Remakes that are worth seeing

[Holy Zoo]

ATR laid down the guantlet in the Dawn Of The Dead 2004 thread:

I know there must be an exception that proves the rule, so can anyone name three remakes that were worth seeing? I can't think of one.

I have to admit, it took me awhile, but I finally thought of one:

I really liked the remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair". Now, I haven't seen the original, so I can't do a comparison, but I though the Brosnan/Russo version was really run. Great music score, great editing, and who can complain about seeing Rene Russo naked. :) Not to mention that nearly anything with Denis Leary in it HAS to be great. ;)

So, can anyone else think of remakes that "made the grade"?

[guy incognito]

Going with another horror flick, I think Philip Kaufman's 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers surpasses Don Siegel's original, which is no mean feat.

[njwiv]

Scorcese's Cape Fear is one I really like. Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis are superb.

[Jimbo]

Insomnia. The 2002 version with Al Pacino and Robin Williams is much more engaging than the boring 1997 Norwegian original. This is one Hollywood adaptation that improved on a foreign film.

[Ron Stone]

I second the vote for CAPE FEAR. THE THING was also remade nicely.

And the Jack Nicholson/Jessica Lange remake of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE is truer to the spirit of the James Cain novel than its predecessors.

[Claviusb]

I know there must be an exception that proves the rule, so can anyone name three remakes that were worth seeing? I can't think of one.

"His Girl Friday" (Howard Hawks), "The Wizard of Oz" (Victor Fleming, etc) and "The Maltese Falcon" (John Huston) all come to mind off the top of my head as being memorable remakes, they're all arguably the definitive versions.

Compare "Rio Bravo" and "El Dorado" and you'll see Howard Hawks made a career out of reworking his own movies. Sometimes he recycled a scene, sometimes the whole movie. My kids were watching "The Big Sleep" and they recognized the "gag" where Bogie sends a bad guy out the door first because they'd seen "El Dorado."

[Pinknik]

Well, there you go. It can be done. I think it seems less like a travesty when you remake something that is not generally regarded as a classic of a genre, or when you do, that you rework it substantially enough, especially reconnecting it to the original work, ala THE THING, that it becomes a different work. Merely updating something to a slick commercial ideal (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) or regurgitating it with color film stock (PSYCHO) seems pointless at best. I like both THE THING's, so I suppose I should give DAWN OF THE DEAD the benefit of the doubt. However, it still didn't NEED to be done.

[Holy Zoo]

Originally posted by Claviusb


Compare "Rio Bravo" and "El Dorado" and you'll see Howard Hawks made a career out of reworking his own movies.

Don't forget Rio Lobo. :)

[Johnny C.]

"Heaven can Wait" 1978 remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" 1941 - both equally good.

Mel Brooks' & wife Anne Bancroft's "To Be Or Not To Be" 1983 remake of Jack Benny & Carol Lombard 1943 version with the same title. Both funny.

Mike Nichols' "The Birdcage" 1996 remake of "La Cage Aux Folles" 1978 - The remake is funny as heck. Though Nichols' is practically a scene by scene recreation of the original, it comes in second in the laughter department to the original French w/subtitles.

There are lots more.

[Claus]

Insomania

[jdrueke]

I enjoyed "The Ring" a lot more than "Ringu." The American version just scared me more. Maybe reading subtitles takes something away from the experience.

[Gardo]

The 1994 Little Women is the best for me.

[John Moschella]

The re-make that to my mind is far superior to the original is Last of the Mohicans (1992)

[Oatsdad]

"His Girl Friday" (Howard Hawks), "The Wizard of Oz" (Victor Fleming, etc) and "The Maltese Falcon" (John Huston) all come to mind off the top of my head as being memorable remakes, they're all arguably the definitive versions.

ARGUABLY??? Like if someone says, "I watched 'The Wizard of Oz' last night", another person might ask, "Which version"? :D

Hadn't thought of this thread in terms of OLD remakes, but I suppose it could include "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and "Ben-Hur" (1959). Me, I'd second "The Thing" (1982) as a VASTLY superior remake. I thought the original was cheesy...

