# Have two movies ever been made from the exact same script? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103 "2013-04-19T04:05:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/22 "2013-04-19T14:54:55Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > It made me wonder - have there ever been two movies made from the exact same script, but by different directors, etc.? It would be really interesting to see how much they differ. _Airplane!_ and _Zero Hour._ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/23 "2013-04-19T14:57:26Z")
Not quite the same thing, but the strange case of _Exorcist: The Beginning_ and _Dominion: A Prequel to The Exorcist_ might count. Paul Schrader had wrapped production on _The Beginning_ and was working on editing and effects when the studio decided they didn’t like what he’d come up with, fired him, and brought in Renny Harlin to finish the movie. Harlin recast several characters, reshot several scenes, and changed the ending, but ended up keeping much of Schrader’s footage in the released version. Schrader eventually got the OK to release his cut of the movie the following year under the _Dominion_ title - resulting in two movies with mostly the same screenplay, most of the same cast, and most of the same footage, but with majorly different plot points and wildly different climaxes. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/24 "2013-04-19T15:24:27Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > The Spanish version is superior in some ways, but they use different actors. I’ve seen it with a commentary track, which says that the actor playing Dracula saw the rushes from the earlier-in-the-day Lugosi filmning and was supposed to mimic him, but basically failed. So while some of the cutting and composition are better, the acting is not. I don’t know whether this counts as “same script” since it’s in Spanish. I’d like to see the Spanish version someday. I recall the things you mentioned being discussed, Lugosi’s counterpart didn’t perform well, but the Spanish version director was supposed to have been superior to Browning. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/25 "2013-04-19T15:32:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’d like to see the Spanish version someday. I recall the things you mentioned being discussed, Lugosi’s counterpart didn’t perform well, but the Spanish version director was supposed to have been superior to Browning. It’s included as an extra on some DVDs of the Lugosi version. Did the Chris Rock _Death at a Funeral_ use the same basic script as the British version? I know both had the same plot, same jokes, same potty scene, and even had Peter Dinklage as the unexpected attendee who disrupts the funeral. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/26 "2013-04-19T15:47:33Z")
I just watched the trailers of the two _Death at a Funeral_ versions. Clearly there are some different lines. The plot is pretty close though. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/27 "2013-04-19T15:52:27Z")
Of course this is the whole point of live theatre. You can see three different versions of _Streetcar Named Desire_ (for example), each using the exact same script and all done capably, and one will seem a tragedy, one a dark comedy, and the other a tragicomedy. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/28 "2013-04-19T16:26:46Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There was a remake of _Psycho_ several years ago (IMDb says 1998) that I heard was intended to be a shot-for-shot recreation of the original. Never saw it, so I can’t say if they held to that standard. And most of what I’ve heard about it is that it wasn’t very good. > > If you’re willing to consider the small screen, there was a British TV show called _Coupling_ that was remade in the U.S. The first episode (and probably more) used the same script as the original.[sup]\*[/sup] The interesting thing to me was to see how the actors played it. The original Jane had a certain direct obliviousness. She’s say the wrong thing so instantly that there just seemed like there was no point in even questioning it. The new Jane would stop and think about what she’d been told, and then, of course, give the same answer. It was interesting how that changed the character. > > Not for the better, however. The remake only lasted a few episodes. > > - I think this was done with _The Office_, as well. > [@Flywheel](#): > > IIRC, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have required every version of _The Office_ to use the same script (or a translation thereof) for its first episode. The first episode of the American office is not the same script. It is very similar and has many of the same plot points, but it is a new script. I guess you could say it used the same treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/29 "2013-04-19T16:46:54Z")
The 1992 version of [The Last of the Mohicans](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104691/?ref_=sr_1) was based on the screenplay for the [1936 version of the story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027869/), but there were changes, so not exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/30 "2013-04-19T17:39:27Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **The Man Who Knew Too Much** (1934 & 1956). Had the same writers credited, but there were some changes to the story, mostly in the locations and the addition of a song (“Que Sera Sera,” which won and Oscar and became Doris Day’s theme song). I’d say there were some changes. :rolleyes:😉 The climactic scene in the '34 version is the mother of the kidnapped child – a champion biathlon competitor – grabbing a police sniper’s rifle and killing the criminal pursuing her daughter across the rooftops. Doris Day singing “Que Sera Sera” it ain’t. