# In which a remake, or new version, is better than the original **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115 "2019-08-23T16:22:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/1 "2019-08-23T16:22:59Z")
This idea could take many forms, book version to movie version, original to remake movie, and so on. What got me started thinking was listening to Simon and Garfunkle’s “Richard Cory”. It was based on a poem by Edward Robinson. I’ve read the poem, and heard the music, and I think the song is better, more poignant at least. Both tell the same story of a seemingly happy and rich man who ends by shooting himself. But Simon and Garfunkle put a twist in by having the singer not get the point that Cory was sad inside, the singer _ **still** _ wants to be what he thought Cory was. As to films, anyone actually read the book _Jaws_ by Peter Benchley? An ordinary thriller, with the usual obligatory sex scene(Hooper and Mrs. Brody) Spielberg changed the plot and the characters(kept the shark though!:D) and made one of the best horror films ever, along with injections of humor and incredible suspense. What are some other examples you can think of? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/2 "2019-08-23T16:33:42Z")
Scarlatti wrote keyboard works for primarily for the harpsichord. As did others of his time, including J.S. Bach. I appreciate them on period instruments. But the difference between that and the modern piano is immeasurable in terms of pretty much everything that makes them such a joy to discover and hear. I hope this is not too general and fits the OP. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/3 "2019-08-23T16:42:08Z")
IMHO, _The Hunt for Red October_. John McTiernan and the screenwriters did a great job tightening up Clancy’s tediousness. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/4 "2019-08-23T16:43:49Z")
I remember liking the newer Oceans 11 and The Thomas Crown Affair more then the originals. ETA, if we’re counting books to movies, the movie version of Fight Club was considerably better than the book (IIRC, even Chuck Palahniuk said that). Same goes for Transpotting. I believe it was that book that I wouldn’t have been able to follow if I hadn’t already seen the movie a handful of times. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/5 "2019-08-23T16:44:45Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Scarlatti wrote keyboard works for primarily for the harpsichord. As did others of his time, including J.S. Bach. I appreciate them on period instruments. But the difference between that and the modern piano is immeasurable in terms of pretty much everything that makes them such a joy to discover and hear. I hope this is not too general and fits the OP. This is fine, and not a medium I would have thought of, but welcome to be included. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/6 "2019-08-23T16:48:28Z")
_The Spy Who Loved Me_. Ian Fleming himself described the book as “a failed experiment.” The 1941 version of _The Maltese Falcon_ (the one with Humphrey Bogart)was the third time that book had been filmed. Some people think that the 1931 version, with Ricardo Cortez, was better. I don’t, although the first version is worth seeing. _The Wizard of Oz_ had been filmed about a dozen times before the Judy Garland classic. Try to find a copy of the novelization of _The Wicker Man._ I won’t say it’s better than the movie, but it gives you more insight into the characters. (I am, of course, referring to the original movie, not the remake.) I have not read the novelization of _Zardoz_, but I have heard it claimed that it makes more sense than the movie. (Which, admittedly, is a pretty low bar. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/7 "2019-08-23T16:48:49Z")
Happens more with music. also happens with Books to Movies like your example of Jaws. \*\*Books to movies: \*\* Jaws Jurassic Park The Godfather to The Godfather & The Godfather part II Gump **Songs** : _America_, Yes’s version improved greatly on S&G _All along the Watchtower_: Jimi Hendrix owns this Dylan song. _Mr. Tambourine Man_: The Byrds over Bob Dylan. _Respect_: Aretha Franklin \> Otis Redding original \*I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll \*: Joan Jett’s cover \> can’t remember the name of the original _Tainted Love_: Soft Cell \> original _Dazed and Confused_: Zeppelin \> Old Blues Guy ( I think) _New York, New York_: Frank Sinatra over Liza _Walk Like an Egyptian_: Bangles over obscure 50s novelty group _A Hazy Shade of Winter_: Bangles over Simon & Garfunkel \*\*TV Show from movies: \*\* MASH Odd Couple ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/8 "2019-08-23T16:52:44Z")
I’ll give you the books. I disagree on most of the songs and TV show/movies. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/9 "2019-08-23T16:55:58Z")
