Which is better – the book or the film?
The answer to the question ‘which is better – the book
or the film’ is an eternal war between readers and non-readers. There are a lot
of books which have been made into films, for example, the Harry Potter series
by Joanne Kathleen Rowling, Eragon by
Christopher Paolini, Jane Austen’s novels Pride
and prejudice, Sense and sensbility
and Emma, Matilda by Roald Dahl , Eat,
Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, The
Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte, Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo… And these are only my favorites!
For me, the fact is that the book is always better.
But that’s what I think because I’ve been an obsessed reader all my life. For
people who read, the book is always better because it is very difficult to put
in a two-hour movie all the information and things that happen in the
five-hundred pages of a book. In the movie you always miss details, or
conversations between the characters or explanations. Moreover, for a lot of
readers, a book they have fallen in love with is a treasure, and finding
everyone knows it and talks about it with just seeing the film is like an
offence.
On the other hand, films have its advantages. For
people who don’t read they are a way of watching amazing stories which they may
have lost. For readers, if the film is well done it is a way of understanding
better what’s happening, it’s easier and faster to review the story you liked
so much and it is always a pleasure watching good actors playing your favorite
character.
However, I have to admit that, for me, there are some
stories which are better on film. Or maybe not ‘better’, just saying that the
book is great, but the movie is great too. There are numerous examples of this,
from the Harry Potter series to Pride and Prejudice.
In the Harry Potter series, the books are fantastic.
I’ve read all of them and they were a very important piece of my childhood, but
the movies were also very important. The first Harry Potter film was the first
film I saw in the cinema, with my father. It was an especial moment in my life.
I also remember buying the new books the day they were out in Spain, and
counting the hours to go. I also have all the films on DVD, although I have
seen all of them in the cinema. For me, the only thing bad done in this movies
is that they wanted to make them last too much for earning more money. They
made the last book into two movies, not into one, which, for me, was an
enormous error.
Other example of good film from a book is Pride and
prejudice. It is one of my favorite books and my favorite film. The novel is
fantastically well written by the great Jane Austen, and all the details are
delicious and lovely, but the movie is so well done that I’ve seen it nearly
fifteen times. Matthew Macfadyen and
Keira Knightley are fantastic on the main roles, the landscapes and houses are
perfect, the dresses are adorable and I’m in love with the music. Is a movie in
which all the details have been carefully chosen and which has been made with
love and you can feel it. That’s why, for me, it is sometimes even better than
the film! Or maybe it is just because I’m a very romantic girl…
The fact is that for readers the book is always
better, but for non-readers, the film is better. As the reader I am, I would
recommend you to read. Then, you can compare. I have discovered fabulous films
through books, and great books after watching the film. It is not possible to
give a good answer to the question because it depends too much on the point of
view of who’s reading/watching!
Clara Martínez
1r batx B
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