# Films that should be remade. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157 "2013-07-10T18:27:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/41 "2013-07-11T15:27:31Z")
Remake any movie, it shouldn’t matter. I’m not recalling a case of a remake that was substantially better than the original, though I can think of many that turned out worse. There’s nothing wrong with giving a story another shot at film adapation, but I’m curious on what basis people think a movie\* should \*be remade. If it’s just saying that the original version was flawed it hardly seems to be justification for another attempt with a low chance of any improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/42 "2013-07-11T15:36:20Z")
**Rebecca** because it would give a new generation a chance to gasp at the evil glory that is Mrs. Danvers. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/43 "2013-07-11T16:08:36Z")
Ah! How about a remake of “World War Z” that doesn’t _completely_ discard the stories in the book? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/44 "2013-07-11T16:26:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Remake any movie, it shouldn’t matter. I’m not recalling a case of a remake that was substantially better than the original, though I can think of many that turned out worse. There’s nothing wrong with giving a story another shot at film adapation, but I’m curious on what basis people think a movie\* should \*be remade. If it’s just saying that the original version was flawed it hardly seems to be justification for another attempt with a low chance of any improvement. From all accounts (haven’t watched the original myself) the 2001 Ocean’s Eleven was substantially better than the 1960 Sinatra version. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/45 "2013-07-11T16:47:11Z")
“Rat Pack” - Sinatra, Sammy Davis jr, Peter lawford, etc. “Brat pack” - Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/46 "2013-07-11T16:53:24Z")
**Fantastic Voyage** begs to be remade, with modern digital effects, and without Raquel Welch. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/47 "2013-07-11T17:00:24Z")
[_ **Red Planet Mars** _](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Planet_Mars) was a poorly made execution of a mind-blowing concept. Well, in my estimation, it was an OK execution, but other people think it was a terrible movie. I figure it must be execution, because the idea that an intelligent species is communicating with us via radio, and they had a messiah who lived at the same to as Jesus and delivered almost word-for-word the _Sermon on the Mount_ to them, and they’re coming to visit earth, only it might all be a hoax from a [del]Nazi[/del] disgruntled ex-Russian space program guy, is the greatest concept ever. They’d want to change the planet from Mars to something more believable to have intelligent life - a planet in a nearby star system or something - but it could be a great film. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/48 "2013-07-11T17:22:48Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > From all accounts (haven’t watched the original myself) the 2001 Ocean’s Eleven was substantially better than the 1960 Sinatra version. That’s a good example. The original would qualify as a low budget made for TV movie. I don’t think it was the first ‘ensemble heist’ movie though, so what qualifies that one to be remade other than it being poorly done. After all, the list of bad movies is much larger than the list of good ones. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/49 "2013-07-11T17:24:50Z")
Krull. My grandson and his friends love it, but it would be so much better with today’s CGI (and a rewritten plot). ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/50 "2013-07-11T18:07:04Z")
When this subject is raised my favorite mention goes to _ **Plan 9 from Outer Space.** _ Yep, indeed one of the worst movies even made, but I always thought that alien technology was just about the best idea for zombies to rise and do havoc in an apocalypse. Plus, as even Roger Ebert noticed, the final speech of the alien leader actually made sense explaining their reasons for their attack. Updated with current special effects and a rewrite and a remake would do much, much better than the original. (I would have the aliens make the zombies more intelligent and to concentrate first on almost dead or dying leaders or influential people) ---
**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:** [July 11, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/51 "2013-07-11T18:38:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Remake any movie, it shouldn’t matter. I’m not recalling a case of a remake that was substantially better than the original, though I can think of many that turned out worse. There’s nothing wrong with giving a story another shot at film adapation, but I’m curious on what basis people think a movie\* should \*be remade. If it’s just saying that the original version was flawed it hardly seems to be justification for another attempt with a low chance of any improvement. There’s an unspoken assumption that the remake will either have better effects, or that people desire that a remake will be done to make it better than the original. Certainly there are plenty of films that would benefit from better effects. even before George Lucas started tinkering with his original _Star Wars_ trilogy, there was a version of the 1950 SF film **Rocketship XM** with new scenes shot in the 1980s to fix up the look ( [Rocketship X-M - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocketship_X-M) ). I’m sure there are other films that people would like to see at least some effects shots redone for – Lucas is one of the few filmmakers who could go back and do this (Spielberg, with **E.T.