Two of my favourite books are also movies, but the books win hands down.

Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard
and
The Client by John Grisham.

While both movies are well made and enjoyable, books can always deepen the experience and give the reader a more personal insight (imo). If you've never read these two books, I can recommended them.

Interesting topic PH - normally I agree with you - the book is far better than the film - but sometimes not...
I haven't read Empire of the Sun but I loved the film.

Like songs. Dolly Parton wrote I Will Always Love You but Whitney turned a good song into a great record.

Gone With The Wind is a better film than book.

Sometimes a great, but short, story can become a marvellous film where it was stretched too long into a boring novel.

And some are equally good but different. To my astonishment, the best novel of the century so far (Never Let Me Go) turned into a completely different but very good movie.

I saw the movie of Empire of the Sun before I read the novel. The main difference is that the Americans are hardly in it. I guess they were added to the movie to make it more acceptable to American viewers who have difficulty believing that the war was not all about them. I like both but in different levels.

On the other hand, I prefer the James Bond movies to the books - although it's difficult to recognise the work of Ian Fleming in the movie versions, outside of the titles.

A lot of Shakespeare's plays are 're-makes', as are Mozart, Verdi and Puccini operas. I dislike it when great movies from the past are re-made just because they lend their cachet to the new productions (and when they're made into musicals it really irks), but when there's a clear chance to improve something it can lead to something else that's a genuine delight.

I always prefer Stephen King novels to films, Christine is a awesome read.