Today is actress Jennifer Lawrence’s birthday. The only reason I know this is because she played Katniss Everdeen in the movie The Hunger Games–one of my favorite dystopian books–and the Facebook fan page told me. I’m not this way with every actor who plays a book character, which caused me to dwell on books-turned-movies.
How do you feel about your favorite books turned into movies. Harry Potter? Narnia? The Hunger Games? The upcoming Divergent? Despite the quality of production and skill behind actors, the movies will inevitably be different than the reader’s imagination.
I used to avoid watching the movies of my favorite books, but after a while I realized, as long as I held on to my own imagination when reading the books, a movie was like a continuation–a bonus feature, so to speak–of something I already loved.
I have several favorites: the last three Harry Potter movies (Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows 1 & 2), How to Train Your Dragon (despite the enormous differences between book and movie), Lord of the Rings, and the first Hobbit movie are a few.
Do you believe a book made into a movie stifles the imagination or liberates it? Or neither?
What is your favorite book turned into a movie? What is your least favorite?
The ideal scenario is when you see the movie/tv show – especially when it’s part 1 of an ongoing series – before you read the book. When the onscreen adaptation is your “first love,” you’re more likely to enjoy both mediums. This what happened to me with Game of Thrones. I loved Season 1 on HBO, so I read the books, which I also enjoyed because they went deeper into a world I already liked. I still love the show, most likely because it shaped my initial impressions of the characters and the tone of the story before I dove into the original material.
I bet a lot of Harry Potter fans who saw the first movie then devoured the books would agree.
Interesting point of view, Clint. I can’t say I agree that it’s the ideal scenario, because I like forming my own vision of the characters, the world, the scenes, etc. without it being tainted by a movie. If I see a TV series first, or the first movie of a series, then I feel like my imagination is made up for me. That’s when my imagination feels stifled instead of liberated.
However, I think you may be right in saying you’re more LIKELY to enjoy both mediums when pursued in your manner. 🙂
On a different note, have you read Vox Day’s book, A Throne of Bones? He wrote it solely to provide an epic fantasy like Game of Thrones, but with Christian themes. I haven’t read either books, but I’ve heard a lot of good things.
Thank you for your comment!
Yep. I’m about 1/3rd of the way through A Throne of Bones. It’s extremely good.