Movies crying out loud to be remade

[Dr Morbius]

With several threads lately concerning movie remakes, I thought it might be fun to list some movies you feel ought to be remade.

Like some cheesy movies from the 70's: Superman, Superman II, and Flash Gordon. All three of these are fun movies, but they're really, really cheesy. I suppose I'd be looking for reboots, not remakes, but whatever. I'd like to see a decent Flash Gordon movie.

And then there's Gore Vidal's Visit to a Small Planet, which was made way back in the 50's with a hopelessly miscast Jerry Lewis in the title role. This little-known film features a Martian who visits America; as an outsider, the observations of the Martian are essentially a commentary on our society. Now that it's fifty-sixty years later, it would need to be rewritten somewhat, but this is a remake I'd like to see.

Why hasn't there been a talking version of the silent classic Metropolis? In this CGI era, I imagine an unforgettable movie could be made.

They remade Godzilla with the very forgettable Matthew Broderick. I'd like to see Gojira, King of the Monsters remade as a serious movie, though; Godzilla wants to be worshiped and no one has made an American movie emphasizing this angle. The original 1954 Japanese classic made a point about man's interaction with his environment; for those who don't know, Godzilla was released or created by atomic weaponry. Today, though, I think one could make a very interesting movie about the victims of the big green guy worshiping him, and there's little doubt in my mind that Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly would each blow a gasket. That alone is reason enough to make this remake!

Do you have any suggestions for movies which really ought to be remade?

[taterguy]

1. The 1970s war movie Midway

Take out all the stupid soap opera crap.

Spend more money on visual effects instead of hiring every overpaid movie star.

[Auggie]

12. Great choice

The original always seemed disjointed and choppy as well -- I think the story could be told better.

[TheMightyFavog]

19. Is that the movie that had a stock footage scene of a plane crashing on a carrier deck...

And the plane was a JET, a Korean war era F2H2 Banshee to be specific?

:rofl:

[taterguy]

37. Yes

[peacefreak]

2. Harold & Maude

with Betty White as Maude.

[Taverner]

39. What? With Michael Cera and Kathleen Turner?

Jesus fuck that's wrong, but you know...it would sell tickets...

Hey - I got an idea!

[rcrush]

3. You call Superman, Superman II and Flash Gordon CHEESY?!

DEAD TO ME

[Dr Morbius]

4. Heh heh.

I didn't say I don't like them. I have Flash Gordon on DVD and also have the Queen soundtrack (the fact that Queen can't do the soundtrack again is a major loss, as the music was the best thing about the movie). I thought Gene Hackman was great as Lex Luthor. But the Superman movies have an overdose of cuteness. They're dated. There's one scene in particular that I loathe: Superman gets a cat out of a tree, the kid tells his Mom about it, and she berates him for lying and we hear her slap the kid. Nowadays, such a scene would be unthinkable; I wince every time I see the scene. And that's just an example. These two movies started the comic book movie genre, really, and deserve to be remembered. But after Spiderman 2, the Dark Knight, the Iron Man flicks and Watchmen, the genre has grown up, and a more mature Superman movie would be welcome to me.

[Broken_Hero]

35. I don't think a remake of Superman

would do that well. I was hoping the last installment Superman Returns would be a continuation or pushing ahead of new idea's compared to Superman's 1-4, but instead we get a rehash somewhat of Superman The Movie, and a kid(which I didn't mind btw).

What I'm hoping for the new Superman movie is just a continuation, pull a little string make Lex, Corporate Big Business Lex, add some damn alien villians...hell, Superman is a damn alien, and with the exception of Supes II he hasn't fought an alien for ages.

Many Superman fans want a reboot/origin story, I think its a waste of time, just continue on, and forget what happened in the past, hell STM is almost as old as I am. Just move forward, bring in more villains, and a few little tweaks and it would be great(basically a live action Justice League/Superman the animated series).

Fwiw, David Goyer has signed on to write the new Superman movie, and Nolan is attached to the project as a "consultant."

