# Movies and TV shows that need Remakes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393 "2002-10-22T16:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/21 "2002-10-23T22:58:13Z")
> [@](#): > > How about a remake of Theatre of Blood with Kenneth Branagh as the murderous, over-the-top Shakespearean actor (and Kate Winslet or Helena Bonham-Carter as his daughter/accomplice)? > … > > My own nomination would be Omega Man. The Chuck Heston movie had its own schlocky charm but it steadily grew worse as the film went on and the tension entirely dissipated with the ill-advised introduction of new characters. A faithful adaptation of the original Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend would make a bleak, taut thriller ecompassing deeper themes about the nature of society and what it means to be human. Funny, Dr. Rieux and Hodge, that you’d mention these projects. Since the mid-1990’s there have been talks in Hollywood to remake both these films. “Theater of Blood” was to have been remade by Tim Burton at one point but plans were set aside as Burton moved on to other things. “I Am Legend” was all set to go with Ridley Scott as director and Arnold Schwarzeneggar as star before Arnold’s health problems and budget concerns (among other things) put the project on indefinite hiatus. When last I heard, Hollywood was hoping on relaunching “I Am Legend” as a vehicle for Will Smith. ---
**Author:** ![Mystery\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Mystery\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mystery_Dog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/22 "2002-10-24T12:45:02Z")
**Burglar** , based on the mystery novel series by Lawrence Block. In the books, the protagonist is a suave and intelligent male; in the movie, the protagonist was Whoopi Goldberg. The comedy elements of the story were played up, badly, at the expense of any suspense. I’d like to see a remake that’s more faithful to the books, starring someone like George Clooney or Bruce Willis. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/23 "2002-10-24T16:57:45Z")
Remember the TV Goth-Soap “Dark Shadows” great idea that ought to be reborn. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/24 "2002-10-24T23:52:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Paul in Saudi \* > \*\*Remember the TV Goth-Soap “Dark Shadows” great idea that ought to be reborn. \*\* Only if they do a better job than the 1991 version. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/25 "2002-10-25T03:52:15Z")
Gee, they did that already? I have been out of the US for MUCH too long! ---
**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:** [October 25, 2002, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/26 "2002-10-25T17:41:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AHunter3 \* > **The inventor is no Dick Van Dyke.** Malcolm McDowell, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/27 "2002-10-25T19:00:55Z")
I don’t know who I’d trust to do it, but I think some of Hitchcock’s stuff might be cool remade. _Vertigo_, perhaps. I could see _Choke_ as an opportunity for Anthony Hopkins and Ed Norton to be together in a good creepy movie (not that _Red Dragon_ was absolutely terrible or anything but it disappointed me a little) . _Psycho_, IMHO, needs to be re-remade to make up for the last remake. ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/28 "2002-10-25T19:03:07Z")
**ROPE!** I meant _Rope_. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/29 "2002-10-25T20:38:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JohnGalt \* > \*\*How about doing Grease right once? Have real singers, and actors who are closer to high-school age, and get rid of the hammy acting and poor editing. Who would you cast in the leads? \*\* The male lead would have to sound male. What’s the deal with Travolta singing higher than Olivia? The first time I heard “You’re the One that I Want” on the radio I couldn’t figure out who was who! ---
**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:** [October 26, 2002, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/30 "2002-10-26T00:44:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*_The Swiss Family Robinson_ > > Only with more cursing. \*\* The Swiss Family Osbourne! ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/31 "2002-10-26T01:49:11Z")
I was thinking _Clash of the Titans_ could use updating. The best remakes are from obscure movies that no one has seen (except for maybe a handful of Dopers. I don’t think there is a movie made [Hollywood, foreign, Indie, porn, Home Ec filmstrip, etc.] that at least one Doper hasn’t seen!). What really kills me is when they remake classics. There isn’t really a point (other than the All 'Ighty 'ollar). It won’t be better than the classic. It starts from the position that it cannot live up to the original. High Noon would be an excellent remake in a feature film (They have remade it for TV with Tom Skerrit), but how can you compete with Gary Cooper’s performance (excellent)? There are SO MANY movies out there that had potential but were poorly executed. Remake those flicks. Or go to this place called the “Library.” They have all kinds of “books” that are just begging to be made into movies. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/32 "2002-10-26T01:52:09Z")
I didn’t make the best transition above. I didn’t mean to imply Clash of the Titans was obscure. I lump it into the poorly executed category! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/33 "2002-10-26T01:58:50Z")
Some may feel this is sacrilige, but I would like to see a new version of _Doctor Who_. Hour-long stories (let’s face it - most of the four-parters were very padded. How many episodes threes consist only of running in corridors?), restart the whole saga. Some of the charm of the show was in its special effects, but these days it wouldn’t be hard to make it look really nice. I would love to see it get a really classy treatment. Unfortunately the BBC now can make a pretty fair amount whoring its corpse out to the highest bidder without having to actually produce anything, so I doubt this will happen anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/34 "2002-10-26T02:07:51Z")
> [@](#): > > High Noon would be an excellent remake in a feature film (They have remade it for TV with Tom Skerrit), but how can you compete with Gary Cooper’s performance (excellent)? Ever seen the movie \*\*_Outland_/b] with Sean Connory? Opinions of the film’s quality vary, but it is most definately a remake of _ **High Noon** _. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/35 "2002-10-26T03:48:12Z")
**Kolchak, The Night Stalker**. ---
**Author:** ![StPaul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58f4c7/32.png) [@StPaul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StPaul)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/36 "2002-10-28T05:20:56Z")
I’d like to remake “The Wizard of OZ.” Everything through out most of the movie would be exactly the same but in the final scene where everyone is standing around the bed. I’d put Toto on the bed with a bandage on its head and Dorthy standing with the rest of the people. It would have been so much better if the whole thing was Toto’s dream. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/37 "2002-10-28T06:35:11Z")
But then the entire movie would have to be in black-and-white. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/38 "2002-10-28T07:01:54Z")
_Congo_. Crichton’s book wasn’t exactly _Hamlet_, but damnit, it made for some fun summer reading, and it deserved a better movie! Actually set the new version back in '79, have Amy speak via subtitles, and for pity’s sake, no Joe Don Baker! ---
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/39 "2002-10-28T07:44:46Z")
I’d redo the Time Machine, and make it as true to the book as possible. Same goes for Frankenstein. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393/40 "2002-10-28T11:10:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rodd Hill \* > \*\ ***Kolchak, The Night Stalker**. \*\* Excellent idea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-shows-that-need-remakes/133393.md?page=3)