so what are the remade movies that are better than the original?

[Ken Gargett]

we've had the worst remakes - a much larger category i suspect - so what are the remade movies that are better than the originals?

i mentioned True Lies in the other thread. 

the Maltese Falcon, loved by so many, was the third attempt. third time lucky!

for me, Ocean's Eleven is another. the original, despite the cast, was pretty boring. 

Heat and Some Like it Hot are both remakes. 

ditto Cape Fear and the Departed.

Scarface. 

but perhaps none has stepped up so much as Casino Royale - sure, very different intentions but technically a remake. 

[JohnS]

I would tend to think that the best movie remakes are the ones where you aren't even aware that there was an original movie beforehand. For example, 12 Monkeys, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, A Fistful of Dollars etc.

[gweilgi]

Cape Fear?  Really?  Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum beaten by Nolte and deNiro?  I do not think so!

I'd nominate the Invasion of the Body-Snatchers, the version with Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum.  

[Fuzz AI]

33 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I would tend to think that the best movie remakes are the ones where you aren't even aware that there was an original movie beforehand. For example, 12 Monkeys, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, A Fistful of Dollars etc.

I prefer "Yojimbo". Don't get me wrong, "A Fistful of Dollars" was very good, but "Yojimbo" was better.

Other remakes that were better than the original: The Thing, The Fly, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Birdcage, The Thomas Crown Affair.

Dredd (2012) vs Judge Dredd (1995) - Whilst I think Karl Urban nailed the character, the visuals and in-movie nods to the comic in Stallone's version hit the nail on the head. If you blend the two together, you'd get one great movie.

[Ken Gargett]

51 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

Cape Fear?  Really?  Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum beaten by Nolte and deNiro?  I do not think so!

I'd nominate the Invasion of the Body-Snatchers, the version with Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum.  

actually i was not much a fan of either but i thought de niro took things to the next level. 

[cigcars]

* Ben Hur (1959 remake from the 1925 silent one with that Navarro guy, I think), and The Ten Commandments remake (1956) from the original late '20's version. Hmm- both remakes had Charleton Heston in them!

 

[Ken Gargett]

3 minutes ago, cigcars said:

* Ben Hur (1959 remake from the 1925 silent one with that Navarro guy, I think), and The Ten Commandments remake (1956) from the original late '20's version. Hmm- both remakes had Charleton Heston in them!

 

i saw heston do a man for all seasons on the london stage mid/late 80s. i think he think he also did a film version shortly after. i must say i went for the play, not heston, but i remember being wowed by him. put in a brilliant performance. 

[JohnS]

39 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

I prefer "Yojimbo". Don't get me wrong, "A Fistful of Dollars" was very good, but "Yojimbo" was better.

I had actually forgotten about the original premise of the thread when it came to referencing this movie. I agree, Yojimbo is better. I mentioned A Fistful of Dollars as an example of a good remake where there is no need to compare it to the original...it stands on its own.

[Cep]

Mutiny on the bounty with clark gables and charles laughton.  Lol.  Watched that 100x as a kid for whatever reason.

Actually never saw the original. Im just assuming this one was better

 

[Ken Gargett]

3 minutes ago, Cep said:

Mutiny on the bounty with clark gables and charles laughton.  Lol.  Watched that 100x as a kid for whatever reason.

Actually never saw the original. Im just assuming this one was better

 

there have been five. an early one. one with errol flynn. the charles laughton one (what a great actor). brando and then one with mel gibson, but also anthony hopkins (another truly great actor). 

i've only ever seen the brando one. 

[gweilgi]

49 minutes ago, Cep said:

Mutiny on the bounty with clark gables and charles laughton.  Lol.  Watched that 100x as a kid for whatever reason.

Actually never saw the original. Im just assuming this one was better

 

Talking of Charles Laughton -- they actually dared to remake "Witness for the Prosecution"!  Some people should be hunted down and beaten to within an inch of their lives with rolled-up film posters...

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, gweilgi said:

Talking of Charles Laughton -- they actually dared to remake "Witness for the Prosecution"!  Some people should be hunted down and beaten to within an inch of their lives with rolled-up film posters...

the only possible reason for that is that someone needed a tax loss. 