[WCGreen]

89. Smallville is better than Superman Returns...

[Broken_Hero]

34. Ditto, nt

[Richardo]

5. "Say something once, why say it again?" - David Byrne

Movie remakes = 95% horrible.

Harold and Maude? Metropolis? You can't recapture the creative spark that made these movies great, and especially the cultural context in which they were made.

Now: as for disposable comic book fodder like Flash Gordon and Superman, who cares?

[jobycom]

23. "You can't step into the same river twice." Old proverb.

A remake doesn't say the same thing as the original, it's a reinterpretation of the original through current understandings. Every movie should be remade routinely as part of filmmaker's training, to teach that lesson. Most movies come from some source or another that had some other meaning than the final movie, anyway. Who cares if that source was another movie or not?

I judge movies like I judge everything else, including people. I wait until I've seen it and understood it, instead of deciding to hate or like it based on some category it fits in.

Harold and Maude should be remade. Make it mean something to someone now, instead of leaving it for only us old fogeys to appreciate. The only way a remake takes away from the "original" (not that there is such a think, given how inbred Hollywood scripts are) is if it's better. Otherwise it only illustrates how good the original was.

[Symarip]

6. The original Superman wasn't bad

And the Richard Donner cut of Superman II was great. So. Basically. Don't fucking touch them.

I agree Godzilla has never gotten the proper treatment in America but also, the concept of Godzilla is beyond the average American. It's hard to convey to people on this continent why Godzilla was such a smash. WWII did a number on Japan. This translated to giant lizards fucking shit up in downtown Tokyo on the big screen. Giant robots, big lizards, hell raining from the sky - after getting your shit handed to you from outside invaders, the collective psyche and imagination of Japan was in overdrive. I think, as you suggested, if someone were to bring Godzilla to America, the angle of reasoning and plot would have to be changed. But then the concept of Godzilla would be lost. Kind of a conundrum.

Anyhow, I don't really get into most comic book movies so I don't see the need to remake any of those done in the past. On the other hand, anything is better than bullshit romantic comedies or jackass drama based on the 'coming of age' (whatever the fuck that means, who knows).

[saltpoint]

7. I'd pay top ticket price to see a film where Godzilla is unleashed at the

Republican National Convention.

There he'd be on the silver screen, wearing a Re-Elect Obama button, maybe out on the airport tarmac crushing Michael Steele's private jet like a tinker toy...

[lunatica]

8. I'd like to see Steven Spielberg remake War of The Worlds

Only this time put Edward Norton as the main character. That alone would change everything. The right cast is essential and the wrong cast will ruin a movie.

[Iggo]

14. In fact, every remake should be remade with Ed Norton.

He could be the Tommy Lee Jones of the Twenty Teens.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

58. I'd like to see Ed Norton in a remake

of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but without outrageous makeup. I would like to see him use subtle changes.

[jobycom]

25. It was pretty good the way it was.

Cruise was a little flatter than normal in the film, but that was in part because Speilberg wasn't trying to create the character, only the movie. Norton would have probably been just as average in it, the way it was directed. If they had wanted it more character-driven, Tom Cruise could have pulled that off well enough. Watch him in movies like Magnolia, Collateral, Born on the Fourth of July, etc. He's got the range and ability. It's not him that keeps playing the Top Gun role in the blockbusters, it's the directors wanting that role. Norton is getting type-cast the same way, only with that moody, petulant survivor character. He'll be playing Richard III soon, I imagine. Probably would be good at it. But he's still getting typecast too often for his talent. If he had been in War of the Worlds, they'd just melodramatize him to be a caricature of himself, too.

[lunatica]

27. The last time I thought Tom Cruise was good was in Risky Business

I think he overacts way too much. It's OK on occasion but he does it too often. I didn't like him in the Minority Report either. It's my opinion, of course but I find I'd simply rather not see his movies.

[Rabrrrrrr]

49. Yes, he's an awful actor. He was natural and good in Risky Business,

and then got all full of ego and scientology assholeness.

Hasn't made a movie in which he acted like anything other than himself since.

