Therese Walsh

Book or movie?

Jul 16th, 2009 by Therese Walsh

My family and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie yesterday. I thought it was a smooth, sophisticated rendering of the book, with an authentic take on adolescent angst. The ending felt a little throwaway to me, though. If you’ve read the book and see the movie, you may agree. (I won’t offer any spoilers here.) The whole thing inspired a debate at my house: Is any film adaptation ever as good as the book? Is it possible for a filmmaker to not only do a book justice but also surpass the written work?

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3 Responses to “Book or movie?”

Cassandra says:

September 15, 2009 at 1:36 PM

I don’t think we can say that one is ever ‘better’ than the other. I think they can butcher the story so much that it barely resembles the original work, in which case i’d be hard pressed to call it an adaptation but that’s another comment entirely.

They can, however, each have their merits. Take Pride & Prejudice, the 2005 Keira Knightley version: it was an amazingly gorgeous film to look at, but it differed somewhat from the book. Just because it’s pretty to look at doesn’t mean that it’s better or worse than the book version, it’s just different.
Cassandra´s last blog ..Out-of-the-Box (and free!) Ways To Promote Your Novel
Cassandra says:

September 15, 2009 at 1:41 PM

Oh, by the way, your cover is amazing!
Cassandra´s last blog ..Out-of-the-Box (and free!) Ways To Promote Your Novel
Therese Walsh says:

September 16, 2009 at 8:47 AM

Cassandra, true about Pride & Prejudice. Loved the movie, though.

Thanks for the cover love! I’m going to check out your last blog post now…