In the age of Hollywood remakes, has there ever been a remake that was better than the original?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Inspired by the Clash of the Titans thread.

Note, I'm not talking about a sequel or a reboot (a la Batman, Star Trek, etc.). I'm talking about the remaking of the same basic story.

[redqueen]

1. I'll say again: John Carpenter's The Thing

Is Evil Dead 2 a 'reboot'? If it counts as a remake, then I'd say it's another example.

[Forkboy]

27. Evil Dead 1 is still the best.

Rough as Hell around the edges (which only makes me like it more, me being me). E.D. 2 is still super great fun though, as is Army of Darkness (Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.) :)

[redqueen]

45. Yeah, well, you know... that's just, like, your opinion, man.

:P

I still am not sure if it's a remake or a 'reboot' (hate that word!) or whatever other term somebody made up for it.

[proteus_lives]

66. +1000

John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the finest horror/sci-fi movies of all time.

[flvegan]

2. "The Birdcage" over "La Cage aux Folles"

[leeroysphitz]

4. Interesting. n/t

[TZ]

For once...

I can't argue with you.

[joeybee12]

48. Oh God, no!

La Cage is brilliant, Birdcage is typical Hollywood garbage.

[calico1]

55. Oops, in the wrong place. sorry..

[TZ]

58. No its not

I think the Birdcage was perfectly written and cast. It is one of the funniest movies EVER! Robin Williams was BRILLIANT

[bif]

65. Totally agree

Birdcage was a piece of crap. It was so unfunny, I almost smiled twice. The French original was brilliant.

[lutefisk]

3. The Maltese Falcon

The 1941 version is "better" than 1931 version, though earlier one good, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHQvqZwRwsM

edit: the complete 1931 version is on the YouTube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4QMO4P0GZ8

[leeroysphitz]

5. Dawn of The Dead.

:hide:

I liked the apocalypsyness of the remake better.


ETA: OOPS meant to reply to the OP.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

38. I thought you were going to say the David Soul version was better....

and I was fully prepared to bust a cap on your sorry ass.

I didn't know that there was a 1931 version. How did they handle to whole Nazi thing. I intend to watch it, but I'm just curious.

[cyberswede]

64. I concur

The 1941 version is fabulous!

Thanks for posting the link to the 1931 version...haven't seen it in forever!

[Lucian]

6. Dawn of the Dead - 2004

Lots better than the original.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. I love that flick, and a lot of people don't. Mostly George Romero purists.

The 2004 version is more like a Lord of the Flies / Darwinist approach to the story, because all of the central characters have VERY strong personalities, and as much as they band together to survive, there's also a high level of hating each others' guts.

Oh yeah...one more thing. The zombies RUN. Really, really FAST.

:toast:

[RiffRandell]

16. I love it too, and watch it every time it's on.

GREAT remake.

[RandomThoughts]

24. Zombie films are some of the only horror films I watch because of social commentary in them.

However I don't always agree with the concepts, there are many in them.

Shawn of the dead was a great movie, my favorite zombie film, but also liked the one from your picture. I also watch it when it is on. Although some of the scenes are to visceral to watch.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/25053/shaun-of-the-dead-throwing-records


I heard Zombieland was a good movie, downloading it right now from itunes.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

44. I'm the same way. Not a big horror fan, but I love a good zombie film.

Something about the post-apolcalyptic setting really intrigues me, the banding together of rag-tag survivors against impossible odds, etc. Loved the "28" series, which are techincally only zombiesque, but use the same format.

Shaun of the Dead was hilarious, but even without the humor a great zombie movie.

Zombieland is great. One of the best uses of an unexpected celebrity cameo that you'll ever see in a movie, but I'll let you enjoy it for yourself.

[RandomThoughts]

70. Just watched Zombieland.

And the cameo, and what happens to the character, keeps his motif he spoke about when he said he went and played a few rounds of golf.

I loved the 'What about Bob" Reference.


What About Bob. 10/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsJM52tIZvo

Reminds me of many past events. LOL

Also has a bit of Karma, or reap what you sow in the clip.

[LostInAnomie]

20. For the most part I agree.

I really consider them two different movies though. The original was more of a social commentary. The remake was more of a tale of hopelessness.

Different movies, same vehicle.

[Orrex]

42. That's a great assessment

I prefer the original because I'm more interested in the social commentary than the hopelessness, but I still like the 2004 film.

[Forkboy]

25. Good movie, and better than expected....not better than the original.

;)

[proteus_lives]

67. Too different to compare.

It's different generations. Both are good movies.

[charlie and algernon]

7. Batman Begins and the Dark Knight

much better than the Tim Burton originals

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. Those are more like reboots.