[Frank Cannon]

82. He was awesome in Tropic Thunder

But then, he was just playing an even more hilariously exaggerated version of himself.

[Iggo]

105. Comedy may be his thing.

I'm not high on eithe him or Cameron Diaz, but I keep checking to see if I don't want to see their new movie, and well no yeah, I still do.

[Frank Cannon]

113. I saw the trailer for it, and I agree that it looks somewhat entertaining

My wife always drags me kicking and screaming to these romantic comedies, but this one actually looks watchable.

Guess we'll find out in June.

[jmowreader]

103. Please! Let someone ELSE remake War of the Worlds...

Steven Spielberg still requires wall-to-wall counseling for the last time he attempted to remake that movie.

[LeftinOH]

9. A Face in the Crowd (1957)- not because the original isn't good (in fact, it's excellent)..

but because the subject matter is *especially* relevant these days.

[alphafemale]

36. That's a great movie. Who do you think has the acting chops to take on the lead role?

Sean Penn, maybe?

I never realized how superb an actor Andy Griffith was until I saw that film. I knew he was good from some other movie roles. But if he hadn't gotten typecast as Andy Matlock Taylor he would have likely had several pretty statues on his shelves by now.

[CTyankee]

57. Now this I agree with. It is crying out to be remade. I often think of Rush

when I think of the final scene of Face in the Crowd, the one in the elevator...

Should be done...has to be done...updated...

[Tabasco_Dave]

66. That movie was prophetic

definitely should be remade.:thumbsup:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

10. They rebooted Superman a couple of years ago and it was thoroughly "meh"

I don't know if they even plan to make a sequel to the rebooted version.

[Dr Morbius]

11. It wasn't a reboot.

It was a sequel. And "meh" describes it well. The Fantastic 4 movies were even better.

I like popcorn movies, which is what I call movies that are fun time wasters. Comic books, which are inherently simplistic, make for excellent popcorn fodder. Sometimes I also like serious movies; one of my favorites is Twelve Angry Men, which has been remade more than once, never well. But if I want intellectual stimulation, I tend to want to read, as opposed to sit and take in a movie. So I prefer lighter movie fare.

I like science fiction movies, too, especially old ones, and comedies and so forth. But if you want me to watch a movie, promise an explosion. That's generally what I'm looking for: movies with explosions. I make no apology for it.

[bikebloke]

18. 12

A Russian remake of 12 Angry Men called 12 is an excellent film dealing with a Chechen defendant.

[Iggo]

13. None.

[hedgehog]

15. Star Wars Saga - this time with the right cast and glaring

continuity errors eliminated.






I have no idea what to do with Jar Jar Binks, unless he should be re-made to look like Glenn Beck!

[gmoney]

16. But will The Force still be tiny microbes?

[hedgehog]

17. No! or should that be

Hell No!

x(

[Taverner]

20. They need to remake "The Sorcerer"

Wait no - the first remake was perfect. And the Tangerine Dream music made that flick.

[csziggy]

60. It was a remake of a movie called Le salaire de la peur or Wages of Fear

Which was also excellent. But I loved the Tangerine Dream score for "Sorcerer" (there is no 'the' in the title).

[HopeHoops]

21. Harvey

They could have a lot of fun with that story in a modern setting.

[kimmerspixelated]

38. Holy Crap ! That's Brilliant!

It also happens to be one of my absolute faves! HOPE HOOPS RIDES AGAIN!!!!!

WHo would play Elwood P Dowd?

[KittyWampus]

42. Steven Carrell?

[HopeHoops]

47. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say NOT Johnny Depp.

Don't get me wrong - I like Depp's work, but that role simply wouldn't work.

[kimmerspixelated]

56. HAHAHAHAHA!

You remembered I liked him, huh?...Agreed, that part's definitely not for him. For one thing, he's too short, still good things come in small packages, ahh Johnny-HEARTHEART... but I digress.... Someone said Steve Carrell, maybe, but still not tall enough. HEY! I got it! TIM ROBBINS!!!!! Another one of my cuties, and talk about tall!!! Maybe too tall, we don't want him taller than the bunny. Speaking of bunnies, I wonder if for fun they will show HARVEY on TCM or AMC being Easter and all!!! Nope-I haven't had caffeine in hours....

