MovieChat Forums > Middlemarch (1994) Discussion > Better to have read book first?

Better to have read book first?

posted 17 years ago by paudie
4 replies | jump to latest

I watched Middlemarch over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. The cast were excellent and as usual the BBC production standards were superb.

However I haven't read the book and felt that with quite a lot of characters it would have been better to have read the book before watching it.
What do people think?

For example Dorothea's behaviour was hard to understand at times and her thinking may have been better explained in the book.

Luckily my better half has started the book and will be able to report back when she's finished.

You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill

[–] MoonsofJupiter 17 years ago

This is a pretty faithful adaptation, but inevitably a lot was left out. There's more back story with Raffles, Bulstrode and Will's mother, for example.

I think it does help to have read the book. I did it the other way around, though. I saw the miniseries then read the book.

[–] dragonflyidt 16 years ago

I think the book is wonderful and it helps you understand the characters better, which is great. So I think reading the book is a must, especially if you liked the movie.

I actually wanted to cheat and just see the miniseries, but I couldn't find it anywhere so I had to read the book. Eventually I saw the miniseries and I felt very glad I had also read the book.

[–] catscratchpost 16 years ago

I read the book first and my other half had not, and I do remember having to do a fair amount of explaining.

[–] hzhang01 15 years ago

I found that reading the book first often ruins the watching pleasure of the movie, as movies are rarely better than the original books and one tends to be biased and not tolerant to changes made during adaptation.