Read the Book

I’ve recently been reading the book of The Phantom of the Opera and it’s been a very interesting experience in the differences between a book and its adaptations to film or stage.

In this book, there’s a very different focus, which makes even things like the characters’ actions take on a very different meaning. Of course, this has the effect of making some character seem better or worse than before. In The Phantom of the Opera, I always enjoyed Raoul as a character but the book shows him more as the spoiled rich young man upset over being scorned by his first love. They do reconcile, as they do in the musical, but just the way he treats her or acts when he doesn’t get his way makes him seem so much more like a spoiled rich kid.

There’s a lot of other book and movies with a very different feel. I’m running out of time today to go in depth, but things like The Hobbit change entirely when they become an epic adventure story instead of a story about a rather ordinary hobbit way in over his head.

In any case, it’s best to read the book. Even in the few cases where the  movie was better than the book (like Stardust), I still enjoyed the book for what it was. So really, just go and read the book!