Oscar De La Huerte answered
The differences and similarities between a book and a film really depend on what route the producers of a film chose to go down.
The two mediums obviously have different constraints and advantages, so these will be likely to determine what similarities there are between reading a book and watching a movie.
The difference between reading a book and watching a movie
The first major difference between the two mediums will be in the eye of the beholder.
Reading a book requires the audience to work more, use their imagination and experiences.
Also a reader's voice and vocabulary will often spill into a book, and effect the way it is read.
On the other hand, films require less effort on behalf of the audience. The voice of characters, scenery, and the physical world of a story are all already provided on a plate for movie-viewers.
Whilst this might seem like a negative point, it does also mean that a producer can deliver the exact experience that they intend, whilst literature might be subject to a reader's interpretation.
Similarities between movie and book
Whilst movie-makers often have free rein to mould and retell the story of a book in their adaptation, they will obviously want to stick to the main plot line of a book.
Most movie adaptations of books are based on literature that is already rather well-known in its own right. For this reason, a good movie adaptation will reflect the original form as honestly as possible in order to appeal to fans of the book.
On the other hand, what an author can say in a few hundred pages is often too complex and long-winded to be screened in movie format. Books can be put down and picked up again later, whilst movies have to be concise in order to keep the attention of an audience in one sitting.
One last point is that writing an elaborate and intricate scene costs nothing, while reproducing that on film can be very expensive. This is certainly a restriction that film faces.
The two mediums obviously have different constraints and advantages, so these will be likely to determine what similarities there are between reading a book and watching a movie.
The difference between reading a book and watching a movie
The first major difference between the two mediums will be in the eye of the beholder.
Reading a book requires the audience to work more, use their imagination and experiences.
Also a reader's voice and vocabulary will often spill into a book, and effect the way it is read.
On the other hand, films require less effort on behalf of the audience. The voice of characters, scenery, and the physical world of a story are all already provided on a plate for movie-viewers.
Whilst this might seem like a negative point, it does also mean that a producer can deliver the exact experience that they intend, whilst literature might be subject to a reader's interpretation.
Similarities between movie and book
Whilst movie-makers often have free rein to mould and retell the story of a book in their adaptation, they will obviously want to stick to the main plot line of a book.
Most movie adaptations of books are based on literature that is already rather well-known in its own right. For this reason, a good movie adaptation will reflect the original form as honestly as possible in order to appeal to fans of the book.
On the other hand, what an author can say in a few hundred pages is often too complex and long-winded to be screened in movie format. Books can be put down and picked up again later, whilst movies have to be concise in order to keep the attention of an audience in one sitting.
One last point is that writing an elaborate and intricate scene costs nothing, while reproducing that on film can be very expensive. This is certainly a restriction that film faces.
