What is the difference between a book and a movie?

Lets analyse. Jurassic Park is a famous movie by Steven Spielberg. It is a also a book by Michael Chrichton

• Jurassic Park - Book
• Jurassic Park - Movie

Which one would you prefer? AFAIK most would prefer to watch the movie Jurassic Park. And how about the following

• Flatliners - Book
• Flatliners - Movie

Most may not know about Flatliners. Flatliners is based on true research about what happens to people when they die. How they feel when heart is dead but brain is still alive.

Difference here is, Jurassic Park was a book that was later made into a movie( ‘Movified’) . And Flatliners is a movie that was later written into a book(’Bookified’).

What happens when you are reading a book?

You imagine characters all by yourself. The faces of the characters are not predefined. They can be as pretty as you please. Or as ugly as you need. Then you can think of the noises, the screaming, the sounds that you think suit the situation in the book. Not all readers see the same face of the hero in their brain while reading the book. Your hero could be white while some one else’s could be black.

What happens when you are watching a movie?

A certain level of freedom is gone. The faces are either Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie or some other defined face. And the worst part is all the viewers see the same face. Music, the sounds, the noises everything is defined for you in a movie. Movie director does all of this on your behalf.

Author of the book may not like the way director portrayed it. Take the famous example of “Guide”

• The Guide - Book by R.K.Narayan
• The Guide - Movie by Vijay Anand

R.K.Narayan the author was not very happy with the way Vijay Anand and Dev Anand made the movie.

Directors of the movie think on behalf of the audience. They need to work real hard and understand how a story can be presented. A writers job is easier compared to that of a film makers. The readers do the thinking. They do the photography, sound editing and direction. Best example is Star Wars. How does an alien scream? How does a laser gun sound? Showing it in a movie is difficult. Writing in the story keeps the readers thinking.

I recently watched the move The Da Vinci Code after reading the novel. I was not able to accept Tom Hanks as hero in the movie. I was thinking of some one else. It is a different experience to first read the story and then watch a film made based on it.

What do you say?