's shittastic script writting skills, and that he had TOTAL FREE reign to do whatever the fuck he wanted to over every aspect of them. It would of been better if it was more spilt up. Though if you read the books and comics that fill in the gaps and then re-watch the movies it does blow your mind a bit, it did to me when I went back and re-watched TPM after reading Star Wars:Darth Plagueis. I'm in the opinion that that book needs to be adapted in either a movie or a miniseries, because there's a handful of scenes I would love to see played out.

[That Guy]

The Davinci Code and Angels and Demons movies. Because Dan Brown is a horrible, horrible writer.

Agreed completely!

I also prefer the film adaption of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".  It's my least favorite book in the series, but the movie is pretty fun.

[Patches]

After I saw the "Les Miserables" musical, I tried reading the book.  Keyword is "tried".  Victor Hugo seemed to enjoy spending small novels' worth of pages explaining the life stories of side characters who do one thing and then are never seen again.

Then we had the resurgence of Batman in the 90's with Tim Burton's Batman movie and "Batman: The Animated Series", both of which were what kicked off the idea that superhero franchises could be taken seriously.  Previously we'd had the campy Adam West series along with original comics that were just as ridiculous, ending with Batman hawking Hostess pies at the end of every issue.

Also can't believe "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" hasn't been mentioned yet.