Though I didn't read the book OR see the movie, I heard reviews of The Bridges of Madison County and the reviewers seem to feel the film is much better than the novel.

I am currently rereading The Lord of the Rings before I view the director's cut of the films in that trilogy, because clearly scenes were left on the cutting room floor for the theatrical versions. Other things were changed for time and to move the story along, something we expect in filmmaking. What they did to The Hobbit - that is inexcusable. That is the filmmaker milking the story and adding to it purely for the profit motive. I'd like a director's cut of that one which trims the three down to one and culls all of the extra nonsense.

SRS