The Top 10: Films Most Unlike the Books On Which They Are Based

If you didn’t know a film’s title, would you recognise it from the book?

Harrison Ford, who starred in ‘Blade Runner’ (PA Archive)

Thanks to Elliot Kane for this list. He started off by nominating “most James Bond films”, but I excluded them.

1. The 39 Steps. Quadruple nomination of all four film versions of the 1915 novel by John Buchan. Hitchcock’s 1935 film changes most of the story, including the “39 steps” themselves (actual steps in the book, a secret organisation in the film); the 1959 film is closely based on the 1935 one; the 1978 film also bears little resemblance to Buchan’s original story; and the 2008 film, in which many of the characters are renamed, ends with a scene of a submarine in a Scottish loch, rather than the original setting off the Kent coast. Nominated by Paul Keeble and Derek Edwards.

2. The Jungle Book. Thanks to Meryl O’Rourke.

3. Life of Brian. Nothing like the Bible, said Joe Twyman. Also an example of the film being much better than the book, he said.

4. The Ipcress File. Len Deighton’s book and Guy Hamilton’s film are both superb, said Paul T Horgan, but the film stays in London, while the book flits across the globe. Both feature the treachery of Dalby and brainwashing, but how it is done is completely different. Also nominated by Peter Hardy, Carl Gardner.

5. Under the Skin. Seeing the film you’d have no idea who Scarlett Johansson’s character is, why she does what she does, or what anyone in her world or ours might feel about it, said Carl Gardner.

6. Blade Runner, based on Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? “Even though I had read the book, I don’t think I would have connected it to the movie had I not been told in advance that it’s based on it,” said Omer Lev. Also nominated by Absolute Shower, Graham Moonie and Jon Wensley.

7. The English Patient. Takes one part and makes a completely different story, said John Peters.

8. Without Remorse. Recent Amazon film of the Tom Clancy book, but the entire story is different. “Only uses the title and some character names; the plot is completely different; annoying because I loved the book growing up,” said Martin Payne.

9. World War Z. “The book is an amazing horror pastiche of aural histories of war; the film is a generic zombie yawnfest,” said Antisocial Socialist. Alistair Smith and Matthew Smith agreed.

10. The Lawnmower Man. The short story is about a man hiring a violent Greek god as a gardener; the film is about a gardener made into a sociopathic genius by the internet. Nominated by Paul Lynch and Alastair Meeks.

Excluding Bond films means I miss out Casino Royale, the 1967 film, which should otherwise be up there, said Anthony Wells. “Unless you also don’t count it as a proper Bond film, and therefore allow it.” It can be number 11.

Many other good nominations. Children of Men: book and film have the basic infertility premise in common, but virtually nothing else (Tom Doran). The Godfather: Mario Puzo’s book is quite pulpy and softcore (Dan Fox). LA Confidential has completely different plot twists in book and film (Stuart Nathan). Slumdog Millionaire changed a lot from the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup, in which the hero forces the quizmaster to give him a hint to the last answer (Kipplewinker).

And no, I did not accept The Lion King, because Hamlet is not a book.

Next week: Compulsory adjectives, such as breathtaking hypocrisy or devout Catholic.

Coming soon: Bass guitarists.

Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk