Entertainment

20 film adaptions that are, in fact, better than the book

The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins and Jurassic Park are among the book-to-movie adaptations Brits prefer in film-form, a study has found.

A poll of 2,000 adults found that after reading the book and seeing the story unfold on the big screen, many were won over by the movie version of classic tales.

Other stories people preferred to watch rather than read include Jaws and Forrest Gump.

The 1971 version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Mary Poppins also featured alongside Bridget Jones’ Diary and Silence of the Lambs.

The research was commissioned by Vue to celebrate World Book Day (Thursday 1st March 2018) and identify the greatest movies which have made masterpieces of memorable story tales.

A spokesperson for Vue said: “Some of the greatest films ever made have their roots in literature and there are plenty of high-profile book-to-film adaptations like Ready Player One hitting the big screen soon.

“We are excited to help our customers relive their favourite characters in the best way possible.”

Other novels which were bested by their film equivalents include The Godfather, Devil Wears Prada and The Great Gatsby.

Matilda, The Polar Express and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest also featured in the list.

The study also found the three films in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy are the nation’s all-time favourite book-to-film adaptations, followed by Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Bridget Jones’ Diary, Mary Poppins and Da Vinci Code also made the top ten.

THE 20 FILM ADAPATATIONS WHICH WERE BETTER THAN THE BOOK

The Wizard of Oz
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory (1971 film)
Mary Poppins
Jurassic Park
Jaws
Forrest Gump
Bridget Jones’ Diary
Silence of the Lambs
The Godfather
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Matilda
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The Hobbit
Devil Wears Prada
The Polar Express
The Great Gatsby

Top 10 best book-to-film adaptations:

1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
5. Bridget Jones’ Diary
6. Mary Poppins
7. To Kill a Mockingbird
8. The Da Vinci Code
9. Pride and Prejudice
10. Jurassic Park

RELATED 

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/rare-banned-sex-manual-1720-unearthed/12/02/

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Published by