The "R"s of modern Hollywood:

1. Remake--Same basic core story done all over again, different actors
2. Reboot--A new beginning to an old series, usually with different actors
3. Revival--A return to a series of movies and sequels, once long considered to be long abandoned (i.e. Rocky, Indiana Jones)

[jakefrep]

9. Ocean's 11

I liked it better, anyway. I wasn't overly impressed by the original.

[Jade Fox]

73. good choice!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

10. The 1945 Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes remake of "State Fair."

The original was made in 1933 with Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, & Lew Ayres. The 1945 version is the definitive version. Forget about the final remake, with Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Pamela Tiffin, from 1962.

:toast:

[Paladin]

12. Nice Catch. Great Movie. (n/t)

[fishwax]

13. For the record, Hollywood has been doing remakes since about four years after Hollywood appeared

The first Hollywood feature film was The Squaw Man, produced in 1914. It was remade in 1918, and then remade again in 1931. Remakes have always been a part of Hollywood :)

I like Soderbergh's Oceans 11 better than the original. I also probably like Scorsese's Cape Fear better than the original (though the original is good as well).

[Tommy_Carcetti]

14. I always thought that De Palma's Scarface far eclipsed the original 1930s version.

Other than the rather annoying incessant references to the film by people in the rap industry, I do think Pacino's acting combined with the contempary use of the Mariel Boatlift as the film's backdrop gave the film new life.

[Kaleva]

15. War of the Worlds (2005) is better then the '53 original

Maybe because modern technology makes the special effects of the 50's sci-fi flicks almost laughable.

[lunatica]

21. I don't agree

Both movies have their plus sides. Imagine if Edward Norton had played in the latest version instead of Tom Cruise? The movie would have been much better with Norton's acting.

The special effects for the old movie are still excellent after all these years. But I do like the fact that each story is different.

[Forkboy]

26. Those laughable FX won an Oscar.

As if I needed more reasons to not take you seriously....

[kwassa]

28. The original version was far superior to the Speilberg remake

with the hideous Tom Cruise, speaking of special effects.

[rcrush]

30. Excuse but...

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[DarkTirade]

35. Bwahahahahaha...

... boy I hope you're joking.

[CBGLuthier]

39. No way is it better.

Who cares about the quality of the effects?

The only people who find old effects "laughable" are those without imagination.

[Deep13]

50. I can't agree. The '05 version is so Spielbergian...

...what with the emotional exploitation and the terrified kid in distress shit, that after I saw it, I scarcely gave it a second thought. It was more faithful to the novel than the '53 version. Still, the family shit and syrupy Spielberg touch ruined it for me.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

71. I hated that movie, mostly because of the screaming kid.

She screamed all the way through the movie. It wasn't long before I started hoping the aliens would get her so she'd shut up.

[proteus_lives]

68. Are you high?

No way! Special effects aren't everything.

[gmoney]

17. "Airplane!" is a lot funnier than "Zero Hour!"

Although "Zero Hour!" is a lot funnier if you've seen "Airplane!"

[JonLP24]

18. The Longest Yard

All I can think of at that moment.

[Touchdown]

19. "Same basic story" Raiders of the Lost Ark was better

than King Solomon's Mines, a serial in the 30s. Star Wars was better than the Buck Rogers serials of the 30s.

Talking of reboots... Russel Crowe will be Hollywood's umpteenth Robin Hoods. Some are better than others. But Errol Flynn's (the one others are usually measured by) wasn't the original. I don't think there's been any character re-made more than Robin Hood.

[Orrex]

43. I would say that those two films don't count

Stories that you can broadly identify as being part of the same genre don't qualify as remakes. That's like saying that Sharon Stone's The Quick and The Dead is a remake of 1939's Stagecoach.

Being a remake entails being a new treatment of essentially the same story, not simply reproducing the broad themes or setting.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

22. Perhaps My Fair Lady is better than Pygmalion.

I think that is fair to say.

[whistler162]

62. Pygmallion holds more to Shaw's original work

but I like the music in My Fair Lady.

So I would call it a draw.

[jmowreader]

23. Little Shop of Horrors is MUCH better in the remake

The Roger Corman original is renowned for being the movie it took two days to shoot. The remake is a bit more carefully made. Plus it has THIS song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOtMizMQ6oM

Let's face it: any movie that contains a character that's a cross between Elvis Presley and Hannibal Lector is all right by me.

[joeybee12]

49. I wonder if you can call it an EXACT remake...was Corman's a musical?

I love the remake, though.

[Tabasco_Dave]

29. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1970's)

better than the first and much better than the 2008 remake.

[rcrush]

31. Man on Fire.

The old one was boring as hell and had kind of a creepy pedo vibe to it.

[Midwestern Democrat]

32. The 1959 "Ben-Hur" is superior to the silent version but this is probably

more an example of a new adaptation of a famous novel rather than a remake of an existing film.

