Films better than books

[jack]

There are some very good adaptions of books[1] (LOTR, Harry Potter, Titus Groan). Are there any canonical examples of films which were better, or different but good?[2]

I've heard suggested a number of Kubric, Stephen King, Philip K Dick examples, but none where I've experienced both. The Birds? Blade Runner? Total Recall? Shawshank Redeption? Carrie? I wouldn't know. Mostly I've seen and enjoyed the films, bar Carrie where I enjoyed the book.

Running Man, maybe. It was an acceptable but unexceptional but enjoyable action film, but changed beyond recognition from the book, which was a pretty good short story by King/Bachman.

Pirates of the Carribean won my award for "Most unlikely film that turned out to be pretty good", but I'm not sure an amusement park ride is a valid comparison.

I guess someone will bring up "Starship Troopers". I quite enjoyed the film in a mindless sort of way, but I'm assured by people who liked the books it's not so much different as directly antithetical propaganda, and I'm not sure if that counts.

Several people said "Clueless", but on the grounds of not liking Jane Austen at all.

Suggestions?

[1] Or comic strips, computer games, amusement park rides, etc.
[2] I'll spare your ears a description of, for instance, the fate in hell that awaits the adaptors of Wizard of Earthsea.

Comments

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

I thought that Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was a novel? Amazon suggests so.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I couldn't find a wordcount, but it seemed to be a 'novel' nebula-awards-wise, so 40k+. But that could be a slim novel.

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

Small novel, yes, but still a novel.

"Total Recall" is based on the PKD short story "We can remember is for you wholesale", about implanting false memories, and then runs off and adds in all this stuff about Mars and three-breasted women. Not a bad film, but not really like the short story.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I can see that's the sort of addition that really annoys me. And for god's sake, a machine that can aerate mars -- in minutes? But I did enjoy the film, so it seems a likely contender, subject to going and actually reading the book. PKD seems to get a *lot* of this.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Yes.