Some people avoid adaptations because "the book is always better", but I disagree. Although it's rare that I like an adaptation better than I like the book, it does happen. So, here are six instances where I think the TV show, soundtrack, or movie is actually better than the book they were based on.
A quick note: my one self-imposed rule when it comes to consuming any kind of adaptation is that I have to read the book first before watching (or listening to) the adaptation.
1. Call the Midwife (TV Show)
I really enjoyed the memoir of the same title by Jennifer Worth, but I didn't find the writing to be inspired. When I started watching the show, however, I connected so strongly with the characters and found the storyline to be so powerful that I have cried while watching almost every single episode so far (I think I just finished Season 3).
Content warning, though: there is a lot of blood. Usually I don't do well with blood on screen, but for some reason I'm fine with it in this series. Probably because it's not (usually) coming from wounds, but from the process of birth.
2. Jekyll & Hyde (Soundtrack)
 |
| Source: theatricallyspeaking.com |
I like the works of Robert Louis Stevenson in theory, and in practice I really don't enjoy reading them. I had to read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for school and struggled to get through it. I later listened to the Original Broadway Cast Recording and gained a whole new love and appreciation for this story; in fact, I can't listen to it too often because it always leaves me an emotional wreck!
3. Little Women (2019)
 |
| Source: refinery29.com |
I loved Little Women when I first read it as a ten-year-old (I was so into Laurie then), but as I grew older I came to find it preachy (and I also switched my affections to Professor Bhaer). Then, for Christmas 2019, my sister gifted me the experience of seeing Greta Gerwig's Little Women in theater, and I loved it. Since then, I have watched it a couple more times (and I rarely rewatch movies, so that's saying a lot). My only complaint with the movie is that it ruined Professor Bhaer (read: he's not old enough. And what happened with the umbrella scene?!). Later, I watched the 1994 adaptation and loved Professor Bhaer and Jo's relationship. If I could mash these two adaptations together and combine the cinematography of the 2019 version with the Professor Bhaer of the 1994 version, it would be the perfect adaptation of Little Women.
4. Sanditon (PBS miniseries)
To be fair to Jane Austen, she never got the chance to finish writing Sanditon, as she died before it was completed. I think the creators of the PBS miniseries did an amazing job of taking Austen's idea and running with it–for three seasons!
5. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
 |
| Source: Popsugar |
Since I've never seen the Broadway musical, I'll have to go with the 2004 movie, which I have seen (thanks, Bekah!).
I first read Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera when I was twelve. At that time, this type of Gothic romance strongly appealed to me, and I loved it. Reading it again at age 19, I found it overwrought and creepy in a whole new way. Between those readings, I became intimately familiar with the Original London Cast recording. I think I actually reread the book because I had (finally) watched the 2004 movie with Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler, and felt the need for more Phantom content. After rereading the book, however, I found the soundtrack/movie far preferable. The best way I can describe it is that the book takes itself too seriously.
6. Tuck Everlasting (Soundtrack)
 |
| Source: Broadway.com |
I must have read Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting before the age of ten, because I can't find it in my reading journal. Anyway, I remember being distinctly unimpressed when I first read it. In 2022, I believe, I got the opportunity to see a local theater group's production of the musical and fell in love with both the music and the story, after which my sister and I watched the 2002 movie. This is another instance where I'd love to mash two adaptations together. In particular, I'd like to insert musical Miles into the movie, along with all the songs, and boom! You'd have the perfect adaptation of Tuck Everlasting. (I reread the book after watching the play and the movie, by the way, and it still wasn't my favorite.)
Comments
Post a Comment