[HopeHoops]

71. I like him too. Benny & Joon is one of my favorite movies!

I think he went a little too "Michael Jackson" in his Willie Wonka character, but he still did a great job of it. I haven't seen Alice or any of the Pirates movies yet but I plan to.

[kimmerspixelated]

78. You must be kidding!!!!

You haven't experienced Captain Jack Sparrow?????!!! OMG, that character changed everything for Depp! Thru Jack Sparrow, I took a closer look at Johnny, and realized how crazy talented he really is, and gettin cuter every damn minute, not only that, they are all really good movies. Funny as well! Wonka and the Hatter -too much makeup to reveal the real Johnny-but entertaining to say the very least!

I really liked Alice. 3D was great!

[HopeHoops]

85. Not kidding. We don't watch many movies - not enough time.

We don't watch TV either. We'll probably rent all of the Pirates movies this summer and do a marathon.

[kimmerspixelated]

87. I think I only saw "At World's End" in the theatre

but the second one was a gift and the first one I saw on USA or TNT. I admire people who can avoid tv, altogether. It's hard to break the habit, I'd much rather read or just listen to music(at least satellite tv has good music without commercials, but hubby and child are addicted to watching at least some of the time. I do enjoy Turner Classic Movies and a few other stations, but I don't plan my life around the tube, like some do. As for your marathon, the pirates movies are long, not just the standard 2 hrs. just a little FYI.

[HopeHoops]

115. I shut it off around '82.

We did get cable while my youngest (of 3) was in kindergarten, but only for Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, etc. As soon as the school year was over, we dropped it.

[BrklynLiberal]

94. If you like him, you should also catch Edward Scissorhands as well as

Don Juan DeMarco, Ed Wood, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Chocolat, Donnie Brasco, Sleepy Hollow, Finding Neverland

[Common Sense Party]

22. Logan's Run

Could be awesome now.

[lunatica]

28. I think they're doing a remake of Logan's Run

I think it may be coming out in 2012 so it's still in the planning stages.

[Common Sense Party]

31. Really? I'll have to look that up.

It's even more relevant now -- what with natural resources and the treasury drying up, we may have to start bumping off old people.

The trouble is, now I'm one of the old people.

[pepperbear]

109. yep, that's what IMDB says

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402344/

[SoxFan]

79. I like this idea

The original had an interesting concept, but was utterly craptastic in execution. With decent visuals, and someone who can at least pretend to act, this could be good.

[Frank Cannon]

83. They'll have to find a new Holly

(sniff) :cry:

[Iggo]

Um num num num.

Oh and RIP.

Still...

[Iggo]

106. delete...double post.

got a little excited there, know'm say'n?

[Swede]

24. Judge Dredd

The movie didn't do the comic an uhm er justice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dredd

[jobycom]

26. Never saw the comic, but I thought the premise of that movie was better than the movie.

So it would be a good remake option. :thumbsup:

[proteus_lives]

62. I've heard a true 2000 A.D. remake is in the works.

Fingers-crossed.

[Xithras]

29. The SciFi channel remade Flash Gordon a few years ago.

I really liked the series, but I was apparently in the minority and it was cancelled after a single season.

[carlyhippy]

30. Valley of the Dolls......re-make it RIGHT, not a soft porn film like that attempt at redoing it

a few years ago.

[Common Sense Party]

32. The Princess Bride.

:hide:

[YankeyMCC]

45. Not a remake...a sequel

"Buttercup's baby"

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Love Bug]

73. Excuse me, but "fag" is an unacceptable word on DU

I don't give a shit that everyone uses it to indicate something bad, it's not ok to use it here. Capice?

[flvegan]

33. Gremlins.

Sooner or later, you know they will.

