10 Movies SIGNIFICANTLY Better Than The Book

10. The Lord Of The Rings

Before I am torn to shreds by Tolkien purists, let me put across my argument. The books have had an impact on literature that cannot be measured. Almost all of fantasy fiction that followed their publication owed Tolkien a great debt. It was inevitable that a film adaptation would come along.

Ralph Bakshi tried, with his animated versions in the '70s. They were fine.

Peter Jackson gave it a go in the late '90s and early '00s. He changed cinema utterly.

But why are the films better than the novels? For one thing, they manage to perfectly capture the feel and spirit of the novels, while trimming some of the excess. Tolkien had the expansive room to create the wide world of Middle Earth, where Jackson's films exist very much as part of this world. Each film of the trilogy manages to keep that feeling and each second of footage is clearly constructed with love.

The design of the films incorporate the designs that had been prevalent in Tolkien literature for years. Seeing these designs realized on screen was magical. The beauty and scale of Middle Earth was depicted in extremely fine detail - everything down to the buttons on the Hobbits' waistcoats were crafted with care.

The novels will always be special in the hearts of many fans, though for many more, the films serve as the first introduction to Middle Earth. While the adaptations of the Hobbit were varying in terms of quality, The Lord of the Rings remains one of the most successful improvements on the source material in history.