10. The Great Gatsby
The Book:The great American novel, Gatsby is one as adored by literary types as it is despised by school kids. Exploring the American Dream at its most decadent, the book gives a view into life in the roaring twenties, with its themes being dissected more often than a frog. Believed by F. Scott Fitzgerald to be a flop, the book only rose to popularity after his death.
Why It Shouldn't Have Been Adapted: Just last month Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby burst into cinemas to an ambivalent response; the film was alright, but not a worthy adaptation of the novel. Of course, this isn't the first time Gatsbys been imagined on screen; theres been several events before DiCaprio brought his performance to the table. But, oddly enough, it is the highly inaccurate recent version that had the highest critical rating. With so many failed adaptations to its name, its fairly clear Gatsby just isn't meant to grace the talkies.