# Movies BEGGING to be remade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762 "2012-01-17T02:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/1 "2012-01-17T02:51:37Z")
Zardoz - The premise is not bad at all, the execution is well…they have Sean Connery in a red diaper and there is a scene of him laying on a table while they dicuss his erection(no nudity). But a group of survivors of an apocalypse using super science to be virtually immortal while manipulating and exploiting what few humans survived through a false god, and a secret rebellion from within, what sounds bad about that? ---
**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:** [January 17, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/2 "2012-01-17T03:36:41Z")
Day of the Triffids ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/3 "2012-01-17T07:04:26Z")
The late lamented Gene Siskel once commented, “Why do they only remake movies that were done right the first time? They should remake the \*bad \*movies; the ones that were a good idea, but done poorly?” That is a total paraphrase, but it was the gist of his point, and I think he was right. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/4 "2012-01-17T07:16:17Z")
[The Cat’s Eye.](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0088889/) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/5 "2012-01-17T07:19:14Z")
I’d love to a see a modern day remake of _Pygmalion_, preferably set in the modern day U.S… Speech is as much, if not more, of a class distinction now as it was in turn of the century London. I think _Bell, Book, and Candle_ could have a great remake with some very moderate updating and a better actress than Kim Novak. And apologies for the 300th time I’ve said it, but… I’d love to see a miniseries remake of _Gone With the Wind_, this time much truer to the book. Even at 4 hours, the movie had to scrap many of the best characters and side plots. I’d also have more realistic houses and of course get rid of that whole “land of cotton and cavaliers” foolishness at the beginning of the movie. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/6 "2012-01-17T12:26:04Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > And apologies for the 300th time I’ve said it, but… I’d love to see a miniseries remake of _Gone With the Wind_, this time much truer to the book. Even at 4 hours, the movie had to scrap many of the best characters and side plots. I’d also have more realistic houses and of course get rid of that whole “land of cotton and cavaliers” foolishness at the beginning of the movie. Would you keep the white sheets? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/7 "2012-01-17T12:45:41Z")
_The Last Starfighter_ Or maybe a sequel, _The Next Starfighter_. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/8 "2012-01-17T13:17:13Z")
_Highlander_. I do still like the original movie and it does have a great performance by Mr Krabs but it is extremely flawed. But much better could be done with the premise. They could even do sequels that didn’t shit on the original premise. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/9 "2012-01-17T13:35:53Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Day of the Triffids Sadly, it’s been done ( in 2009), and they screwed it up > **[The Day of the Triffids (2009 TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids_(2009_TV_Series))** > > The Day of the Triffids is a drama made in 2009. It is a loose adaptation of John Wyndham's 1951 novel of the same title. The novel had been adapted in 1962 as a theatrical film and by the BBC in a 1981 series. > In an alternate version of contemporary Britain, triffids are large carnivorous plants capable of vicious and intelligent behaviour, equipped with venomous stingers that they use to stun their prey before feeding on them. Bill Masen (Dougray Scott), whose mother was killed by a triffid ... They already hasd done an excellent job in 1981. Far better than the 1962 movie (which still had some good points, although they managed to seriously dumb it down). The 1981 BBC version did a very good job on the script and limited special effects: > **[The Day of the Triffids (1981 TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids_(1981_TV_series))** > > The Day of the Triffids is a British science fiction drama serial which was first aired by BBC Television in 1981. An adaptation by Douglas Livingstone of the 1951 novel by John Wyndham, the six half-hour episodes were produced by David Maloney and directed by Ken Hannam, with original music by Christopher Gunning. > It premiered simultaneously in the UK and in Australia on ABC Television. > In late 20th century Britain, a spectacular meteor shower unexpectedly renders most of humanity blind, lea... The 1962 film: > **[The Day of the Triffids (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids_(film))** > > The Day of the Triffids is a 1963 British science fiction horror film in CinemaScope and Eastmancolor, produced by George Pitcher and Philip Yordan and directed by Steve Sekely. It stars Howard Keel and Nicole Maurey and is loosely based on the 1951 novel of the same name by John Wyndham. The film was released in the UK by the Rank Organisation and in the US by Allied Artists. > A meteor shower blinds most of the world's population and spreads spores that cause triffid plants to become animated... ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/10 "2012-01-17T13:38:36Z")
I would like to see a good, modern remake of _The Lathe of Heaven_. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/11 "2012-01-17T13:47:25Z")
A bunch of science fiction films ought to be remade, in the hopes that they’ll get them right: **The Puppet Masters** There have been _two_ versions already, one cheapie without acknowledgement (\*The Brain Eaters[/i}0 and the other by Disney, of all folks, who got some of it right but messed up everything else. **Starship Troopers** – enough saif **I, Robot** – I, for one, like the Ellison script, but anything that actually _tried_ to be an adaptration of the book would be an improvement. **From the Earth to the Moon** – not the Tom Hanks-produced miniseries, but the Juloes Verne classic. The original film version (not the Melies one that always gets excerpted for SF history specials, but the 1958 film) was, even for a Verne adaptation, _abysmal_. > **[From the Earth to the Moon (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(film))** > > From the Earth to the Moon is a 1958 American Technicolor science fiction film, produced by Benedict Bogeaus, directed by Byron Haskin, that stars Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, and