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/31 "2013-04-19T19:05:26Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > A similar experiment would be to give multiple directors a short film script, dialogue only, and let them go and make whatever movie in whatever setting they wanted from it. This reminded me of Betty’s audition in _Mulholland Drive_. We see her perform it twice with exactly\* the same lines, once rehearsing, and once in the actual audition. The audition script, in full, is as follows: * * * Her: You’re still here? Him: I came back. I thought that’s what you wanted. Her: Nobody wants you here! Him: Really? Her: My parents are right upstairs! They think you’ve left. Him: So… surprise… Her: I can call them… I can call my dad… Him: But you won’t… Her: If you’re trying to blackmail me… it’s not going to work. You’re playing a dangerous game here. \*_[This is the only line that changes. In the audition, she starts with the “You’re playing…” line and then follows with “If you’re trying…”]_ Him: You know what I want… it’s not that difficult. Her: Get out! Get out before I call my dad… he trusts you… you’re his best friend. This will be the end of everything. Him: What about you? What will your dad think about you? Her: Stop! Just stop! That’s what you said from the beginning. If I tell what happened… they’ll arrest you and put you in jail. So get out of here before… Him: Before what? Her: Before I kill you. Him: Then they’d put you in jail. Her: I hate you… I hate us both! * * * But even though the dialogue is nearly identical, she performs it in two very different ways. Here’s the [rehearsal](http://www.anyclip.com/movies/mulholland-dr/practicing-lines-for-bettys-audition/), and here’s the [audition](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeevxJaJl1U). It would be awesome to see two entire movies with the same dialogue but with such different plots and meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/32 "2013-04-19T19:56:28Z")
The first two Dalek stories in Doctor Who on TV were remade as movies. Mostly the same script, other than the first few minutes. But the original TV version feels darker, and the movies lighter. The way the Doctor is played is very different, too. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/33 "2013-04-19T20:21:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Not just in Spanish, either. The introduction to this clip says they did all of the dialogue themselves, without resorting to dubbing by other actors A recent version of this was _The Lorax_. [Danny DeVito](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTmMCNBR0po) learned the script phonetically for the Spanish, Italian, German, and Russian language versions of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/34 "2013-04-19T20:26:46Z")
Trey Parker and Matt Stone considered doing a shot-for-shot remake of the movie The Day After Tomorrow using puppets before coming up with Team America: World Police. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/35 "2013-04-19T20:45:20Z")
_The Prisoner of Zenda_. 1937, black-and-white, starring Ronald Colman. 1952, color, starring Stewart Granger. A few minor differences in staging, but the plot and dialog are nearly identical. Originally a novel, then a stage play. I think the movie script follows the stage script fairly closely. I have not seen the silent version of _Beau Geste_, starring Ronald Colman, but I have heard that the Gary Cooper version is a near shot-for-shot remake. I think this was fairly common back in the 1940s and 1950s. The studio would re-shoot and old silent script with sound, or re-shoot and old black-and-white script in color. No sense in paying a writer to tinker with something that had already made money the first time around. 🙂 This is somewhat common when a film is adapted from a stage play. For example, the Bela Lugosi _Dracula_ and the Frank Langella _Dracula_ were both based on the Hamilton Deane/John Balderston stage play. (There were significant revisions, but both movies are closer to the play than to the novel.) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/36 "2013-04-19T23:52:11Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > WTF is it with url’s and parentheses?!? vB apparently assumes that any punctuation at the end of a url belongs outside the /url tag and will put it there if you let it parse automatically. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/37 "2013-04-20T00:28:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Not just in Spanish, either. The introduction to this clip says they did all of the dialogue themselves, without resorting to dubbing by other actors: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHixa82-tk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHixa82-tk) Whoa! A mystery from my youth solved! The Spanish version (in reality a dubbed version of the USA one! Unnecessary when a Spanish one was originally made, but the reason for that was the distracting accents in the original IIUC) I saw on TV in the late 70’s had the short ending when L&H ran away from the prison being chased by police dogs. “What an odd way to end that short”, I thought, “I wonder if there were scenes missing”. Well, I wonder no more, the actual ending, as the German clips show, was for them getting a pardon for rescuing people from a fire, but that sequence was removed because L&H took refuge in a plantation among black people… with a now very racist “black face” disguise. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/38 "2013-04-20T01:14:31Z")
Semi-example: _And Now for Something Completely Different_, which consists of _Monty Python’s Flying Circus_ sketches remade for the big screen. Cf. (e.g.) [_Nudge Nudge_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ona-RhLfRfc) and [_Nudge Nudge_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT3_UCm1A5I). ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/39 "2013-04-20T01:14:45Z")
“The Mark of Zorro” in 1940 and 1974. The 1940 version with Tyrone Power is one of my all-time favorites. The other one doesn’t make the list. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/40 "2013-04-20T18:11:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > WTF is it with url’s and parentheses?!? :mad: The same thing happens with nearly any punctuation at the end of a URL. The software here just assumes that the punctuation is part of the sentence rather than part of the URL, as that is most often the case. Wikipedia is rather unusual in using parentheses in URLs. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103/41 "2013-04-20T19:00:27Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > _The Prisoner of Zenda_. > 1937, black-and-white, starring Ronald Colman. > 1952, color, starring Stewart Granger. > A few minor differences in staging, but the plot and dialog are nearly identical. > Originally a novel, then a stage play. I think the movie script follows the stage script fairly closely. Beat me to it, I came in to mention these two versions. A bit of trivia. When _Gone With the Wind_ was finished filming Darryl Zanuck wanted to test it in front of a film audience, so the cans of film were transported to a theater. The manager agreed to show the film, and it was announced to the audience(who was there for _Beau Geste_, with Gary Cooper) that a new Hollywood movie would be shown in it’s place. The score for GWTW wasn’t completed yet, so the opening sequence of the film had the title music from 1937’s _The Prisoner of Zenda_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-two-movies-ever-been-made-from-the-exact-same-script/656103.md?page=3)