[jobycom]

33. How about a couple of directors who remade their own films? Hitchcock and Robert Rodriguez.

Hitchcock did it a couple of times, most famously with "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Robert Rodriguez remade "El Mariachi" as "Desperado."

I've never really understood why people get bent out of shape over remakes. It's not like most movies are written by the director, anyway. Most are based on an existing story somewhere.

[ceile]

57. "Desperado" was the sequel not a remake

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desperado_(film)

[jobycom]

60. Huhn.

I always heard it was a remake. :(

[Dr Morbius]

34. Not counting silent films?

C.B Demille remade his own The Ten Commandments. I've seen both and the 50's version with Charleton Heston's unforgettable voice is far, far more enjoyable. There was a silent version of Robin Hood, too, and the '37 Errol Flynn version was much better. The silent version of Phantom of the Opera, though, is still better than any talking version.

I would suggest that comedic remakes, like Airplane! and Young Frankenstein, even if they're better than the originals, are technically reboots.

Aha! Peter Jackson's King Kong.

[Captain Hilts]

36. Thomas Crown Affair. nt

[kwassa]

75. once again, the original was better.

Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.

[Captain Hilts]

37. There are 3 'Star is Born's but all three are good. nt

[joeybee12]

51. The second is the best, though...n/t

[stray cat]

40. Battlestar galactica on TV

[Orrex]

41. The Fly

[LynneSin]

46. I'm sure I'll get razzed for this but I love the recent version of "The Italian Job"

Feel asleep trying to watch the original.

[Iggo]

53. "Because he's Handsome Rob." (n/t)

[LynneSin]

59. Actually because I find Edward Norton very handsome...

although he looks cheestastic in that movie. Rumor has it he didn't want to do it but was under some contractual obligation.

[Jade Fox]

74. agree

[MiddleFingerMom]

47. Agree strongly that remakes of...

.
...The Thing, Scarface, and Little Shop of Horrors were vastly better
than the originals (though I like all three of the originals, too).
.
Strongly disagree that War of the Worlds and The Longest Yard were
better (here, I think the remakes were just OK and the originals were
fantastic).
.
And in many, MANY cases, I'll take Ray Harryhausen's "antiquated"
special effects over the (sometimes creepy CGI any day.
.

[AngryAmish]

52. El Dorado over Rio Lobo

I like Mitchum more than Dean MArtin. And no singing. And James Caan is a lot cooler than Ricky Nelson.

[wysimdnwyg]

80. You're slightly off there

El Dorado IS better than Rio Lobo, but the original (w/ Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson) was Rio Bravo. Rio Bravo is far superior to either of the two "remakes". (They were not technically remakes, as there were some fairly significant plot changes, even though the basic story was the same in all three.)

[AngryAmish]

81. My friend, you are right.

When I get to heaven the Duke is gonna punch me out.

Actually, since his death the Duke has stood behind St. Peter, punching everyone out that goes by. He gets to do that. He is John Wayne, dammit.

[calico1]

54. Not necessarily better but I think the remake of

"The Philadelphia Story" which was renamed "High Society" was as good. It was remade into a musical but I liked both movies equally.

But generally speaking, no...remakes usually fall flat.

[calico1]

56. I thought of two others...

I loved "The King and I" musical with Yul Brynner much more than the earlier version "Anna and the King of Siam" with Rex Harrison.

Also liked "Goodbye Mr. Chips" remake more than the original.

In both cases the remakes were made into musicals.

[whistler162]

61. Philadelphia Story v. High Society about equal.

Ninotchka v. Silk Stockings again equal.

[Dr Morbius]

76. I don't agree.

I think the Philadelphia Story, with Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart, is hands down better than High Society, with the same roles reprised by Bing Crosby (definitely a dropoff), Grace Kelly (cuter, not as witty), and Frank Sinatra (a far better dramatic actor than comic actor). High Society has the tunes, and some of them are great ones, while others are lame. But the wit and timing of the original sparkle to this day, whereas the musical remake lags at times.

Besides, the rest of the cast in the original, from Virginia Weidler (young, fresh Dinah) to worldly-wise Roland Young (Uncle Willie) is terrific. No offense intended here, but I thought High Society a disappointment.

[whistler162]

63. The 1960's TV version of Peter Pan over Disney's or

the silent version any day.

[Forkboy]

69. I enjoyed Friedkin's Sorcerer more than The Wages of Fear.

[qnr]

72. I'd say the Simon Wells version of "The Time Machine" is at least as good as the

George Pal version.

[Forkboy]

82. I think so too. But that's blesphemy in some circles.

:)

[Generic Brad]

77. The "Karate Kid" remake might be the exception to the rule

The film looks terrific in the previews.

[Generic Brad]

78. The "Karate Kid" remake might be the exception to the rule

The film looks terrific in the previews.

[Generic Brad]

79. The "Karate Kid" remake might be the exception to the rule

The film looks terrific in the previews.