** is another). **the Hunt for Red October** , for one film, would certainly benefit from such a treatment – the early CGI looks cartoony today, and pretty much did at the time, as well. I think the earlier CGI in **the Last Starfighter** has a crude charm, but the film might attract more viewrrs if they redid them so they looked more realistic. There’s a short version of the opening credits for **The Day the Earth Stood Still** on YouTube that uses newer footage of the earth and the moon to get around the "clouds in outer space’ and “cloudless earth” pre-Apollo tendencies that I wrote about in Teemings. As for remakes that were better, how about John Huston’s **The Maltese Falcon** , his version of **Moby Dick** , Harryhausen’s version of **The Mysterious Island** (over the 1929 fiasco), the Merian C. Cooper version of **She** 9which, it must be admitted, is better than its successor as well), the Daniel Craig **Casino Royale**? Peter Jackson’s **King Kong** is light years ahead of the de Laurentiis version from 1977 (and I think it can hold its own against the original, which I love, but that’s another debate). That most remakes are abysmal I won’t deny, but it’s not universally true. Some later versions of **Frankenstein** and **Dracula** are better in many ways than their predecessors (although, again, some are bloody awful) ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/52 "2013-07-11T19:19:28Z")
Dr. Doolittle. Won’t somebody please do this correctly? You’d have to re-write Bumpo a bit, but overall an excellent story there. The Scarlet Letter. The Harry Potter movies. Just as soon as an actor comes along who can begin to produce a decent Dumbledore. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/53 "2013-07-11T21:10:03Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > **Fantastic Voyage** begs to be remade, with modern digital effects, and without Raquel Welch. They would do a CGI Raquel Welch ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/54 "2013-07-11T23:41:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Remake any movie, it shouldn’t matter. I’m not recalling a case of a remake that was substantially better than the original, though I can think of many that turned out worse. There’s nothing wrong with giving a story another shot at film adapation, but I’m curious on what basis people think a movie\* should \*be remade. If it’s just saying that the original version was flawed it hardly seems to be justification for another attempt with a low chance of any improvement. \*\*Remakes that were better than the originals. \*\* The Thing The Coen Bros version of True Grit was better in almost every way to the original John Wayne version. Nolan’s Batman movies (more a re-imagining) The Fly Little Shop of Horrors That’s all I got off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/55 "2013-07-11T23:46:47Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Starship fucking Troopers. Yup, make the actual book. > [@Loach](#): > > I think Highlander is perfect for a remake/reboot. Did you know that Ryan Reynolds recently dropped out of the remake? Think about that for a minute. A Highlander remake staring Ryan Reynolds. \ There were apparently people who thought that was a good idea. I say we round up every last one of them and chop off their heads. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/56 "2013-07-11T23:47:59Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > The Harry Potter movies. Just as soon as an actor comes along who can begin to produce a decent Dumbledore. It will be 15-20 years before those get remade. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/57 "2013-07-12T03:22:23Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > \*\*Remakes that were better than the originals. > \*\* > The Thing > > The Coen Bros version of True Grit was better in almost every way to the original John Wayne version. > > Nolan’s Batman movies (more a re-imagining) > > The Fly > > Little Shop of Horrors > > That’s all I got off the top of my head. Ben Hur The Departed The Maltese Falcon The Man Who Knew Too Much (Hitchcock did a remake of one of his own movies) Ocean’s Eleven Scarface 3:10 to Yuma ---
**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:** [July 12, 2013, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/58 "2013-07-12T08:15:05Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > “Rat Pack” - Sinatra, Sammy Davis jr, Peter lawford, etc. > “Brat pack” - Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, etc. “Drat Pack”: Vincent Price, Jonathan “Dr. Smith” Williams and Snidely Whiplash. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/59 "2013-07-12T11:59:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Ben Hur > > The Departed > > The Maltese Falcon > > The Man Who Knew Too Much (Hitchcock did a remake of one of his own movies) > > Ocean’s Eleven > > Scarface > > 3:10 to Yuma I think we get to count the CAPTAIN AMERICA movie. And, by a narrow margin, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157/60 "2013-07-12T13:37:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 1.) **A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court** – there have been an awful lot of movies that were "suggested by this book, and several nominal adaptations. Not one of them is at all close to Twain’s story, and not one captures his wit, style, or mood. The two biggest adaptations were simply Star Vehicles (for Will Rogers and Bing Crosby, each portraying hero Hank Morgan essentially as themselves). > > I suspect too many filmmakers were scared off by the idea that they’d be offending the Catholics. But I maintain that you can make a film of this that captures much of the book without doing so. Not one version has shown us The Destruction of Merlin’s Tower, or The Fountain of Holiness, or Hank Morgan’s Quest. There were moments of real emotion in the book, as well – such as the King’s encounter in the smallpox hut. And nobody tries to show Hank Morgan’s own limitations. Worst of all, no one ever seems to treat what’s actually funny in Twain’s book. > > [SNIP] > > 3.) **i, Robot** – the Will Smith film started out as a story completely independent of Asimov’s book, aside from being based on the Three Laws. Changing the names of a few characters in a story and then saying that you’ve filmed “I, Robot” is like making a couple of characters in _The Red Badge of Courage_ female and saying that you’ve filmed _Gone With the Wind_. Yes, and yes. _A Kid in King Arthur’s Court_ wasn’t even that great of a movie with the help of Daniel Craig and Kate Winslet. I do see how making _I, Robot_ a movie could be difficult. It’s really a series of short stories; you would have to work out a way to connect them all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-should-be-remade/663157.md?page=4)