Films that were actually BETTER than the books that inspired them?

You know you've been there - you're out with a group of friends simply discussing a film you've recently seen, and sure enough that one annoying wannabe film geek/excentric sophisticate snob chimes in almost to cue with: "Riiiiight, well the book was soooo much better" then returns to sipping his double venti mocha latte with skim milk and brown sugar. (or maybe that IS you?)

Well, either way - can anyone think of a film that was actually better than the book which was it's inspiration?

Only one comes to mind right now... The Princess Bride.

The beauty of the film (besides it's clever comedy and veritably endless list of quoteables) is that it wraps up so nicely - a flawless ending, one might say. True, real life is not often so kind but that is one of the reasons it's called a "fantasy" film.

The book was nowhere near as utopian in its ending. We are never told if our farmboy/dread pirate Roberts "Westley" ends up making his escape with Princess Buttercup, and the author almost toys with the reader suggesting that they may even be caught by prince Humperdink's men.

The actors poured life into what were otherwise rather two dimentional characters - Mandy Patinkin's "Inigo Montoya" being the perfect example of this with Andre the Giant also deserving honorable mention.

So what other films can we think of that ended up bettering their preceeding books?

Here's a thread on this subject already.

Doh!

Oh well, feel free to close this one up, fellas.

as you wish



alasdair