Remakes that don't live up to the original....

[fladonkey]

I am currently watching the original "In Cold Blood" which was made back in the 1960s. It is a great movie. The TV movie that was a remake was absolute trash. I watched the new "All the Kings Men" - absolutely horrible.

[ikojo]

1. The Omen...who can do better than

Gregory Peck?

[Poiuyt]

2. Most remakes do not live up to the original

The question should be, Which remakes are better than the original?

[MonkeyFunk]

3. a few

the James Mason/Judy Garland version of "A Star is Born".

The Doris Day/Jimmy Stewart version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much".

The 1939 "Wizard of Oz" was sort of a remake.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. So basically, you're saying, none since the 1950s

I'd have to agree.

The remake of The Lady Vanishes was trash, the remake of The Haunting was trash, the remake of The NIght of the Hunter was trash...

[LanternWaste]

8. Lady Vanishes is my favorite Hitchcock film!

Lady Vanishes is my favorite Hitchcock film (mmmmm.... Margaret Lockwood). I didn't know there was a remake-- and I'm glad I haven't seen it.

I did see a remake of 'Suspicion' with the English actor Anthony Edwards as the male lead. Can't remember anything else about it, so there you go...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. The Lady Vanishes was remade with Cybil Shepherd in the

Margaret Lockwood role. Lame.

[poiuytsister]

4. I have a problem with the basic concept

If you are trying to remake a great movie you are setting yourself up for a poor second. Why doesn't anybody remake a real stinker? The only way to go is up.

[nuxvomica]

30. I thought "The Hills Have Eyes" remake surpassed the original

But I strain to think of others. This question would've made for a shorter thread.

edit: changed "exceeded" to "surpassed." :dunce:

[cemaphonic]

59. The Bogart 'Maltese Falcon' was the third try at the book.

My favorite example of this.

[Shell Beau]

5. Pretty much all of them!!

And while we are at it, most of films sequels SUCK too!

[poiuytsister]

7. One thing that makes a difference is which movie you SEE first

I saw the remake of Wuthering Heights with Timothy Dalton before I ever saw the Lawrence Olivier one, and the Dalton version was okay, but I had nothing to compare it with. If I saw it now...who knows?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

9. The Manchurian Candidate

Now that one REALLY pissed me off. But all in all, I don't believe I've EVER seen a remake that could stand up to the original.

War Of The Worlds is another biggie- give it to Cruise and watch it fall into a black hole of crap. What the HELL were they thinking???? :shrug:

[AlCzervik]

15. totally agree! The remake was terrible.

in the original the brin washing scenes were so well done.

[Cobalt-60]

10. Remakes aren't necessarily bad

I consider the Moby Dick with Gregory Peck and Richard Baseheart to be the definitive version. It is the second version with sound and the third overall.
The Fabulous Ben Hur is a remake of the fabulous Ramon Navarro silent picture.
Recently, however, everything has to be warped into an action movie, regardless of its original status.
The flight of the Phoenix is an example. It's eye candy, but that's all.
King Kong is a split decision. It's beautiful and obviously made by a man that loved the original tale. But he spends too much time in New York!

[patricia92243]

12. Agree - King Kong, The Producer with Matthew Brodrick and Nathian Lane wer much better IMHO. n/t

[kwassa]

65. I disagree .... both were much WORSE!

Nothing beats the original King Kong. All remakes fail.

Nothing beats Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in the original Producers.

[NYCGirl]

18. True. I prefer the original Maltese Falcon (from 1931, with Ricardo Cortez)

to the 1941 Bogart version. The earlier one is sexier (being pre-code) and IMO, truer to the novel.

Edited to add link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maltese_Falcon_(1931_film)

[LibraLiz1973]

11. Psycho was one of the worst remakes ever

It was just god awful

[Fran Kubelik]

14. The Out of Towners

The remake was horrendous.

[NYCGirl]

16. "The Night of the Hunter" was remade as a TV movie starring Richard Chamberlain.

