We all love reading books for the sheer joy of experiencing something new. Mushy romance, spine chilling thrill, we love all that an author offers. We love movies too. We are also little skeptical when our favourite novels are brought on the celluloid – can they re-create the same magic. I still like flipping pages and find imagination good. But hey, there are some movies better than the books they are based on.
Today I am listing down my favorite top 5 movies which were made better than the books.
FORREST GUMP
Forrest Gump is originally a novel written by Winston Groom and published in the year 1986. It’s a story about the life and adventures of Forrest – a man with low IQ and cognitive disabilities and how he wades through school, war, love and even the space!
The movie by the same title starring Tom Hanks was released in 1994 and went on to become a cult classic. The movie however, doesn’t have the rough edged of the character of Forrest as in the novel. The movie also doesn’t show his career as an astronaut or being held by the cannibals.
But the movie adaptation creates a wonderful story where you are simply blown away by the endearing performance by Tom Hanks. It is an epic romantic comedy now which went on to win Academy Awards and several Academy Awards nomination.
THE GODFATHER TRILOGY
The Godfather Trilogy is perhaps one of the best movies made in the history of American cinema and is a cult classic today. This trilogy is loved even today by people all across the world and often used in the syllabus of film studies.
The novel, written by Italian American author Mario Puzo is a famous crime thriller where the English speaking audience first got acquainted with Italian criminal terms like  consigliere, caporegime, Cosa Nostra etc . The story is about an Italian mafia family headed by Don Vito Corleone.
But the film adaptation outdid the novel in no time with exceptional performance by Marlon Brando and Al Pacino under superlative direction of Francis Ford Coppola . The right of the film were bought even before the novel had become a major success. With several Academy Awards wins it stands as the most influential films of all time.
THE NOTEBOOK
This beautiful romance novel by Nicholas Sparks about the love and romance of Allie and Noah is a jewel in its own right. But the beautiful narrative is brought to light in its truest sense in the movie by the same name. Today it is one of the best romantic films ever made.
The story is about young Allie and Noah when they meet first in their teens and have an episode of summer love.  But they are separated by their class and family. Later they discover each other and choose to be together against all odds. But it’s much later we find out how deep and pure their love was. Noah stands by his love even when Allie is suffering from Alzheimer’s and doesn’t recognize him.
The narrative of this story is such that watching it on screen is much better than imagining it while reading. The movie today has gained a cult following
JAWS
Reading about a killer shark on prowl and watching that happen giving a chill to your spine are two different things. Jaws remain one of the most entertaining and intense Hollywood films. It is also one of the top movies in Steven Speilberg’s filmography. The original novel written by Peter Benchley was a story about a great white shark preying upon a resort town and the adventures of three men trying to kill it.
Spielberg, however, omits many subplots from the novel and keeps the movie focused on the terror spread by the shark.
THREE IDIOTS
Closer home the best book to movie adaptation perhaps is 3 Idiots which is based on the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. The novel revolves around the life of three friends making it to one of the best engineering colleges of India and how their life gets entwined with the monotony of academics and pressure of competition.
The film however, takes the story to another level. It not only questions the system and society but is a perfect display of wit, humor and truth. It went on to become a box office hit and the film is listed in the Guinness World Records for the record of highest box office film gross for a Bollywood film.
Did you enjoy any book adaptation more than the book itself? Share with me.
12 comments
Heard about all these and watched most of them too. The notebook is in my wishlist for long time
Notebook is pretty nice, watch it, you might find it better than the novel! And Ryan Gosling… hmm… !!
I hadn’t realized that Forest Gump was a book–it’s an incredible movie! I’ve also seen and enjoyed The Notebook and The Godfather. Great choices!
Thanks, yes Forrest Gump is a pretty famous novel many don’t know about it actually.
Totally agree about three idiots… the movie was a laughing riot… I loved forest Gump movie but haven’t read the book.
3 idiots was so much better than the novel!
Except for No 3, seen all so I agree! The movies were very popular and many don’t even know that they were actually based on books!
SO true, many have no idea about Forrest Gump, the book
I wondered what the big deal about Ryan Gosling was till I watched The Notebook! It is such a lovely movie! And I never knew Forrest Gump was a book!
Yes, many fell in love with the movie because of him, I presume!
Didn’t know that Forrest Gump is based on a book….would like to read it….There are so many good book-based movies……
I loved watching Forrest Gump and 3 idiots was at it’s best! 🙂 Godfather is in my wishlist