From today’s trending Twitter hashtag, #TheFilmwasBetter.
I have to admit that in most cases, I like books better than movies. But there are at least a few films in which the Hollywood creation was more entertaining than the source material:
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
This teen classic of 1982 was based on a nonfiction undercover exposé of teen life at a San Diego area high school.
I’m not sure if that original book is even in print anymore. But the Hollywood version (which was considerably embellished, of course), is still popular….for a nearly 40-year-old movie about teenagers, that is.
View Fast Times at Ridgemont High on Amazon!
True Grit
I wouldn’t exactly call Charles Portis’s 1968 novel, True Grit bad, but I prefer the film adaptations. True Grit has been made into a movie twice. The most recent film version, starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, is the better of the two.
Here are a few more examples in which the Hollywood version of the book was better (or just as good):
Little House on the Prairie
Game of Thrones
Deliverance
Cloud Atlas
Hey, while you’re here.…Check out my free online serial, The Consultant. This is the web serial that everyone’s talking about….the story of an ordinary American trapped in North Korea. (And best of all, you can read it for FREE…no sign-up required, no strings attached!)
