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Films That Motivate Reads

Hey, ya'll! I'm new here, and happy to be here. I was just wondering what films out there have motivated you to read the "original". One of my favorite films is Orlando (Virginia Woolf), so I'm trying to get to the read. I think it's interesting to compare the two genres of the same work. Usually I find the book to be far better, but occasionally... Anyway, I've found film to be a good source for the library list. What do any of ya'll think?

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Permalink Reply by Andreas Nicklasson on July 18, 2008 at 5:12pm

There's been quite a few occasions where I've ended up reading the books after watching the movies actually, mostly by these authors;
Stephen King (The Shining, 'Salem's Lot, Firestarter, Cujo, It, The Langoliers & Trucks)

Tom Clancy (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger & The Sum of All Fears)

John Grisham (A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief & The Rainmaker)

Of course, there's been others:
Dracula
Jurassic Park
Bad Moon

That's all the ones I remember right now, there's probably a lot more (not to mention all the ones where I watched the movies after reading the books).

Permalink Reply by Pam on July 20, 2008 at 5:48am

Ring of Bright Water- am I showing my age here lol? I loved the film so I went and got the book- and it was even more brilliant!

Permalink Reply by Gordon on July 18, 2008 at 11:40pm

I usually work in reverse — read a book and then watch the film to see if the cinema industry has done justice to the original. A fine example would be THE HOURS by Michael Cunningham wherein nearly every page was faithfully reproduced.

Another example would be Michael Ondaatje's THE ENGLISH PATIENT. As the actor's spoke their lines, in my mind's eye I could see, and feel, the words of the novel come to life.

For the most part the British are much more cognizant of reproducing a writer's words with care - Hollywood screenwriters often seem to think that they can do a better job than the original author of a work.

Permalink Reply by Vitomama on July 23, 2008 at 8:16am

I usually read the book first, as well, if I can (so many books...), but sometimes it happens that I only become aware of the book AFTER I've seen the film. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis is one such example. I had seen Mary Harron's excellent film a couple of times before I actually got around to the book. It, too, is phenomenal; however, on this rare occasion, I found that the film translated much better for me. Of course, being two completely different genres of storytelling, they naturally are different.

Permalink Reply by Dawn K on July 19, 2008 at 11:38am

It's completely the opposite for me. I find very distracting when reading to have the visuals of the movie already in my head. I tend to not look for the book once I've seen the movie unless I have reason to think the book was exceptionally better than the movie. For that reason if it's a book I know I want to read I do it before seeing the movie.

I would like to try reading Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit (although I'll probably see the movie first). I tried reading them when I was a kid but just couldn't get into them at the time.

Permalink Reply by Vitomama on July 20, 2008 at 7:29am

Hey Dawn K - I only find it distracting if the actors don't seem to fit MY interpretation. I'll never forget when Tom Cruise was announced as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice got in a real twist. When the producers showed her the transformation of Cruise, she took out a full-page ad in The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) in full support of the choice.

There are just so many books to read, but I admit that I'll re-read my favorites. You're so right about the visuals sticking. The book I nominated for the monthly read (Sophie's Choice) is a great example. I don't even remember how I first visualized the characters of that great Styron novel - but on subsequent reads, they now bear the visages of Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Peter MacNicol (and they all work completely for me).

Permalink Reply by AtheistJoy on August 18, 2008 at 11:13am

The Lord of the Rings books have strong imagery. The movies inspired a reread the books for me. I found myself drifting in and out of my own mental images, the movies, and art that's been produced by various people over the years as I read them. The movie has some scenes worthy of the books. Still, read the books first. :)

I was very happy when the Harry Potter movies didn't have any effect on my mental picture of of the book characters, which were the strongest points of the entire series. (It certainly wasn't the overall plotting or story development.) But, I'd already read several of the books by the time the first movie came out and, visually, Harry and his gang were firmly implanted in my mind. (Snape looks nothing like Alan Rickman.) My mental images were much more influenced by fan art on the Internet.

Permalink Reply by Suzanne on August 26, 2008 at 10:41am

You're right about Alan Rickman. I always thought Rufus Sewell (you know, the bad knight on A Knight's Tale) would have made a better Snape. His sneer is so much more condescending.

I didn't read the Harry Potter books until I was fifty. I still loved them, though.

Permalink Reply by Paul on July 19, 2008 at 2:44pm

Hi There. I'm new around here as well, but I usually find that I work in reverse - I see the film because I liked the book, which can often lead to disappointment.

One exception that does spring to mind, however is Big Fish. I loved the film and immediately went out and bought the book.

Permalink Reply by Sarah on July 20, 2008 at 12:24am

Believe it or not, I only started to read Harry Potter after I saw the first movie. I knew it was a pretty big hit and I began seeing the commercials for the dvd coming out (Sorcerer's Stone), so I rented it. It was so good, I thought I'd better read the book and of course from then on I read the books first.

Funny that you should mention visuals in your head Dawn! Now that I know the characters so well, I literally "see" the book in my head. The movies are always such a disappointment for me now because I feel like I've already watched them.

Permalink Reply by Vitomama on July 20, 2008 at 7:34am

Hey Sarah - We have a 4 year old kid who's starting to get into the Potter movies, so now my husband is blowing through all the books. He says they're excellent - guess those'll go on my list...

Permalink Reply by Dawn K on July 21, 2008 at 6:06pm

Another Potter fan here. I agree with you Sarah, I can see the books unfolding in my head because it's so easy to picture the characters and the scenery. It's silly, but I can't wait to read them to my 5 year old. Actually, by the time he's ready for them he'll be reading on his own. I'd read them to him now but he doesn't handle scary things very well at all. The Backyardigans can be too scary for him LOL.

But I digress...