10 Movies That Are Better Than the Books | What Movie Is Better Than the Book

In order to make a movie after a book, a lot of scenes have to be removed for the sake of time. But how about the other way around, when the movie actually includes scenes that are not found in the book? This makes for a better movie, for sure. And here are some movies that used the book as a reference, but with their own twist.

These movies made us at Bright Side want to check out the books and compare the movies ourselves — we hope they make you curious too!

1. The Notebook

The Notebook, a well-known movie that left us all in tears with its ending, is one of the movies that are better than the book. Its most loved scene, the one in which they both discover that their love never perished, is different in the book.

Abby Olaleye explains: “The famous scene where it is raining, and Allie goes ‘Why didn’t you write? It wasn’t over for me,’ with a reply from Noah saying, ‘I wrote you every day for a year.’ Then he kisses her. It doesn’t exactly happen that way. It was disappointing for me because, during the ‘365 letters’ scene in the book, I wanted a kiss to happen, but I knew it wasn’t going to because it was too mundane. ”

One emblematic scene in the movie that is not found in the book is the iconic ending. The movie takes a more tragic approach, with both characters passing away in each other’s arms, however, the ending of the book is romantic. This is definitely a change worth taking note of.

2. Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs is one of those iconic movies people are re-watching to this day. Despite the book being widely regarded as good, the film still made its way into the list of movies that are better than the book to some extent. Not when it comes to particular scenes, though, but to the character of Hannibal Lecter. It’s one thing to read the book and imagine the characters, but it’s way different actually seeing them on-screen. Anthony Hopkins and the crew did an amazing job at bringing Hannibal to life and giving him a story.

3. Jaws

The 1975 movie adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws, also qualifies for the list of movies that are better than the book. In some books, the plot tends to stretch out over a long time, which can be boring, unlike in a movie which — due to time management, has to incorporate everything that is important and eye-catching so as not to bore the audience.

In this case, the plot between the chief’s wife and a marine biologist tends to be too long and pointless for the general action. In the movie, though, it seems this is not the case, which definitely made the adaptation a lot more interesting and exciting.

4. Beauty and the Beast

As with every Disney movie, the changes were quite drastic. The original Beauty and the Beast was published by the French author Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756. From here, a plethora of movies and plays emerged, however, the one we all know and love is Disney’s animated adaptation from 1991. Given that it’s an animated film meant for kids, a lot of the characters we see on screen are not in the original book.

As a matter of fact, the only common character is Belle’s father. Even Gaston was created specifically for the movie, along with Le Fou, Cogsworth, Lumière, Mrs. Potts, and Chip. These added characters definitely earned the 1991 movie adaptation a place on the list of movies that are better than the book.

5. Forrest Gump

Similarly to Hannibal, the protagonist in Forrest Gump was brought to life in a more interesting way in the movie, rather than the book. In the book, Forrest has a very childlike personality, however, at times he can be quite violent. He even curses — something which definitely did not make the cut in the movie adaptation.

Speaking of the adaptation, Forrest Gump the movie took a similar approach, but in the end, portrayed Forrest in a way that made him more loved: a childlike personality, a soft way of speaking, and a certain innocence. Thanks to his genuine self, he made the movie better than the book.

6. Mean Girls

You might not be aware, but the iconic movie Mean Girls was actually inspired by a book written in 2002. Queen Bees and Wannabes was written by Rosalind Wiseman and read by Tina Fey a few years later. She got the idea for a movie and, with help from other writers, wrote the script for what we have come to know as Mean Girls. Of course, that was not the only contribution Tina Fey had to its production, she also played Ms. Norbury, the math teacher.

The movie is undeniably a staple with a twist, different from its original inspiration. Due to its originality and place in everyone’s hearts, it definitely deserves a place on the list of movies that are better than books.

7. Fight Club

As mentioned previously, it’s a common thing for books to contain way more information than their subsequent movies. That’s not the case for the emblematic movie adaptation of Fight Club. Thanks to the amazing cast and scriptwriters, the movie quickly got ahead of the book. The details the movie brings, the drama, and the plot all contribute to the movie being better than the book. Moreover, Brad Pitt as the protagonist definitely made the movie that much better.

8. The Godfather

With a cast consisting of legends like James Caan, Al Pacino, and Marlon Brando, it’s no wonder the movie The Godfather did much better than the book it was originally inspired by. The book, written by Mario Puzo, is, to this day, his best-selling book. And the movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, took the already-amazing characters portrayed in the book and gave them life with astounding performances. With a cast like that and a professional director, the movie was definitely better than the book.

9. Jurassic Park

The ingenious movie we all know was actually adapted from a novel written by Michael Crichton. Jurassic Park, the movie, made some changes to its characters — the novel has way too many — as well as the ending, which puts the movie on the list of movies that are better than the book.

In the novel, the crew manages to escape the ferocious dinosaurs and attempts to eradicate them and destroy the island, however, in the movie, this does not happen. Perhaps this is what made people enjoy the movie more, giving them hope that they might see the dinosaurs again, which did happen in the movies that followed.

10. Lord of the Rings

Sometimes, characters that are not the focus of a novel turn out to be quite important in the movies. This is what happened with the Lord of the Rings movie, making it one of those movies that are better than the book.

Having one character that was overlooked in the original book be involved in the plot can be a drastic change, but one that, for this particular movie, satisfied fans. The character, Arwen, got more screen time and substantial action in the movie, which, among other changes in production, made the adaptation that much more enjoyable.

Have you read any of the books or seen the movies? Do you think the movie was better or the book?