[Taverner]

40. George Romero's "Martin"

This would work well - watch the original, and just think what you could do today with that script.

[begin_within]

41. Salt of the Earth

The only blacklisted film. Still relevant today, and really deserves a remake with full production values, not the shoestring production it had in 1954. A film DUers would love. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047443/

[Orsino]

43. Ocean's 13. n/t

[rkennedy_68]

44. One that I expect sometime in the future

The Godfather (god forbid)

[pokerfan]

46. How about an original adaptation of a classic?

Virtually every other book the man ever wrote found their way onto the big screen. Why not his first and best?

[JohnnyBoots]

48. Backaroo Bonzai

[Rabrrrrrr]

50. Lord of the Rings - a version with Jackson's attention to detail, but without fucking the story up

and without those silly zoom-and-pan shots and slow-motion shots that Jackson loves so much

[Orrex]

53. And let's get Tolkien out of the mix, because his writing is overblown and plodding

Honestly, have you ever read such ponderous, unbelieviable dialogue? And don't try to tell me that he's just keeping with an Old English traditional format, because that sure as hell ain't it!

[Orrex]

51. I would love to see a serious, legitimate, big-budget remake of Plan 9 From Outer Space

I mean it! I can almost hear Ian McKellan intoning the trademark line "You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!"

He would make it sound profound and menacing.


And they'd have to keep half-assed campiness (I'm looking at you, Tim Burton) away from it at all costs.




Who's with me?!?

[IcyPeas]

52. Wizard of Oz -- In 3D

[wickerwoman]

54. A Clockwork Orange

Not that Kubrick isn't a genius, but the visual look of the film has not aged well.

[proteus_lives]

63. They wouldn't have the balls to do it today.

Sadly.

[sakabatou]

55. They did Metropolis, but I don't know if it was a remake or not

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(anime)

[Dr Morbius]

59. Um, wrong link.

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

I've seen the anime, and it's actually a brilliant piece of work, but Osamu Tezuka (who wrote the manga upon which the anime is based) created his story inspired by the poster from the original film. He never saw the silent movie.

I really, really was much more impressed than I expected with Tezuka's Metropolis.

[csziggy]

61. Arsenic and Old Lace, updated

I think it could be great with Brendan Frasier as Mortimer Brewster, Dianne Keaton and Goldy Hawn as the ditzy aunts (played as old hippies), Johnny Depp as Dr. Einstein and Brad Pitt as Jonathan Brewster. And Robin Williams as Teddy, since he already did it in "Night at the Museum". Casting the minor roles could be fun, too - Mr. Witherspoon would be a challenge, as would the stupid cops, since even those roles leave an impression and really pull the movie together. Heck, even the taxi driver is a stand out in the original.

[BrklynLiberal]

95. Sounds like a really great idea!!! Your casting ideas are excellent.

[zx_3500]

64. titanic

[edbermac]

77. Agreed. In the remake the Titanic won't sink.

Leo won't die and we'll be spared listening to Celine Dion.

[proteus_lives]

65. The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Soylent Green.

Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier.

Cat People.

I love old, bad and classic sci-fi/horror.

[Orrex]

72. The Man Who Fell To Earth and Cat People have been remade

The former was lousy, the latter was merely not great.

[Dr Morbius]

74. Soylent Green is an excellent choice.

The original is low-budget, slowly paced and, well, not very well acted. A more modern version, still retainlng the gritty realism of the film, might be quite good.

Some other suggestions have been made which are good as well, but combined with yours makes me think of a new, darkly comedic version of The Abominable Dr Phibes. I bet Ian McKellen would work scale to do the movie, and he'd be great as Phibes.

And think of all the creative ways to "kill off" some of Hollywood's legends! A new Phibes could be awesome.

[mitchum]

75. I always considered the vastly overrated 7EVEN to be a remake of The Abominable Dr Phibes

[Orrex]

81. If Phibes has starred anyone but Price, it wouldn't be remembered so fondly

And aside from the fact that both films have seven murders, I don't see much to suggest that one's a remake of the other. Heck, why no throw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs into the mix, in that case?

