essential movie remakes (1 Viewer)

[Vic Pardo]

I'm sure many would disagree, but I find these remakes superior to the originals:

The Fly
True Grit
The Thing
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The Thomas Crown Affair
War of the Worlds
Dawn of the Dead
Sorcerer

Well, you're right about one thing: many would disagree. The only one on that list that I'll give you as a superior remake is THE FLY.
John Carpenter's THE THING is as good as the original, but for different reasons. They're both standout sci-fi films.
The Coen Bros.' TRUE GRIT has its pleasures, but so does the John Wayne original. Two variations on the same source material, both valid.
As for INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and WAR OF THE WORLDS, I strongly disagree.
The others? I actually haven't seen the remakes.

 

[atfree]

I agree with the earlier post that there's no need to remake classics.....there's enough "near misses" or outright bombs that had great potential but failed. Remaking classics just because the filmmaker can use CGI now is why the theaters are littered with pointless remakes (or "reboots") like "Total Recall", etc. It would be so nice if Hollywood could come up with an original idea now and then.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Other remakes i found to be better than the original are:

Friday The 13th
Ocean's Eleven
Bedazzled
The Blob
Funny Games
Heat
The Hills Have Eyes
Little Shop Of Horrors
The Ring
Scent Of A Woman
The Ten Commandments
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
True Lies

Now i like the original versions of many of these films and in some cases it's a close thing but there is an argument for some being better, i thought about Cat People too but i find both to be very good and different so can't choose between them and if we can call Alien a loose remake of It! The Terror from Beyond Space then i'd say Alien is a superior remake too.

 

[jayleaf]

I agree with the earlier post that there's no need to remake classics.....there's enough "near misses" or outright bombs that had great potential but failed. Remaking classics just because the filmmaker can use CGI now is why the theaters are littered with pointless remakes (or "reboots") like "Total Recall", etc. It would be so nice if Hollywood could come up with an original idea now and then.

I agree with you for the most part about remakes. But certain movies i think do lend themselves to being remade with upgraded FX and sound especially older movies that were special effect based back in the day. Although i don't think you can merely retell the story without adding a little creativity to the script. In the case of my original post regarding "Sink the Bismarck" I just can't help but watch those naval battle's, especially the all out attack on Bismarck at the end and dream about seeing that with modern FX and sound systems. i just think it would be amazing and as i said before it's truly one of the most compelling naval stories of WW2. Frankly i think it would take a monumental effort to screw it up.

 

[TravisR]

It would be so nice if Hollywood could come up with an original idea now and then.

I always say this but look at what makes the most money- it's sequels, adaptations and remakes. The bulk of today's audience wants something familiar so Hollywood gives them that. If audiences would take a chance on something new, Hollywood would gladly sell them that too.

 

[FoxyMulder]

If audiences would take a chance on something new, Hollywood would gladly sell them that too.

Very true and then they would remake it fifteen years later.

On a more serious note i think if you look closely outside the Hollywood system you'll find plenty of original movies still being made, even Hollywood occasionally comes up with a new idea, it's not all sequels, reboots and remakes, it just seems that way.

 

[TravisR]

In all fairness to Hollywood, I'm only talking about the biggest moneymakers each year. There's still new movies being made all the time, audiences just don't see them anywhere near as much as they see something that they already know.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

In all fairness to Hollywood, I'm only talking about the biggest moneymakers each year. There's still new movies being made all the time, audiences just don't see them anywhere near as much as they see something that they already know.

This might be slightly off-topic, but I'm also a little surprised by how often a couple films this summer have been called "original", have had their originality praised, etc. The two that I'm thinking were both movies I enjoyed a lot, and I'll probably be buying them both on Blu-ray when they're available for sale...but I also didn't find them to be original in any real or measurable way. I'm thinking of "Edge of Tomorrow" and "Guardians of the Galaxy". Really liked, maybe even loved, both - but to me, they're not particularly original. "Edge of Tomorrow" was Groundhog Day meets sci-fi invasion war movie, and "Guardians of the Galaxy" was Marvel's version of "Star Wars". (I know this might sound like I'm insulting those films, but I'm not!) I read a lot of columns leading up to the release of "Guardians" about how Marvel was taking this big giant risk making this original and not audience friendly story, and surprise at it opening at pretty much the exact same numbers the last two Marvel movies opened at, but to me, the movie was exactly what I expected it to be, and was as popular as I'd expect. I don't know if I'm just too cynical or if my bar for considering something "original" is too high or what.

 

[Vic Pardo]

SHOWGIRLS could benefit from a remake, with the right actress in the lead role and a director who understood the satirical aspects of the screenplay.

 

[FoxyMulder]

SHOWGIRLS could benefit from a remake, with the right actress in the lead role and a director who understood the satirical aspects of the screenplay.

As long as the pool sex scene is more convincing then sure go for it.

P.S. I think Verhoeven understood the satirical aspects very well, just look at some of his past Hollywood films such as RoboCop or StarShip Troopers, i think he knew what type of film he was making and he succeeded.

 

[Louis Letizia]

It seems as if every remake of a popular foreign film has been disastrous, excluding maybe THE BIRDCAGE. THE TOY, THE WOMAN IN RED, THE MAN WITH THE RED SHOE, and especially SWEPT AWAY...horrid and all some of the worst of its year. 1977.seemed to be the start of this trend as ANOTHER MAN ANOTHER CHANCE (a man and a woman), WHICH WAY IS UP?(The Seduction of Mimi) as well as the aforementioned SORCERER were all very good. I could think of at least a dozen more foreign film remakes that are real bad. Thank goodness they never remade SEVEN BEAUTIES with Melissa McCarthy .

 

[Vic Pardo]

I wish BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S had been made in the 1960s, but later in the '60s, with a different director, different screenwriter and different cast. It wouldn't make sense to remake it, because the story and character wouldn't work if updated and I really see no need for a period-appropriate remake unless they did it absolutely right. Unfortunately, the film, as phony and dishonest as it is, has tons of fans who would be outraged at a remake. Maybe a remake could be set in a different period, e.g. punk '80s New York around the time Madonna was starting out and instead of Madonna you had a character like Holly Golightly intermingling with that whole scene.