[Lord Hawthorne]

The Fly. The science in the original was just a bit laughable with heads being exchanged, but the one part they couldn't improve ("help me"), became "be afraid".

[Oatsdad]

Originally posted by Lord Hawthorne
The Fly. The science in the original was just a bit laughable with heads being exchanged, but the one part they couldn't improve ("help me"), became "be afraid".

Another excellent example! The 1986 "Fly" was terrific...

[Jimbo]

Little Shop of Horrors, although to compare the original and the musical seems like cheating...

[Ed Bishop]

Well, if we're talking abotu 'worth seeing' rather than 'better than,' the Mel Gibson version of RANSOM isn't too shabby....the original, with Glenn Ford, was pretty fine, too....

And even NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN--a blatant reworking of THUNDERBALL--has its little pleasures if you're a Bond fan.


ED:ed:

[JohnG]

Sorcerer a remake of "Wages Of Fear".

Not as good as the original but still a fun 70's-ish movie with Roy Scheider and music by Tangerine Dream directed by Friedkin. One of my favorite 70's movies.

It is on DVD. :D

[James RD]

The remake of "The Italian Job" is better than the 1969 original.

[ATR]

Hey, great idea for a thread. Glad I thought of it. From time to time I plan to pop in and comment on some of the suggestions. As a matter of fact, since I 'laid down the gauntlet', can I have the last word? No, that wouldn't be fair.
Anyway, yes, The Fly is a true remake, a great movie in and of itself, and far surpasses the original which can't be called more than a camp classic. So the rule is proven. I agree that Kaufmann's Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a worthy film on it's own and hence a good remake. The Siegel original is also terrific. Even though it's 'Scorsese' Cape Fear would be near the top of my list of well intentioned but failed remakes, as opposed to just plain awful. No way it compares with the original.
I got a little confused on His Girl Friday (?remake of The Front Page), Wizard of Oz, and Maltese Falcon. I'll let His Girl Friday pass, even though you have the gender switch. That's a classic film. But what were the originals for Oz and Falcon? Calling any directors films a series of remakes of the same film is kind of a cheat, most of the great directors returned to the same themes and preoccupations throughout their careers. That's not the same as a remake.
Finally, my favorite remake that's not a remake is The Big Lebowski, which is a remake of The Big Sleep somewhat disguised. Tonight I'll try to watch Herzog/Kinski's Nosferatu that's been sitting on my shelf for months. I'll bet that it doesn't surpass the original but is a worthy film.
And a final note. The Wages of Fear is one of the greatest films I saw in college, truly a mind altering experience. Most of you probably know that the original theatrical release had a lot of anti-American and anti-capitalist material removed which Criterion restored when they put it out on laserdisc. I can't recall seeing Sorcerer, but I'd have a hard time believing that Friedkin was capable of producing anything more than a mediocre action flick out of that material. But that's me.

[ATR]

Originally posted by Jimbo
Insomnia. The 2002 version with Al Pacino and Robin Williams is much more engaging than the boring 1997 Norwegian original. This is one Hollywood adaptation that improved on a foreign film.

Sorry, Jimbo. Got to disagree on this one. But of course you're entitled to your opinion and the remake isn't just a piece of goo.

[ATR]

Originally posted by Lord Hawthorne
The Fly. The science in the original was just a bit laughable with heads being exchanged, but the one part they couldn't improve ("help me"), became "be afraid".

Jeff implores Geena to 'help me, help me to be human' in the remake.

[Gardo]

Originally posted by ATR
Finally, my favorite remake that's not a remake is The Big Lebowski, which is a remake of The Big Sleep somewhat disguised.

Along that line, Miller's Crossing is a remake of The Glass Key (I have the 1942 version in mind) that I believe far surpasses the earlier movie.

[njwiv]

Originally posted by ATR
Even though it's 'Scorsese' Cape Fear would be near the top of my list of well intentioned but failed remakes, as opposed to just plain awful. No way it compares with the original.


Although I disagree with you assessment of Scorcese's CAPE FEAR, it should be pointed out that the topic of the thread is "Remakes that are worth seeing", not "Remakes that better the original".

Jay