What adaptation(s) do you prefer over the source material, and why?

[Mexican Wolf]

This applies for any medium being adapted into another other medium, not just books to movies.

I like the movie Smoke Signals (1998) more than the short story collection it's based on, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993) by Sherman Alexie. I read the book first and while I found some of the stories interesting, I found it hard to connect to a lot of the characters and feel the weight of the events they went through because Alexie's writing style felt so distant and he seemed to skip over or cut out a lot of relevant details. It felt like there were deeper meanings lying under the surfaces of the stories that I couldn't find a way to dig out.

Smoke Signals, on the other hand, felt much more compelling because Alexie took the loosely connected stories he originally wrote and crafted them into a narrative arc that gave the film's protagonists, Victor and Thomas, more depth and their friendship stronger development than they had in the original short story. I also like several additions he and the film crew made that gave the journey Victor and Thomas take in the movie more emotionally resonant than the blandly described one in the book. Some examples are the movie-original character played by Irene Bedard and a great scene where Victor and Thomas debate about what a "real" Native American should act like and Thomas points out the ridiculous of some still persistent stereotypes about Natives.

I still think the book is decent, but the movie is definitely my preferred version of these characters and their stories.

[Alben Barkley]

I’m not sure because I never read the originals (like most people), but I do know there are certain books that almost everybody knows the movie of but hardly anybody has read or even talks about the book. Forrest Gump and The Godfather are two prominent examples. I’m not sure if it’s because the movies are truly better or the books just never took off in popularity as much for whatever reason or both. But it’s the opposite of most things when people will insist the books are way better.

[Mr. Smith]

Where to begin?

IT with Tim Curry is much better than the book. Better pacing by far, fewer bizarre scenes, and frankly...Tim Curry.

The original Fullmetal Alchemist anime is far better than the manga. The manga/Brotherhood are considerably less deep, too many plots going on, and it all feels less earned in the end. The 2003 anime kept the focus where it needed to be.

Revenge of the Sith was an amazing novel, which I think did a much better job going into Anakin's psyche than George Lucas ever could. It also included left out parts, such as the beginnings of The Rebellion, Qui-Gon Jinn, etc.

However, I'd say the most egregious example belongs to The Godfather. Everyone knows about the movie, but the book is just awful. Weird pacing, bizarre prose, and far too much focus on Mr. Horsehead...and almost nothing on Michael Corleone until the end. Oh, and Kay is just so boring...maybe she was in the movies, but it felt like there was a point, a Diane Keaton lifted it.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Where to begin?

IT with Tim Curry is much better than the book. Better pacing by far, fewer bizarre scenes, and frankly...Tim Curry.

The original Fullmetal Alchemist anime is far better than the manga. The manga/Brotherhood are considerably less deep, too many plots going on, and it all feels less earned in the end. The 2003 anime kept the focus where it needed to be.

Revenge of the Sith was an amazing novel, which I think did a much better job going into Anakin's psyche than George Lucas ever could. It also included left out parts, such as the beginnings of The Rebellion, Qui-Gon Jinn, etc.

However, I'd say the most egregious example belongs to The Godfather. Everyone knows about the movie, but the book is just awful. Weird pacing, bizarre prose, and far too much focus on Mr. Horsehead...and almost nothing on Michael Corleone until the end. Oh, and Kay is just so boring...maybe she was in the movies, but it felt like there was a point, a Diane Keaton lifted it.

The Godfather is such a weird book. I'd recommend something by Gay Talese or maybe early Jimmy Breslin if you're looking for a better book on the mob.