I'm not making this up.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102533/

Maybe the only thing worse is the TV series version of "Casablanca" starring David Soul.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084994/

[ms liberty]

17. Swept Away...

Swept Away...by an Unusual Destiny on the Blue Sea of August (1974) starring Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato, directed by Lina Wertmuller. An absolutely glorious, sensual, sexy film that I first saw at age 18. A Classic.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0073817/

Remade in 2002 by Guy Ritchie as Swept Away, starring Madonna. Need I say more? Ugh.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0291502/

[fladonkey]

19. I agree about....

The Manchurian Candidate and War of the Worlds.

[leftofthedial]

20. the neocon fourth reich

[sakabatou]

21. Godzilla

The newer, American version sucks.

[Forkboy]

38. Not really a remake of Gojira though

Though it did suck large quantities of donkey balls.

In one sense it is a remake.Watch The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms and you'll see a LOT of similarities,and Emmerich even stated that it was an influence.

How someone could trash such an easy movie license so badly is beyond me.I mean,all you have to do is have a badass Godzilla that actually breathes fire,stomps cities and can actually get hit by a missile and not die.It should have been a layup.

Idiots!

[sakabatou]

43. One of the best

has to be vs. Destroyah

[Forkboy]

44. Oh yeah...they put a lot into that

It was one of the bigger budgets Toho allowed for a G movie,and it shows (except the small version of the aliens in the warehouse,which were pretty cheesy).I loved the final scene when they zoom in on Junior through the smoke!

I also love Godzilla:Mothra:King Ghidorah-All Out Monsters Attack...a hefty name for a very cool movie.Lots and lots of battles,and Godzilla is pissed off through the whole movie :)

[sakabatou]

45. I loved the one where G

killed his US version. :D

[Forkboy]

49. That was hilarious....and fitting!

That was Godzilla:Final Wars...the last G movie until 2012 at the earliest :(

It's funny that comes up in this thread because Final Wars is almost a remake of Destroy All Monsters.

[terrya]

22. "The In-Laws"

Ok...I didn't see the remake. But I refuse to believe that Michael Douglas and even Albert Brooks could even slightly compare to the wonderful original. Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini...just perfection.

[riverdeep]

46. I've seen both

and the new one is brutal

[Joe Chi Minh]

53. Same here. Falk was perfect for the part and his "brother-in-law", the

perfect foil for him.

Ironically, Peter Falk once applied for a job with the CIA in real life, but when he told the government officer interviewing him that he and his girl-friend had spent time in Yugoslavia after WWII, helping Tito build a railway there, he nearly nearly had a fit.

Falk: "You don't think I'd be welcome in Washington, then?"

Interviewing officer: "Welcome in Washington? You wouldn't be welcome in Washington State!"

[Rabrrrrrr]

23. Burton's "Planet of the Apes". Not only inferior, it wasn't even close.

[stuntcat]

36. right.

Awful

[Ms_Dem_Meanor]

24. The Parent Trap.

Lindsay Lohan just didn,t do it for me.

[Madspirit]

25. The Only Remake

The only remake I can think of offhand that was as good as the original and both are just superb is "All's Quiet on the Western Front". Other than that, I cannot think of one remake as good as the original.

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" oddly...the original was Hitchcock and he also did the remake...some infatuation with Doris Day, I believe. Both were good but the original is better.
Lee

[Forkboy]

41. The remake of The Thing was excellent as well

The original is a classic but they had to deviate a lot from the short story "Who Goes There?" that it was based on due to special effects limitations at the time.

John Carpenter not only had the ability to do the effects but he was able to stay very true to the story,which really plays up the paranoia angle a lot more,making it far more effective.

[Alexander]

26. Get Carter

The original 70s movie is terrific. I recommend it to anyone.

Don't ever, ever see the Sylvester Stallone garbage they call a "remake".

[Nye Bevan]

56. The winner...

Michael Caine was *amazing* in the original.

[InvisibleTouch]

27. I tend to prefer remakes.

The picture quality, special effects, and overall look of the movie is usually better. Especially if the original was in black-and-white, goes without saying. I have a real aversion to old black-and-white films, which is why I never understood the uproar about colorizing them. If I could stand to watch it, I might actually enjoy the story.

