# Films that need a re-make **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072 "2008-11-04T16:38:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/1 "2008-11-04T16:38:12Z")
I can think of one in particular that’s well overdue. All Quiet on the Western Front ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/2 "2008-11-04T16:42:01Z")
Nearly all of the Stephen King movies need to be redone with competent directors, screenplay writers, actors and editors. There are few filmographies in existence with such brilliant material to draw from but which are so uniformly bad. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/3 "2008-11-04T16:47:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Nearly all of the Stephen King movies need to be redone with competent directors, screenplay writers, actors and editors. There are few filmographies in existence with such brilliant material to draw from but which are so uniformly bad. I’ll agree with that, especially _The Stand_ which is my fave SK novel ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/4 "2008-11-04T16:48:50Z")
**Thank You for Smoking** and **League of Extraordinary Gentlemen**. If these had adapted the actual stories, they could have been great movies. There’s still an opportunity to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/5 "2008-11-04T16:50:29Z")
Memoirs of An Invisible Man. Why don’t you shoot the book that H F Saint wrote? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/6 "2008-11-04T17:02:53Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Memoirs of An Invisible Man. Why don’t you shoot the book that H F Saint wrote? Because the book was so bad in the first place? I’d like to see a remake of **The Day of the Triffids** (I understand there was a decent BBC version, but I haven’t seen that). I’d also like to see “Fletch” redone and shot from the book, which reads like a screenplay to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/7 "2008-11-04T17:15:07Z")
I was thinking a modern remake of the 1972 TV movie _Gargoyles_ could be worth it. I’d also like to see a Harry Potter/LOTR big budget version of _A Wrinkle in Time._ ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/8 "2008-11-04T17:16:07Z")
**Don’t Go Into the Basement** - an early 70s cheapie horror / thriller movie with a genuinely interesting twist, but done with actors, sets & production values comparable to early 70s porn films, following a script so incoherent it seemed like it was banged out by a bunch of pothead during a bake session. Get a decent cast, give it the budget for a feature film, get a sober person to re-write the scirpt, try it again. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/9 "2008-11-04T17:21:48Z")
They can always remake FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA till the end of time. THE FOUNTAINHEAD needs at least a TV miniseries. (As of course does ATLAS SHRUGGED- not a 2-3 hr movie, which would be an OK format for TFh.) I thought the miniseries of THE STAND was excellent except that the tragic depth of Harold & Nadine was severely diminished. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/10 "2008-11-04T17:23:59Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Because the book was so bad in the first place? The book was amusing and fun. The movie, not so much. The definitely need to re-do _The Dark Is Rising_. I’m not entirely sure what they thought they were filming with [The Seeker](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484562/), but it had nothing to do with the actual book. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/11 "2008-11-04T17:25:22Z")
The Hobbit Starship Troopers, with MI this time ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/12 "2008-11-04T17:29:51Z")
[The Last of Sheila](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_Sheila) Get this movie on Netflix, by the way. It’s a great mystery and a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/13 "2008-11-04T17:33:04Z")
**Sunset Boulevard** …only in color and with a lot of soft-core sex and nudity. The success of this venture would depend hugely on choosing the right middle-aged actress to play Norma Desmond. The actress has to obviously be middle-aged, but still have a fap-worthy body. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/14 "2008-11-04T17:33:17Z")
I wouldn’t mind seeing \*\*Gone With the Wind \*\*redone as an HBO mini-series, where we can include all of Scarlett’s children, Suellen’s husband, and Archie, the ex-convict, and really get to know the Tara neighbors and Scarlett’s Carpetbagger friends. The movie was good, but damn, they cut a lot out. **Scumpup** , how do you feel about Dianne Keaton? