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How does the movie compare to the book? I haven't watched it because I am afraid it will ruin my visual of the story like so many movies do. Any input?

i wouln't worry about ruining your personal visualization of the story, i wouldn't even waste your time or money to see it. i often enjoy seeing movie adaptations after im finished reading a book partly because i like to compare my mental picture with someone elses and partly so that when i get into a discussion about the book with someone who has only seen the film i know the extent of the story that they are familiar with. last night i watched the kite runner with my sister who also recently finished the book we were both incredibly displeased with the film. first of all 90% of it was done in subtitles, which on its own isn't a bad thing. the language (which i can only assume was farsi) added, or at least could have added some extra depth to the film but for some unknown reason the filmmakers chose to write the subtitles in yellow, and small yellow words against the desert sands Afganistan is famous for make for a slightly idfficult viewing experience!the biggest problem however was the completele lack of emotional connection to any of the characters. i cried at least 4 or 5 times the first time i read that book and went through a range of gut wrenching emotions towards Amir and all the characters but i remained totaly inddifferent to thier fate while watching the movie. i was pretty bored wit the entire film but managed to refrain from turning it off and was even more dissapointed as it came to a close, the final tear jerking scene of near loss in the hotel before amir and sorhab leave for america (not to mention the entire ordeal about adopting an afgan child durring a time of war) was entirely ommitted from the film, they opted for a happier ending where sorahb returns safely to america and lives contently, albiet, quietly and moderately disjointed with his new family. again i would strongly reccomend not going out of your way to see the movie thats nearly 2 hours of your life that you will never get bacK!

I thought the movie was actually quite close to the book, which is not usually the "norm".
Though I did get tired of reading subtitles most of the time, the movie was good despite a few scenes that were unpleasant. But, I thought it wasn't that bad of a movie, even though it is something I would only want to watch once a year or so.

Katie, I agree with you. My husband, sister-in-law and I all traded the same copy of the book around. We waited patiently (sort of) until we all had completed the book to see the movie together. I too, love watching a movie just to see what mental picture I created (mine is usually better :-P)

This movie did not represent the book very well. Another poster noted that it followed the book closely. While this is true... there was about 1/2 of the book that was left out that could have a created a much more emotional impact. I don't feel that they made connections well. You couldn't feel the intense emotions like when you read the book. One of the most poignant scenes for me was when Amir WANTED Hassan to hate him. He took him up to the pomegranate tree and threw them at him in an attempt to have Hassan fight him. In the end Hassan simply mashes one into his face and says "There, are you happy?" It was supposed to such an emotional scene, but I don't feel that was conveyed in the movie. I could go on and on with scenes that were left out or poorly represented. This was an emotional book to read. Yet the movie left me with much less emotion.

So to answer the original question... don't ruin the beautiful idea you have created by watching the movie

I completely agree. The book was absolutely wonderful. The imagry was so powerful. I could smell the oil tanker and see the hatred in the evil mens' eyes. The inner toil and guilt was so strong and real... and yet I had to fight sleeping through the movie??

YES!!!! YES!!! YES!!!!!!!!

i was impressed by how close the movie was to the book. Though there were scenes that were dropped, it seemed that very few had been added or altered. The novel was better, but the movie was not bad.

I am a movie maker and I am always afraid to adapt one of the books I read simply because my view of a book is certainly different from the mill