Book Vs. Movie?

Popular opinion holds that the book is usually much better than the movie based on the book.  I, like I am sure all of you, have heard that for years.  I can see the point and the appeal of that side of the argument.  This made me wonder - are there are any movies that are generally considered "better" than the book they are based on?

 

I am not talking about specific scenes or points in the work.  I can easily recognize the ending of the film version of Misery as superior to the novel.  In the novel, Paul Sheldon hallucinates that his captor is there in the room with him on the final pages.  In the movie, Paul Sheldon is eating with his agent and the waitress tell hims, "I'm your number one fan!".  You can see the look of dread on his face as he hears the same words that Annie said to him.  You can also see the anxiety as he wonders how many more times in his life he is going to have to listen to a fan utter those words. 

 

I know I gave an example of a better scene in a movie when compared with the same book.  If others want to point similar instances out that is fine.  What I really want to know is if there are movies based off of books that are generally held in higher regard than the book?  I do not care about the genre - I am just curious - so can anyone help me out?     

Honest Trailers - The Dark Knight Rises

I also found the HONEST TRAILER series on YouTube earlier today.  Since I used The Dark Knight Rises for the Everything... post I thought I would just use it for this one also.  Any thoughts?

Everything Wrong With The Dark Knight Rises In 3 Minutes Or Less

I found this series of videos by CinemaSins while I was browsing YouTube earlier.  I received The Dark Knight Rises for Christmas.  I enjoy it but I think it is a step down from The Dark Knight.  I have heard some negative chatter about The Dark Knight Rises - what do you think?

A Four Pack of Nostalgia

I was at Wal-Mart about a week ago to pick up some items I needed.  I always check out the book section to see what is available.  During this trip I noticed a small four book package of the old Choose Your Own Adventure books.  I got a little excited because I started thinking of the 1980s and 

discovering the hobby.  Along with role-playing games, my buddies and I would read these and the Endless Quest, Fighting Fantasy, Zork, Lone Wolf, and various other series.  I continued on with my shopping and left the books on the shelf.

 

I took my 6 year old son with me earlier to take care of a few things and my wife took our daughter with her.  When I got back home I noticed a few treats waiting on us.  Ethan had several of the LEGO mystery figure packages waiting on him and there was that four pack of Choose Your Own Adventure books waiting on me!  

 

Opening up the package to take a closer look at the contents revealed that the first four books of the series was included - The Abominable Snowman, Journey Under the Sea, Space and Beyond, and The Lost Jewels of Nabooti.  It has been so long that I have no idea if I have previously read any of these or not.  I am looking forward to sitting down with these to see if I can capture the magic again.  Maybe I will record every route I take through the book so I can figure out the optimum path just like we used to do in so long ago...