Any film adaptations that are better than the books?

[Walkthroughthefire]

I know it's a very rare case but have you ever thought a film as better than the book it was based on. Controversial, I know.

I've always thought Breakfast at Tiffany's was better and more recently, the Hunger Games.

I feel like I had another but I'm drawing a blank just now.

Also The Last of The Mohicans.

The Shining (book) to me is like a totally different entity to the film. Both are great, but the film is terrifying, icy cold, surreal, while the book is far more emotional. I feel like one's a real ghost/haunting story while the other is the story of a wee boy whose dad is disappearing.

Dune. Bizzare, over the top, visually amazing film trumps the heavy Eco SF of the book.

The book of "the best exotic marigold hotel" is hands down the worst book I have ever read. The screenwriters for the film must have read a different book to get the film they came up with! I adore the film but the book is utter shite

Total Recal, short story and is only about 6 pages. Both films pad out the story perfectly although differently.

High fidelity

I really like all of Nick Hornbys books as films. I think they resemble the book enough, but stand alone really well as films.

And the muppet christmas carol. They use a LOT of the original text, the ghosts match the descriptions perfectly, plus you get great songs. And Kermit.

Stephen King films do seem to be fabulous or dire. No in-between. There's a magnificently crap mini-series version of The Langoliers which I love, though.

The PP who suggested Muppets' Christmas Carol - you are my hero.

the enflish patient. tedious.

the james bond books are booooooooooring

Ooh agree with Dangerous Liaisons. Spectacularly good film, very pedestrian book (though admittedly reading an 18th C epistolatory novel is not my usual down-time choice).

I have a feeling that the ending of My Sister's Keeper in the film is a lot better than the book one according to Wikipedia because I'm not going to pay to see it.

Basically if you choose a shit enough book and throw money at the film, the film can be better.

IMO one flew over the cuckoos nest is equal to the book but not better
?Coraline. DD's favourite film we gave the book but haven't read it yet. PP said it had a crappy ending so we are preparing for disappointment

Oh I've got it - Goodfellas! The book is a good read but the film is one of my top ten.

Muppet Treasure Island has better songs than Christmas Carol IMO, and certainly better than the book which has no big musical numbers at all

Dangerous Liaisons and Silence of the Lambs (both books were good too).

Oh yes Forrest Gump, nothing like the sweet tom hanks character. The bit in the book where FG gets a finger shoved up his arse, i thought I bet they dont show that in the film

I mean not .
Although i didnt like the film either

I thought The Beach was a better film, although I did really like the film and I saw it first - was quite disappointed to find that loads of stuff in the movie didn't happen in the book.

The Graduate - a something and nothing novel. Love the film.
Catch Me if you Can - boring book, fun film.
The English Patient - stunning film, but how the writer/director ever got through the book and was then able to turn it into such a great movie is beyond me.

Whistle Down The Wind was a wonderful film, but the book ,written by Hayley Mills's mother was nothing like the film,and a very poor read.

The Wolf of Wall Street - saw it at the weekend and was interested to see what the original book had been like.

The original book is compellingly, irredeemably dreadful. Like The Nick Leeson story written by the Daily Mail but x 1000000, and with Quualudes. There is no item mentioned which isn't described by its price tag or its cup size.

I asked a similar question a while back.

Here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/films/2327199-Films-that-were-better-than-the-book

Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day is a lovely film but I didn't like the book at all.

game of thrones - I don't mind the show but the book is just unreadable, I haven't been able to get very far into it, it's just awful.

I agree with the poster on stardust, the book is nowhere near as entertaining as the film.

Not a book but on TV, I enjoyed Hannibal's Red Dragon story much more than the book. Might be because it involved a lot of Richard Armitage in tiny boxers though