[Madspirit]

32. I love old black-and-white

One of the things Hitchcock is famous for his his shadow effects and stuff in his black and whites and noir would look pretty stupid colorized, imo. Black and white is what is often called for in really moody pictures.
I love old movies.
Lee

[hellbound-liberal]

28. The Pink Panther! Even though I like Steve Martin,

there was absolutely no reason for anyone to try to recreate Inspector Clouseau.

[stuntcat]

35. me too!^ And the new Willy Wonka SUCKED

As much as I love Steve Martin I don't think anyone should try to re-be Clouseau.

I don't care what anyone thinks about Johnny Depp, that movie was just STUPID x(

[philosophie_en_rose]

29. Pride & Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice (BBC/A&E) with Colin Firth was one of the best remakes ever. It far exceeds all of the other versions. However, Pride & Prejudice with Kiera Knightly was unnecessary and malnourished. The characterizations do not compare to the BBC/A&E version. (Jena Malone and Brenda Blethyn were horrid. Kiera Knightly was dim.)

[fladonkey]

33. Best version...

was with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier in the 1940s.

[philosophie_en_rose]

34. I disagree completely.

To each her or his own, but I think that version was anachronistic (especially as to the costumes) and the actors were too old.

[Catshrink]

52. I loved that version!

I finally understood why my mom loved Olivier so much.

[BuelahWitch]

63. Yes, I thought the Colin Firth P&P was better than Olivier's

Greer Garson seemed too old for the part of Elizabeth in the 1940 version. The BBC miniseries was able to stay closer to the book because it didn't have to be shortened to a 2 hour film.
I saw the Kiera Knightly version, but don't remember much about it. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. The cast was certainly not of the caliber of the BBC miniseries.

[jpgray]

31. Most copycats

[Random_Australian]

37. That new White House - after Clinton they installed some complete doofus.

And wow does he suck.

[Forkboy]

42. Best post 'o' the day

[Random_Australian]

54. Thanks kindly, friend.

[ghostsofgiants]

48. I thought the original was really overrated too.

[NC_Nurse]

39. Stepford Wives

[Starbucks Anarchist]

40. Psycho.

:puke:

[riverdeep]

47. A couple that do surpass the original

(in my opinion) Bedazzled, with Elizabeth Hurley and Brendan Fraser-I thought it was wicked fun, better than the Dudley Moore original.

Diabolique, with Sharon Stone-maybe not better, but pretty good.

[Joe Chi Minh]

50. Gloria.

[Catshrink]

51. The Big Sleep '78

This awful remake featured Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, John Mills, James Stewart, Joan Collins, and others.

[NYCGirl]

60. I agree with you on that, but the Mitchum version of "Farewell My Lovely" where

he also played Philip Marlowe was incredible. The mistake was trying to set "The Big Sleep" in modern times.

[Courtesy Flush]

55. "The Producers" was unbearable

I can't remember ever seeing such a gawd-awful remake! I loved the original movie, and the stage version was incredibly good (saw it at the Saenger in New Orleans), but the remake-movie was painful to watch, and Matthew Broderick dragged it down so badly that he should be forbidden to reproduce!

Never watch it under any circumstances! But see the original... it's a classic!

[AllegroRondo]

57. Now they're making a stage version of "Young Frankenstein"

That should be good!

[dropkickpa]

58. Holy crapola!

I didn't know that, I'm super excited!! Though, dear god, who the hell can they get to play Frankenstein's monster? Peter Boyle was just so good in that part, gonna be some big shoes to fill (harharhar)!

[Burma Jones]

61. Boy, do I agree....

The Original Producers' first scene, where Mostel and Wilder hatch the plot, is right up there with the best of the Marx Brothers and Python.

I saw the Broadway show, and it was fun, but I couldn't get Zero Mostel's Max Bialystock outta my head.....

I saw Matthew Broderick in a revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and that was well suited to his acting persona.

[azmouse]

62. That's exactly what I thought!

I love the original movie. I tried to watch the remake a few weeks ago and could only stand it through the first 1/2 hr before I had to turn it off. Broderick so miscast for that role.

[BuelahWitch]

64. I didn't like it either

I liked Nathan Lane and Uma Thurman, but couldn't understand how the play was such a hit with Broderick talking through his nose the whole way through.