To Watch First or To Read First?



Often i am posed with this question in my mind. Before i proceed further, let me explain what I mean by the title... I am often faced with the dilemna : should I read a book before I watch its film adaption or should I see the movie and then pick up a copy of the book?
When I first saw "Little Woman" the movie , I was so impressed that I went and bought the book , but soon was a little put off with the elaborate description in the book.


Whereas after reading almost 4 books of the Potter series, I went with a very eager mind to see the first movie .. "... and the Philospoher's ..." and came out very disappointed. I should not be very cynical, I know the director tried his best to put the magical world created by Rowling into images, but there is just too much detail in the book that no movie can capture it in 2 hours ...
But i cannot deny the fact that I loved and enjoyed seeing my favourite characters being given a face and a voice. The next time I read Harry Potter, i loved to see them in mind's eye - it was no longer just an imagination ... And as each movie of the series was released, I enjoyed watching the character's grow and the scenes evolving better ....
So, i decided i would read the book and then watch the movie ....


Until I was proven wrong very soon ...with the "lord of the rings"... My loving mother bought me the book for my b'day , and with great love and enthusiasm I started reading it.. I had hardly completed 100 pages when I happened to see the movie and then onwards , it was really difficult for me to read further in the book ... Tolkein has packed so much detail in each paragraph that I soon good bored...
Again, I am posed with the "Question" of my life ... with "Chronicles of Narnia" .... I have seen the movie and am reading the book , but strangely I am enjoying the book .... playing the images in mind while browsing the pages ...
So, there I am with no answer to that Question ... do you have any?

Comments

Anonymous said…
You know, the first time my cousin gave me LOTR to read, i slept through it :p But after watching the first 2 movies, I was hooked. I took the book from him again and this time i was addicted. It was right after my first project, in Jan 2004 adn i was on bench :) So i spent all day in office, sitting in the lobby with mugs of coffee and the book and i finished it in a week. I guess the reason was coz i was able to visualise the charcters this time. This genre of fantasy was beyond my imagination so the first time i failed. But the second time around, it was better. In fact, my cousin and I feel, there should ahve been 6 movies to incorporate all the details of the book :D
Give it a shot one more time, you might get through it :)

As for Potter n Narnia, it is a fertile imagination but it is kept simple. So it appeals and attracts easily. Unlike LOTR, where there is a reason adn history behind every scene and action.

Btw, where are u guys in USA?
1:56 PM
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