“So here is my dilemma – when you love a book and it has subsequently been movie-ized (esp. when you are pretty sure it’s been made into a made for DVD/B movie) do you risk tainting the memory of your beloved character to watch it, or do you pretend the whole thing never happened and move on with your life?”
Several weeks ago I faced this dilemma. You can read about it here. Not a BIG dilemma, but in the reality of my every day life, this is about as big as it gets (thankfully.) I’m following up with this post because, I’m sure it’s not a shock to anyone, but I DID ultimately borrow the movie from Netflix. It sat there in its red envelope for weeks and last night I finally decided I needed to either watch it, or send it back.
Saturday night TV is pretty meh, especially since When Calls the Heart isn’t on anymore, so I tore open the package and watched it.
Here’s what I thought for those who care to know.
1. It stayed very (I mean, VERY) close to the book. Good! 
2. The film did not retain even a bit of the charm of the book. Bad. 
Not every great book makes a great movie. Obviously.
I am glad I watched it. The movie was entertaining nonetheless and it left me with a strong desire to re-read the book. Good! 
Clothed with Joy 
Sometimes I like a movie so much I’ll go back and read the book. Sometimes, when they are very different, I’ll just put them in to two separate folders in my mind and enjoy each as its own entity. However, there’s one movie coming up that was so different from the satire it is based on that it completely negates it, so I’ll pass on it. I guess it comes down to a case by case basis.
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I find that books are almost always better than the movies. It seems the movie usually leaves stuff out.
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Agreed.
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I recently encountered this dilemma! I was ravenous with the Veronica Roth, Divergent series and was literally counting down the days for the movie premiere. I was so dissapointed with the outcome and since then, have moved on and pretended I’ve never seen the film. I imagine that it is a challenge for Hollywood writers and directors to stay true to the story lines and all, but when they change the story completely, that is when I just walk out of the theater ha ha ha! I’m so thankful The Hunger Games has been satisfying 🙂
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Oh, I hate that.
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That is definitely the reader’s dilemma, isn’t it? I’ve resigned myself that a movie version will almost always ruin the book. There have only been a few exceptions to this rule for me. My own preference is to make sure I read the book first, and then it doesn’t matter quite so much. The plot doesn’t get ruined for me, I expect going in that I will like the book better, and if it does turn out to be as good as the book then I have a pleasant surprise. 🙂 Elle @ Erratic Project Junkie
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