[Dr Morbius]

84. Ummm, yeah...

I was at work yesterday trying to recall if Phibes killed the wife of one of the investigators and surprised him with it. Don't recall that part. I certainly don't remember Phibes doing a suicide-by-cop like Spacey's character does.

Now, if you're talking an "adult" remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I suspect it's been done. :crazy:

[Iggo]

100. Soylent Green is perfect.

[pinboy3niner]

108. And our death panels will fit right in! nt

[stewartcolbert08]

68. Poltergeist might not be a bad remake.........

:shrug:

[Urban Prairie]

69. It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Caricatures of Palin, Beck, Coulter, Bachmann, Boehner, Demint, Gingrich, Hannity, Limbaugh, Malkin, Rove, and teabaggers featured prominently.

[dembotoz]

70. but in that movie nobody dies except Jimmy Durante in the beginning

can we make them do their own stunts???

[Blue_Tires]

76. Disney is already doing Tron; The Black Hole has to be next

the original is campy, but the original storyline is GOLD

add to that, I think Scarface is deserving of a remake

And while it is blasphemous to say it, I would have loved to see a modern 2001 set in 2001....

[SoxFan]

80. The Hunger

Have to be ultra-careful about casting, though. One bad choice could blow the whole thing to hell. Suggestions? I'm thinking Emily DeRavin in the Sarandon role.

[PJPhreak]

86. "A Day at the Races" or "A Night at the Opera"

With these Guys...
JimCarrey

As Grocho Marx


Steve Martin

as Harpo Marx


And...
Robin Williams
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/10/robin_williams_wideweb__470x376,0.jpg
as Chico Marx



I would pay to see them try to keep these Three on script!

[RagAss]

88. Slaughterhouse-Five

[Dr Morbius]

91. Now THAT'S an excellent suggestion.

[Iggo]

101. I believe we have a winner!

[baldguy]

90. The Candidate

A rational human being trying to deal with the surreal fantasy world of the GOP, Fox News & Teahadists.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

102. Beat me to it. Probably should be re-done on principle every 20 years. nt

[Recovered Repug]

92. The Fantastic Voyage.

With today's special effects, it could be interesting.

[Frank Cannon]

96. It's in the works.

And yeah, they're talking 3D.

[Drix]

97. Beat me to it.

Here's my list.

Fantastic Voyage

Westworld

Because they screwed them up so badly on the first remake.

War of the Worlds

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Because they screwed them up on the first attempt.

Judge Dredd

Men in Black

[pinboy3niner]

93. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington . . .

and faces off with death panel slaughterhouse no taxes for the wealthy God gays and guns idiots . . .

[NoPasaran]

98. Triumph of the Will

Steve Jobs rolling out the iPad instead of Hitler at Nuremburg.

[Frank Cannon]

114. It's been done

And the remake was awful.

[Iggo]

99. Pearl Harbor.

:evilgrin:

[AllenVanAllen]

104. A big-budget remake of Godzilla: King of the Monsters

With top-notch special effects, true to the heart of the original
and I'd want him to look something like this:

[Dr Morbius]

107. I wrote about this above.

I'd like to see them explore Godzilla from a religious angle. Because if Godzilla came ashore, some folks would start worshipping him. And that could make for an interesting theme, if Godzilla decided to spare them for a while. Because it amuses Him.

That's a nice costume. Wicked-looking.

[MiddleFingerMom]

110. Fantastic Voyage and...

.
...Raquel Welch would STILL look great in a wetsuit.
.

.

[jus_the_facts]

111. Forever Amber n/t

[Mopar151]

112. Days of Thunder

With a new script. The guys that the main carachters were based on - Tim Richmond and Harry Hyde - were far more interesting than that gawdawful movie.
There are some other biographies in racing that would make good movies - Richie Evans (a good part for Johnny Depp) and Jan Opperman - though getting the right stunt drivers would be critical - those guys were that damm good behind the wheel. Don Garlits would be good, as well.