Movie remakes that shouldn't have happened..

[thekinglives]

Old Boy
The Ring

and various other cult foreign films. If you can't be arsed to read the subtitles you don't deserve to watch the film, even in their sanitised US versions.

Add The Grudge to this list.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Racking my brains, the only one I can think of is The Fly

This and The Last House on the Left remake was very good and scary to say the least, they nailed it.

 

[Rambo]

Karate Kid
A Nightmare on Elm Street

Both dreadful.

 

[Acker79]

Can anyone name me a re-make that was better than the original? I can’t think of one.

Wizard of Oz
The Maltese Falcon
Scarface
A Fistful of Dollars
The Last House on the Left (The seventies version was a remake of a swedish film)
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Bourne Identity
Anna Karenina (there have been, I think, 23 versions of this, the David Lean one that most hold up as best was in the late teens)
True Lies
Heat
The Departed
The Magnificent Seven
Airplane
The Thing
Fatal Attraction
Ocean's Eleven
True Grit
The Talented Mr Ripley
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Twelve Monkeys




Some that seem to be loved, but no doubt will be shot down as bad films by the bastion of taste that is nsc
Meet the Parents
Three Men and a Baby
You've Got Mail
Man on Fire
Let Me In is supposed to be good.
Death At A Funeral
Brewster's Millions
Ben Hur
Insomnia
Dawn of the Dead
Cape Fear


Musical remakes of non-musicals
Little Shop of Horrors
Les Miserables
Hairspray

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/best_remakes_50_years_50_movies/

 

[JamesAndTheGiantHead]

Twelve Monkeys

I really don't think that can be classed as a 'remake'.

 

[Acker79]

I really don't think that can be classed as a 'remake'.

Why not?

 

[Acker79]

...it was inspired by a french short, but it is not a remake. It doesn't have the same characters, plot nor title. The only similarity it shares is the basic synopsis.

Universal paid for the rights to it so that they could re-make it, legally speaking it is, therefore, a remake. But I listed it as it appeared on several lists of good remakes, including an Empire magazine list, and I think they know a bit about films, so if they include it I'm gonna include it (but accept it is contentious).

 

[JamesAndTheGiantHead]

Universal paid for the rights to it so that they could re-make it, legally speaking it is, therefore, a remake. But I listed it as it appeared on several lists of good remakes, including an Empire magazine list, and I think they know a bit about films, so if they include it I'm gonna include it (but accept it is contentious).

Fair enough. There's definitely some heavy borrowing going on, I just think listing it in a thread featuring films like Total Recall, where I believe Farrell is wearing the same outfit that Schwarzenegger actually filmed in, is a disservice to Twelve Monkeys.

 

[Acker79]

http://www.empireonline.com/features/remakes/default.asp?film=50

 

[TheBlueAndWhiteStrips]

The Departed because its just a carbon copy in English of Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs.

The Vanishing.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Pink Panther
Herbie Fully Loaded
Clash of the Titans

 

[Acker79]

Fair enough. There's definitely some heavy borrowing going on, I just think listing it in a thread featuring films like Total Recall, where I believe Farrell is wearing the same outfit that Schwarzenegger actually filmed in, is a disservice to Twelve Monkeys.

Yeah, I understand that. I prefer remakes that take the original in a different direction, that use the original as a starting point and try something different. Remaking a film and not doing that just seems lazy, though I'm sure there are exceptions (such as foreign language to english language films take less liberties because their motivation is the anglicising of the original)

I actually liked Rob Zombie's Halloween because it shifted the focus on to Michael more than Laurie, and it really covered his view.

 

[Trufflehound]

A Fistful of Dollars
The Magnificent Seven
Cape Fear
The Man Who Knew Too Much

All very good films, but none of them are better (or worse) than the originals - just different. Yojimbo, Seven Samurai and the first versions of Cape Fear and The Man Who Knew Too Much are all excellent.

 

[Trufflehound]

including an Empire magazine list, and I think they know a bit about films

Empire's list also tries to make out that the Spielberg/Tom Cruise War of the Worlds remake is good, so they clearly know sod all about films...

 

[Acker79]

All very good films, but none of them are better (or worse) than the originals - just different. Yojimbo, Seven Samurai and the first versions of Cape Fear and The Man Who Knew Too Much are all excellent.

I suppose whether they are better or not is a matter of personal preference, I was listing films that seem to be highly respected/loved, assuming that some people will view them some of them as better. Personally, I preferred Yojimbo and Seven Samurai, but then I'm not a huge fan of westerns.

 

[brakespear]

The Magnificent Seven

Am I misunderstanding or are you stating that The Magnificent Seven is better than Seven Samurai?

I'd like to say The Haunting - the original is the most frightening film I have evr seen - but I haven't seent the remake. From what I know of it though, I'd guess it wasn't all that.

 

[On the Left Wing]

The Wicker Man

 

[Acker79]

Empire's list also tries to make out that the Spielberg/Tom Cruise War of the Worlds remake is good, so they clearly know sod all about films...

Not true.

The remake doesn't have to be better than the original, but it mustn't be shameful. Credit has been given for both quality of the film and improvement on / comparison to the original, but in the end we've done this impressionistically rather than mathematically.​

By including it they simply imply wasn't shameful.

 

[Brovion]

Bedazzled. The original was Peter Cook and Dudley Moore at their most sublime, the remake was quite simply an abomination. Agree with the LadyKillers and Italian Job as well.

 

[Trufflehound]

Not true.

The remake doesn't have to be better than the original, but it mustn't be shameful. Credit has been given for both quality of the film and improvement on / comparison to the original, but in the end we've done this impressionistically rather than mathematically.​

By including it they simply imply wasn't shameful.

It was shameful in my book...

 

[Acker79]

Am I misunderstanding or are you stating that The Magnificent Seven is better than Seven Samurai?

I'd like to say The Haunting - the original is the most frightening film I have evr seen - but I haven't seent the remake. From what I know of it though, I'd guess it wasn't all that.

I don't know if you've finished reading the thread, but no. I was listing films that are well thought of, held in high esteem, or loved greatly that are remakes, assuming that due to individual tastes, some will be seen as better. As mentioned, I too prefer seven samurai to magnificent seven, but there might be some who prefer westerns to asian cinema so go the other way.

I could have included the ring, but think it's wrong that anyone likes the remake.

I've seen both versions of the haunting. I enjoyed the remake, but it wasn't scary. My enjoyment of it is mainly through the cast (except CZJ). I don't think anyone thinks the remake holds a candle to the original, but I wasn't that impressed by the original when I saw it.