The book vs the movie

The movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby is coming out this year and I am scared. Scared because I absolutely adored the book and I don’t want to see the movie only to discover that it’s a car crash (even though there’s still a big part of my brain whispering ‘Come on, Leo can do no wrong!‘). I’m a huge movie buff and an equally big book nerd. I have nothing against seeing movies that have been adapted from books – but if they are horrible, it breaks my heart. Truly.

Of course, there are exceptions. The Virgin Suicides is one of my favourite movies of all time and I loved it just as much as the book, if not more. I thought The Beach was also beautifully done, as was Water For Elephants.

There have even been a couple of instances where I enjoyed the movie more than the book – I happily sat through Eat Pray Love in the cinemas but couldn’t even make it halfway through the first chapter of the actual book without wanting to throw it across the room. The Notebook was another one – the book seemed dry and boring compared to the movie I’ve come to adore (and, you know, Ryan Gosling is always a lovely bonus).

And then, of course, we come to the bad ones. I personally didn’t love a single one of the Harry Potter movies – I felt like they couldn’t possibly do the novels any justice. I Don’t Know How She Does It left me feeling flat, and Tim Burton’s adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory still gives me nightmares.

So tell us – which books-turned-movies did you adore, and which made you want to march back to the box office and demand a refund?