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/15 "2008-11-04T17:37:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Scumpup, how do you feel about Dianne Keaton? Does she look good naked? Is she able to play a crazy woman like Norma Desmond? Iwas toying with the idea of Meryl Streep, but I don’t think she’s got the body. The more I think about this, the more I believe Cher or Madonna might be better choices. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/16 "2008-11-04T17:41:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d like to see a remake of The Day of the Triffids (I understand there was a decent BBC version, but I haven’t seen that). It is excellent - this doesn’t need to be remade, just distributed. > [@](#): > > The Last of Sheila > > Get this movie on Netflix, by the way. It’s a great mystery and a lot of fun. Why remade, in god’s name? The original is perfect. **This Island Earth** – The original movie is iconic, but hopelessly dumb. It ought to be possible to remake it to be more faithful to Raymond F. Jones, and keep some of the good stuff from the film. **Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders** – or any Judge Dee story, for that matter. I’d heard rmors that Paul Veerhoeven was going to do one, which turns out not to be true. But they SHOULD. **The Puppet Masters** – Please do it right, for once. **Martian, Go Home** – Fred Brown deserved better **Fahrenheit 451** – Much of this film is great, but the effects are embarassing, and the ending is poor. **I, Robot** – give us Harlan Ellison! ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/17 "2008-11-04T17:46:42Z")
[quote=“ivylass, post:14, topic:471072”] I wouldn’t mind seeing \*\*Gone With the Wind \*\*redone as an HBO mini-series, where we can include all of Scarlett’s children, Suellen’s husband, and Archie, the ex-convict, and really get to know the Tara neighbors and Scarlett’s Carpetbagger friends. The movie was good, but damn, they cut a lot out. The thing is, to re-make GWTW would be anti-climatic and, IMO, a complete waste of time. The original has stood the test of time and doesn’t need re-making. Same goes for _Shane, The Maltese Falcon_ and any other number of classic films ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/18 "2008-11-04T18:10:33Z")
Lovecraft fuilms are mostly the pits. They really need to re-do **The Case of Charles Dexter Ward** , especially now that we have CGHI. The original (The Haunted Palace) had Vincent Price, Lon Cheney Jr., and Charles Beaumont, but it was awful, and not really close to Lovecraft’s vision. I understand that they’ve redone **The Dunwich Horror** recently, or I’d include it on the list – the original suffered from bad effects, bad writing, and a misguided desire to inject sex into it. Of course, I’m not holding my breath. I might still think a new version is needed after seeing this one. Ditto for **The Shadow Over Innsmouth**. I didn’t care for **Dagon** , and I haven’t seen the just-made **Cthulhu** yet. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-need-a-re-make/471072/19 "2008-11-04T18:35:33Z")
More Isaac Asimov stuff: **Nightfall** – they’ve made two incredibnly bad movies out of this. It’s time to do it right. **The Caves of Steel** and **The Naked Sun** – sone for British TV only. Definitely need a big-bidget redo. **The Ugly Little Boy** – the low-budget indy film wasn’t bad, but they ought to be able to do better. Robert Sheckley: **Immortality Inc.** (AKA **Immortality Delivered** ) – done once on Brit TV, and virtually unrecognizable as the awful **Freejack**. Sheckley has to be the most ripped-off writer ever. His stuff was pretty good, as deserves a good treatment More Fredric Brown: **Arena** – c’mon, let’s do it for real. I’ve filmed this in my head many times. It’s been multiply ripped off, and the Star Trek episode isn’t even _close_ to the original story. **The Screaming Mimi** – bessides SF and fantasy, Brown wrote some damned good mysteries. This one’s been filmed twice, but not faithfully. **Knock Three One Two** – I haven’t seen the Italian film they made of this, but I wouldn’t take bets on its quality. Ray Bradbuy: I see that The Illustrated Man and Fahrenheit 451 (as I suggested above) are in production. Maybe they’ll be good. Besides these, how about: **The Martian Chronicles** – the TV miniseries was awful. Edgar Rice Burroughs: Dare I siuggest another Tarzan? It’s been done often enough, but maybe someone can do some of his other Tarzan stories (Like Jungle Tales of Tarzan), although that wouldn’t really be a remake. It’s be nice to see the Caspak Series ( **The Land that Time Forgot** , **The People that Time Forgot** , and the third as-yet-unfilmed book) filmed properly, without the goofy-bad effects, and actually rendering the storyline.