Gary->dee

Movies That Need Remakes And Those That Don't

Hollywood can't resist remakes. They're as much a part of the movie industry as sequels.

The reason I thought of this thread is because of a movie called Fist of the North Star which came out in the early 90's. It was a low budget version of a movie that should be made again with a proper budget and today's digital magic. I was working at a film distrubtion company at the time that was dealing with FotNS and I got to see the dailies and such. Needless to say I was underwhelmed. I was used to the epic scale of the anime feature and to see the movie basically contained within a single film set or two was disappointing. They basically turned it into a stage play.

I think this movie needs to be remade so a lot of the vast armies, cool fighting and gory consequences can be seen in live action with the right director at the helm.

At the time I was at that company The Fantastic Four movie was also being made and I saw very brief glimpses of that flick that never saw the light of day and was permanently shelved. However, that's currently in the works to be remade.

So what movie(s) would you want to see get remade?

What movies do you think shouldn't get remade?

Kachi Khatri

One movie I will really like to a re-make is the the great 1963 war drama classic: The Great Escape with a bunch of current crop of stars.

Let's see, how about a cast of:

George Clooney
Bruce Willis
Benicio Del Toro
Nicolas Cage
Ed Harris
Tom Sizemore
Denzel Washington

Scott Weinberg

The live-action Fist of the North Star is tacky and cheesy to be sure...but fun in a totally mindless way.

As far as movies that maybe SHOULD be re-made, I'm thinking of a few literary adaptations that basically sucked. Good books turned into REALLY crappy movies really anger me - because I'm left thinking "Hey this could have been a great movie - and now nobody will ever try it again!"

Examples include the irritating adaptations of Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities, Andrews' Flowers in the Attic and Koontz's Hideaway.

Each of these COULD be made into damn fine movies - but I doubt we'll ever know.

David Tolsky

One movie that I've always fantasized about being remade is Metropolis, the classic German Fritz Lang silent. I'd like to see a new version with either Alex Proyas or Terry Gilliam at the helm. One I do not want to see remade but already know it is in the works is Willy Wonka.

Gary->dee

Willy Wonka, great example of a movie that need not be touched. I really think they don't need to remake Superman or at least his origins. It's been done and perfectly at that.

Scott, I liked the look of the Fist of the North Star but in almost every other area I think they were merely scratching the surface of what could have been. I'd like to see perhaps David Fincher tackle the remake since it's essentially a fantasy version of Fight Club. Or maybe the Wachowski brothers?

Matthew_Millheiser

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MatthewLouwrens

Absolutely disagree - Bonfire would not make a good movie.

In the book The Devil's Candy (a excellent book by Julie Salamon about the making of the Bonfire movie), someone commented that you cannot make a good movie out of Bonfire - not enough time. But it could make an excellent mini-series. I forget who made that comment (I haven't read the book in a few years) but I absolutely agree.

Absolutely disagree - as I commented on another thread, Willy Wonka may be a good family film, but it wasn't twisted enough for a film based on a Roald Dahl book. (Apparently Dahl himself didn't like the film). I mean, it's a musical with the most dire songs ever written! A film that more closely resembles the orginal book is definitely needed.

Adam_ME

I know Willy Wonka is regarded as a classic by many, but I've never liked that film. And I'm a huge fan of the book, so if they can do a more faithful adaptation the second time around, more power to em.

And for God's sake, get the title right! The story's about Charlie, not Wonka. Oh also, I don't care how much money the new movie makes, stay the hell away from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. What a piece of crap that was!

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Jason Seaver

Well, strictly speaking, no movies "need" a remake, and most of the movies mentioned in the thread would fall under the category of "multiple adaptations" versus really being remakes.

I think if you're going to do it, though, the object should be to try and do something different. I don't see the point of Gus Van Sant's Psycho remake, for instance, but Johnathan Demme taking Charade and making it a more serious thriller is at least an interesting idea.

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Matthew Chmiel

Volcano High would be one hell of a film if given an American budget (and maybe a better script with not a lot of plot holes in it). For those of you who do not know what Volcano High is, it's a Korean fantasy/action/martial arts/high school film. Think of it as Harry Potter meets Big Trouble in Little China meets The Matrix.

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Brenton

You guys might get pissed at me for wanting a remake of The Wizard of Oz, but I'm a fan of the book series, and unfortunately no film version thus far has adequately portrayed the world of Oz on the screen.

So to be more accurate, I don't really want a remake of the film, but an accurate film version of the book.