EditorialMovie Picture

THE HUNGER GAMES (2012): 18 Differences Between Movie and Book

Jennifer Lawrence The Hunger Games Woody Harrelson Elizabeth Banks,

18 Differences Between The Hunger Games Movie and Book. The 18 differences between Gary Ross‘s The Hunger Games (2012) starring Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Amandla Stenberg, Willow Shields, Alexander Ludwig, Toby Jones, Wes Bentley, Jacqueline Emerson and Suzanne Collins‘ first book in her trilogy are numerous. Some of the changes are minor while others are large.

In adapting the book into a motion picture, it was inevitable that changes would be made: characters would be removed, dialogue would be edited out and certain scenes would be deleted. Fortunately, Collins – who has publicly praised the film – wrote the screenplay alongside director Gary Ross and writer Billy Ray (State of Play). With that in mind, The Hunger Games film captures much of the main story – but there are still numerous differences between the book and the movie.

Advertisement
 

We reviewed The Hunger Games here: The Hunger Games (2011) Film Review.

The Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games photo:

Jennifer Lawrence The Hunger Games Woody Harrelson Elizabeth Banks,

Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games

The 18 differences between The Hunger Games movie and the book (spoilers):

Character appearance

* Haymitch’s hair, while described as Seam-style black in the book, is blond in the movie.
* In the book, Katniss and Gale’s eyes are said to be the normal Seam grey. In the film, they appear blue.
* In the novel, Katniss describes her sister, Prim, as having blue eyes, yet in the film, they are brown.
* In the book, Clove is described as being big, healthy, and fit. And when she attacked Katniss at the Feast, Katniss said she was heavy. Though in the movie, she is very petite and lanky.
* Peeta’s eyes are said to be blue, but in the movie they are brown.

Costume

* Effie Trinket’s reaping suit, described as spring green in the book, is magenta pink in the movie.
* In the book, Katniss mentions in the Training Center that she and Peeta were the only ones wearing the same outfit, while in the movie, every tribute wears the same uniform with numbers on the shoulders to signify the district.
* When Katniss and Peeta are talking on the roof in the book, she is said to be wearing a “…thick, fleecy nightgown…”. Though in the movie, she is wearing a light jacket and a skirt.
* In the book Katniss is wearing a dress for the tribute parade in the film she is not.
* In the book it states that each tribute wears a black jacket, in the film each pair of tributes wears a different colored jacket to represent their district.
* In Katniss’ interview, she is supposed to be wearing a dress entirely covered in reflective precious gems, red and yellow and white with bits of blue that accent the tips of the flame design, but in the film, she is wearing a more simple one shoulder red dress.

Plot and universe

* In the film, Katniss gave the infamous Mockingjay pin to Prim and Prim returned it to her as her tribute token. In the book, the pin is given to her by Madge Undersee.
* In the book, Katniss states that the hovercraft arrives soundlessly while in the film, one is seen arriving noisily in the forest of District 12.
* In the book, Katniss pushed Prim behind her when she volunteers. In the film, Peacekeepers are holding Katniss and she has to scream it out before they let her go
* In the book, Katniss has four visit session before she leaves District 12. In the film she only receives two. One from her mother and Prim, and the last from Gale, but each lasts for a very short time.
* The train ride seems to last only for a few hours, and Katniss is rarely seen eating.
* In the book Gale yells out “remember I…” before the door is closed, hinting that he loves her. In the movie he never said this.
* In the book Katniss gives Peeta sleeping syrup so he will fall asleep. In the movie she sneaks away while he is slepping.

Source: Thehungergames.wikia, Screenrant

Advertisement
 

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend