Lit Are the novelizations of the original trilogy better than the movies?

Hi, I just got finished reading the prequel trilogy novelizations and in my opinion AOTC and ROTS were ultimately better handled and delivered in the novels than in the films. Now, I'd like to say that I loved ROTS and for the longest time held out of reading the novel because I thought "What's the point? I already love the film." Boy, was I wrong to hold out for so long. As much as I like the movie, the book totally presented the material with much more depth. If the film is a great movie, than the novel is just outright Pulitzer Prize winner/Shakespearean!

With that being said, I am curious if this is only the case for the prequel novelizations....Are the novelizations of the original trilogy better than the movies as well? What are your recommendations?

 

ROTJ has a good novelization. Vader's redemption is described with so much emotion and a number of characters habe interesting thoughts.

 

I don't think so. I will say that as a 6 year old who became one of GL's kids in 1977 that ROTJ was a big deal. And I went and read the book before seeing the film. I have read something like a thousand books and still that was one of the best experiences of my life. It might seem trite to many, but that little 200 pages book was incredible and it made me want to see the film more. But I would not say the books were better. TESB novelization was the least of them.

I just relized I have not read the AOTC novel so I cannot comment. The TPM novel was nothign special to me. The ROTS novel is the best of all the novelizations and quite frankly one of the best books I have ever read.

The ANH novel turned me into a reader. Not voraciously at first to be sure, but that book made me start to wonder things like just what was the speed of light anyway? We had a set of encyclopedia and the flood gates opened wide.

But no, I think the films of the OT are the case against the idea that the books are always better.

 

You both mention ROTJ...I may have to check that one out...

I recommend AOTC novelization...better dialogue, more believable romance and the plot is fleshed out much better....however I will say it has the least amount of action and is mostly character development...

 

Whether the novelisations are "better" or not is up in the air, CPOV and all that, but I would certainly recommend reading them.

 

It really depends on if the writer's handling and style speaks to a reader. I didn't particularly care for any of the novelizations and I tend to prefer books.

 

The OT novelizations are pretty good imo. There are errors in the novels of course. Blue Yoda, Owen is Obi-Wan's brother etc. The ROTJ battle between Luke, Vader and the Emperor has some awesome extra scenes. Read them!

 

The only one I'd really recommend is ROTJ. The other two are all right, but they don't take advantage of the format the way it (and Stover's ROTS) do.

 

ROTJ it is then...I'll see if my library has it...so the a new hope novel sucks huh....

One thing about the Rots novel though if it were a film it would have a lot of dialogue and probably 3 hours or more...

 

Of course they're not better. The OT is a set of three absolutely outstanding films, some of the best films you can ever see. The OT novelizations are a bunch of screenplays turned into prose by random pulp authors from low on the totem pole. There's no way they can match the quality of the films. The ROTJ novelization is really good for a novelization, but it's not going to top the film. The only way the prequel novelizations were able to come off comparatively well is because they're novelizations of bad films that were in a unique position to add some depth to bad scripts.

They're still definitely worth reading, but it's not like you can improve on the OT.

 

The Shakespeare novelizations are far superior. To the films. I cried over ten hours after reading Malakili's (lengthy) tragic monologue.

O that this too, too sullied flesh would melt
Into oblivion, if I without
My pet belov'd mus live. O darkest world!
O misery beyond compare to me.
(etc)

Even Stover's ROTSian poetry isn't as sweet.

Spoiler

Yup. Superior in every regard.

 

The thing Iliked most about the ROTJ novel was Luke's internal struggle which was told as internal thoughts but from the narrator view. It worked so well.

The first page and the last page are pure gold.

 

I've re-read the OT novelizations recentlyish and the thing that kept pulling me out of it were the various (and inevitable) dialog changes and differences. Even a few different or extra words are enough to throw you off when you have every line of the film memorized and you can hear the characters saying it in your head as you read.

I do agree with those who say that the PT novelizations are better written. I felt that the Phantom Menace was the best written, or perhaps more accurately the biggest improvement book-to-movie, of the three novelizations.

 

The OT novelizations don't really add much to the experience - you might as well just watch the films. The PT novelizationss, on the other hand, add a ton of nuance to the characters, and getting Anakin's POV in the ROTS novel is amazing.

Hopefully The Force Awakens' novelization will be as good.

 

I agree. I read the one-book PT, and there is a great difference between TPM/AOTC & ROTS. The first two (except for soem additional scenes) you are reading what happens in the films word for word. Stover's version of ROTS really adds a TON of character depth and weight to the story. While ROTS is a great film, the novel is a masterpeice.

 

Ha. So these are good? I always wondered about these...they can be taken seriously?

And I felt the PM novel was really the weakest of the PT novels...the description of the duel of fates was terrible but it had some moments..like learning about the history of the Sith and Darth Bane

 

The Shakespeare books are fantastic if you're a classic literature fan. If you're not a fan of Shakespeare, you might get a chuckle or two, but that's about all.

The only thing I remember about the OT novelizations is Luke asking Obi-Wan what a duck is. That and some of the better passages from the RotJ novel. The ESB one is entirely forgettable. The prequels, it's about the same, hit or miss.

 

It was cool kind of getting that description of the combatants. Qui-Gon is described as being past his prime (which doesn't really make sense consdering he is younger than Sidious, Dooku, Yoda ana about the same age as Windu) while Obi-Wan is described being young and inexperienced, which allows you to see how Maul even though he is outnumbered, manages to control the pace because he is a battle tested warrior in his prime.

 

Sounds like a cop-out to me.

 

I just remember that they didn't even describe the color of Maul saber and details such as that...the Anakin test by the Jedi council better conveyed the "fear" of losing his attachment to his mother..that was cool...

Do any of the OT novels have deleted scenes?

 

slightly better for the ot, and ligt years better for the pt, imo.

 

The Battle of Yavin had 2 runs made by Luke, Biggs and Wedge.

 

Didn't the novel also have that line from Dodonna saying how there wouldn't be any time left for a third run?