Debra Paget. Production of the film originated at RKO Pictures, but when RKO went into bankruptcy, the film was acquired and released by Warner Brothers. > From the Earth to the Moon is a film adaptation of Jules Verne's 1865 science fiction novel of the same name. > Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, mun... C’mon, people, Steampunk is supposed to be _In_. A period film version of this ought to be great. **The Time Machine** – I love George Pal, but his version was big on monsters, and low on thought. The recent remake by Wells’ descendant was worse. One of these days they’ll film the book. and my perennial complaint: **A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court** – two versions were vehicles for stars ( Will Rogers, Bing Crosby), with little desire to be interpretations of Twain. The other version were too timid to be faithful. Even the PBS version shamelessly rewrote Twain to subvert his point. No version has been verty faithful, most of them leaving out the best parts. You _can_ adapt this without insulting the Catholic Church. But you _shouldn’t_ make a version which erases the Twain style, acerbic observations, and wit. Yet every single filmed version has done precisely that. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/12 "2012-01-17T13:49:57Z")
_Fantastic Voyage_ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/13 "2012-01-17T14:26:39Z")
Back in the '80s I tried to convince John Waters to remake _What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?_, with Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor. He said that was too weird even for _him_. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/14 "2012-01-17T14:52:47Z")
It’s possible to improve on [The Hills Have Thighs](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1608612/) one might hope. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/15 "2012-01-17T15:47:14Z")
I read here some time ago that Treasure of the Sierra Madre would be awesome if it was remade as a space adventure. I think it lends itself perfectly to ‘miners on the edge of space’ treatment ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/16 "2012-01-17T16:00:06Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > I would like to see a good, modern remake of _The Lathe of Heaven_. Good one! ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/17 "2012-01-17T16:04:43Z")
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo would be my choice. Yes, it would be hard to replace Shelley Winters, but the atmosphere is chilling and I’ve always appreciated the Hansel and Gretel retelling of the story. I’d be so in to see a remake! ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/18 "2012-01-17T16:06:17Z")
Gosh. I didn’t even know that a movie had been made of _The Lathe of Heaven_! Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 78%. It might not be that bad. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/19 "2012-01-17T16:35:51Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Gosh. I didn’t even know that a movie had been made of _The Lathe of Heaven_! > Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 78%. > It might not be that bad. There are _two_. The first was a PBS production. It was pretty good – no big special effects, pretty faithful. It had the blessing of author Ursula K. LeGuin. It was one of the most requested PBS movies, and was finally released a few years ago, after they’d finally cleared up all the copyright issues. I’ve got a copy. > **[The Lathe of Heaven (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lathe_of_Heaven_(film))** > > The Lathe of Heaven is a 1980 film adaptation of the 1971 science fiction novel The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was produced in 1979 as part of New York City public television station WNET's Experimental TV Lab project, and directed by David Loxton and Fred Barzyk. Le Guin, by her own account, was involved in the casting, script planning, rewriting, and filming of the production. > The film stars Bruce Davison as protagonist George Orr, Kevin Conway as Dr. William Haber, and Margar... The other was a made-for-cable bigger budget version starring James Caan. It wasa, from all reports, unfaithful and awful. I assume that when the poster called for a good _modern_ remake, it was this one he had in mind. > **[Lathe of Heaven (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathe_of_Heaven_(film))** > > Lathe of Heaven is a 2002 American science fiction television film based on the 1971 novel The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin, which was previously adapted as a television film in 1980. The film was directed by Philip Haas, written by Alan Sharp, and stars James Caan, Lukas Haas, and Lisa Bonet. It aired on A&E on September 8, 2002. It was nominated at the 29th Saturn Awards for Best Single Program Presentation. > Unlike the 1980 adaptation, this film discards a significant portion of the... ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762/20 "2012-01-17T16:59:53Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > I read here some time ago that Treasure of the Sierra Madre would be awesome if it was remade as a space adventure. I think it lends itself perfectly to ‘miners on the edge of space’ treatment If you are a fan of Larry Niven’s Known Space series, one of the [books](http://www.amazon.com/Man-Kzin-Wars-V-Larry-Niven/dp/0671721372) in the [Man-Kzin Wars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-Kzin_Wars) sub-series has a story (_In the Hall of the Mountain King_) that is a take off on TotSM. Yes, it has the line in it. The first story in the arc (_The Children’s Hour_, IIRC) is, near as I can tell, has elements from _Casablanca_, and I’m not sure what the second one (_The Asteroid Queen_) is supposed to be a take off of. Despite the name, I don’t think it’s an homage to _The African Queen_, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen the movie. Steve Sterling and Jerry Pournelle co-wrote the story arc. Re-makes…hmmm…it’s hard to think of a movie that I would want to have remade. If it was original and terrible, why go to the trouble of remaking it? Especially when there are so friggin’ many properties that haven’t had their shot at the big screen yet: Rendezvous with Rama, At the Mountains of Madness, The Mote in God’s Eye, Snow Crash, etc… I’ll throw out the last Matrix movie, and maybe the middle one too? Soylent Green? Maybe Logan’s Run, make it a little closer to the Nolan and Johnson novel? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-begging-to-be-remade/609762.md?page=2)