[Kitchen]

8 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

actually i was not much a fan of either but i thought de niro took things to the next level. 

???

No actor can beat Robert Mitchum's menacing look.  I thought De Niro was trying too hard to do so in the remake.

[godpheonix]

True Grit, Scarface, 3:10 to Yuma, the Thing, Casino Royale, Heat...their are others i'm sure. If most people took Nostalgia out of the equation, the list of remakes being better than the originals would grow much bigger i believe.

[BuzzArd]

I'm definitely a fan of "first editions" over remakes. Not too many remakes come to mind that are worth my paying for (either dollars at the theatre or time on the couch).  One comes to mind that I did enjoy, however, and that was Oceans Eleven.  While my wife and I are a fan of the original, the remake was different enough to be great on its own as  @JohnS mentioned. 

[CaptainQuintero]

The lord of the rings probably takes the top crown in all categories over the animation version.

The first new Star Trek film was excellent I think too, beats the pants off the old movie tie ins

[ayepatz]

22 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

there have been five. an early one. one with errol flynn. the charles laughton one (what a great actor). brando and then one with mel gibson, but also anthony hopkins (another truly great actor). 

i've only ever seen the brando one. 

You should check out The Bounty. I suspect you’d greatly enjoy it.

Originally developed as a project by David Lean, screenplay by Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons), and eventually filmed by an Aussie, Roger Donaldson. Great score by Vangelis.

Gibson is good, but Hopkins gives a masterclass. And the supporting cast is a veritable Who’s Who of British acting talent. 

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, ayepatz said:

You should check out The Bounty. I suspect you’d greatly enjoy it.

Originally developed as a project by David Lean, screenplay by Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons), and eventually filmed by an Aussie, Roger Donaldson. Great score by Vangelis.

Gibson is good, but Hopkins gives a masterclass. And the supporting cast is a veritable Who’s Who of British acting talent. 

noted.

massive hopkins fan.

saw quite a bit of him on stage in london - anthony and cleopatra with judy dench, pravda, lear several times. that was legendary. 

[MIKA27]

On 3/12/2018 at 12:57 PM, Ken Gargett said:

we've had the worst remakes - a much larger category i suspect - so what are the remade movies that are better than the originals?

ditto Cape Fear and the Departed.

Scarface. 

but perhaps none has stepped up so much as Casino Royale - sure, very different intentions but technically a remake. 

Mate, disagree with the original Departed which was actually called Infernal Affairs.

Absolutely epic the original compared to the remake. The Departed [2006] was pretty decent [Remove the A list cast though....], but it lost the grittiness the original had which is what from my perspective, I really loved about the original. Just my two cents. 

[Ken Gargett]

2 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

Mate, disagree with the original Departed which was actually called Infernal Affairs.

Absolutely epic the original compared to the remake. The Departed [2006] was pretty decent [Remove the A list cast though....], but it lost the grittiness the original had which is what from my perspective, I really loved about the original. Just my two cents. 

fair point. i enjoyed both. 

i think that often the one you prefer, where both are reasonable and one is not a complete dog, will be the one you see first. it is not often (but not unknown) for someone to say, well i enjoyed that more the second time i saw it. which is effectively what is happening here. 

[Cubadust]

Only one I can think of is Heat, not really sure if it counts though since Mann did both the original and the remake. And I much preffer the Hong Kong Infernal Affairs trilogy over The Departed. Too much got lost in making three movies in to one. And out of all the amazing movies Scorsese have made they gave him his first Oscar for this? Such and odd choice. And 20-25 years too late.

[Cubadust]

Just thought of one, Insomnia. I love the Christopher Nolan remake. I have an odd Alaska fetish, even though I've never been there.

[Ribeye]

The Thomas Crown Affair

[Wailbait]

Back in the day, I declared Soderbergh a genius: "Why bother remaking good movies?  Remake films where there's nowhere to go but up!"  I loved his Oceans 11.  Incredible romp and loads of fun.  What are some terrible films that deserve this treatment?

I think it's time for the world to be reminded of a certain Fedora-clad cat burglar who carries out all his robberies to sing-along 1940's show tunes . . .. 

[TNT009]

Once again from the Gore side....

The Thing..

  The Fly...

   The Hills have Eyes..

    The Crazies...