A movie just as good as the book

[Alex]

Tons and tons of movies are better than the books. They tend to be movies based on books that either weren't all that good or obscure.

As examples of this I'd mention Planet of the Apes, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Psycho, The Exorcist, Midnight Cowboy, Ordinary People.
As for good movies and good books I'd say that The Prestige was as good as the good and maybe better because it was willing to make changes for the medium. The Pillow Book is a great example of someting working in print and then being transformed to a visual medium.