I know I’ll get bashed for saying this, but I think the Coen Brothers’ version of _True Grit_ is arguably better than the 1969 Henry Hathaway film. But they’re both very good westerns. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/10 "2019-08-23T17:12:27Z")
Late 70s/early 80s did some good remakes of 1950s movies. I think ‘The Thing’ and ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ greatly improved on the 1950s versions. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/11 "2019-08-23T17:26:33Z")
Here’s one for native German speakers to put me right on. Death In Venice by Thomas Mann is real tough sledding. The best thing about it is that it’s a short story and not a novel. (Disclaimer: I read it in English translation - the views of a native German speaker on the original would be interesting). Death in Venice by Luchino Visconti is a cinematic masterpiece. j ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/12 "2019-08-23T17:40:33Z")
Little Shop of Horrors (movie, 1986) \> Little Shop of Horrors (movie, 1960) ---
**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:** [August 23, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/13 "2019-08-23T17:44:22Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > This idea could take many forms, book version to movie version, original to remake movie, and so on. > > What got me started thinking was listening to Simon and Garfunkle’s “Richard Cory”. It was based on a poem by Edward Robinson. I’ve read the poem, and heard the music, and I think the song is better, more poignant at least. Both tell the same story of a seemingly happy and rich man who ends by shooting himself. But Simon and Garfunkle put a twist in by having the singer not get the point that Cory was sad inside, the singer _ **still** _ wants to be what he thought Cory was. Not a remake, but might be of interest: If you’re into Richard Corey, playwright A.R. Gurney (best known for _Love Letters_) wrote a play about him, in which he explores why he committed suicide. _Who Killed Richard Corey?_ came out in the mid-1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/14 "2019-08-23T17:46:06Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > But Simon and Garfunkle put a twist in by having the singer not get the point that Cory was sad inside, the singer _ **still** _ wants to be what he thought Cory was. My interpretation is that the singer is well aware that Richard Cory was sad but still considers it better to be a dead guy with half a lifetime of luxury than a live guy with a full lifetime of crushing poverty. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/15 "2019-08-23T17:48:14Z")
Battlestar Galactica ---
**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:** [August 23, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/16 "2019-08-23T17:51:27Z")
There have been lots of versions of famous books and plays, and it’s not clear to me when they should be called "remakes’. There were silent versions of Melville’s **Moby Dick** , and version made since, but I still think the best was the John Huston/Ray Bradbury version. Similarly, there have been LOTS of versions of **Dr. Jeckyll and Mister Hyde** (including several silent versions), but the Reuben Mamoulian/Fredric March version is the best. For all its flaws, the Ray Harryhausen version of Jules Verne’s **Mysterious Island** is still better than the 1929 semi-silent version. I think Disney’s version of **20,000 Leagues Under the Sea** was better than its predecessors (including the amazing 1916 version, shot underwater in the same location) the Daniel Craig version of the Bond film **Casino Royale** is easily better than the TV version or the 1960s “Love In” version ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/17 "2019-08-23T18:05:02Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > _The Wizard of Oz_ had been filmed about a dozen times before the Judy Garland classic. I’ve seen the (a ?) silent version. It was awwwwwful. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/18 "2019-08-23T18:05:23Z")
Not sure if Fury Road counts as a remake or new version but its far superior to any of the original Road Warrior movies. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/19 "2019-08-23T18:34:58Z")
Peter Jackson’s **Lord of the Rings** trilogy is much better than Ralph Bakshi’s carton version (and the Rankin-Bass _Return of the King_) Merian C. Cooper’s **She** is much better than the silent versions that preceded it. For my money, there is no “best” version of **Dracula** or **Frankenstein**. But some versions are better than others. And some versions, otherwise not great, contain excellent parts. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115/20 "2019-08-23T18:38:59Z")
**Ocean’s 11** is significantly better. And I’d argue that Brendan Fraser’s **The Mummy** is the superior version. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-a-remake-or-new-version-is-better-than-the-original/839115.md?page=2)