# Remakes by the same people with better production **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303 "2011-04-14T00:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/1 "2011-04-14T00:01:42Z")
I feel like I’m struggling to find the vocabulary to explain a simple concept. So I’ll just give an example. Terry Tate, Office Linebacker – Original Pilot: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lq1eUpd9dco/hqdefault.jpg "Terry Tate - Office Linebacker - Original Pilot") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq1eUpd9dco) Superbowl version: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RzToNo7A-94/hqdefault.jpg "Terry Tate Office Linebacker") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzToNo7A-94) Same script, same main actor. The same people made both versions, but the second one has higher production values. I love finding that stuff to see how things evolve, and now I want more examples. ---
**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 14, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/2 "2011-04-14T00:11:49Z")
I think I know what you mean. Cecil B. Demille made the the Ten Commandments twice, which is unusual. Also, George Lucas took his THX 1138 short and made the feature film version of it. Shane Acker also made a feature version “9” based on his original short. ---
**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 14, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/3 "2011-04-14T01:20:24Z")
Michael Mann remade his movie _L.A. Takedown_ > **[L.A. Takedown (TV Movie 1989) ⭐ 6.0 | Action, Crime, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097700/)** > > 1h 37m as the movie _Heat_: > **[Heat (1995) ⭐ 8.3 | Action, Crime, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113277/)** > > 2h 50m | R ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/4 "2011-04-14T01:40:06Z")
_District 9_ was an expansion of a concept from the short film [Alive in Joburg](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1185812222812358837#). _The Evil Dead_ started as a short called _Within the Woods_. Evil Dead 2 : Dead Before Dawn was technically a sequel, but it almost fits the ‘remake’ idea. Desperado (_El Mariachi_) is along the same lines - a sequel with a similar story and higher production values. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/5 "2011-04-14T02:44:08Z")
Sean Ellis took his short film **Cashback** and made it into a [feature](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460740/). The short version is part of the full version and uses the same cast. George Lucas’s **THX 1138** was developed from a student film he made. Alfred Hitchcock made **The Man Who Knew Too Much** twice. Hitchcock also did several “running man” films that he kept improving: **Young and Innocent, The 39 Steps, Saboteur,** and **North by Northwest** (where he specifically redesigned a scene from a mistake he made in **Saboteur** ) ---
**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:** [April 14, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/6 "2011-04-14T03:32:35Z")
sam raimi took his original **Evil dead** student film and remade it as **the Evil dead** , with more money. There are two examples I know of where the same actor stars in the remake of his own film (Sean Connery in **Thunderball/Never say Never Again** and Clark Gable in **Red Dust/Mogambo**. Vincent Price appeared in two different versions of **House of Seven Gables** , but in different roles (and the second version actually had _lower_ production values) Jimmy Stewart starred in the movie version of **Harvey** and a later TV version, also arguably lower production values. ---
**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 14, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/7 "2011-04-14T10:55:44Z")
There was an episode of South Park where they essentially remade the short pilot. It was construction paper and a bad camera versus the CGI that brought us Jurassic Park. The voices sounded a lot better, too. You can also compare the first episode with the remake/continuation/alternate interpretation in the 100th episode, but the difference isn’t nearly as stark. (and, of course, a lot of stuff is missing.) ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/8 "2011-04-14T12:24:57Z")
I came in here to post the “Evil Dead” movies, but since I’ve been beaten to it I shall bore you all with more punk trivia. Coincidentally enough two very different punk rock bands completely re-recording their debut albums: The UK crusty-hardcore punk band [Doom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(band)) used to be on the once very underground-and-do-it-yourself label “Peaceville”. After Peaceville was sold out to a larger European heavy metal label, Doom felt betrayed, so they re-recorded their first two releases and called the album “Fuck Peaceville”. (Ha ha, take that Peaceville!) Unfortunately, in this case the original Peaceville recordings are far superior. (Umm… take that, Doom.) Japanese horror-punk band [Balzac](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balzac_(band)) also completely rerecorded their first album (I’m too drunk to accurately remember the reason why.) This time around, I’m happy to say the re-recording trumps the original. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/9 "2011-04-14T12:51:02Z")
Well, there’s piles of examples in music, though it’s relatively rare for the first versions to become well-known first. For punk and garage rock, there’s plenty that I _wish_ had the opportunity to record with decent production. There’s a difference between a lo-fi aesthetic and just sounding like crap. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/10 "2011-04-14T13:51:59Z")
Billy Bob Thornton turned his short film, _Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade_, into the full-length [_Sling Blade._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sling_Blade) ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/11 "2011-04-14T14:18:14Z")
The 1996 film \*\*Bottle Rocket \*\*(Wes Anderson and Luke and Owen Wilson) was an expansion of their 1994 short film, also titled _Bottle Rocket_. Or so I assume. I’ve never seen the short. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/12 "2011-04-14T14:21:06Z")
John Carpenter and Kurt Russel did both **Escape From New York** and **Escape From LA** ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/13 "2011-04-14T16:13:05Z")
While still a college student here in Austin, Robert Rodriguez made the action flick “El Mariachi” on a shoestring budget with a cast consisting largely of friends and acquaintances. when that movie became an underground hit, he more-or-less remade it with a bigger budget and a more famous cast, under the title “Desperado.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/14 "2011-04-14T16:15:43Z")
Do we count things like Sting’s “Symphonicities” album, which consists largely of more lush, mellow versions of old Police songs? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/15 "2011-04-14T16:43:07Z")
Didn’t Hitchcock do two versions of “The Man Who Knew Too Much”? _Checks Google_ Yep, 1934 and 1956. One black and white with Peter Lorre, one color with Jimmy Stewart & Doris Day. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/16 "2011-04-14T16:54:43Z")
Mentioned already in post #5 ---
**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 15, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/17 "2011-04-15T04:02:32Z")
PSXer writes: \> John Carpenter and Kurt Russel did both Escape From New York and Escape \> From LA This is an example of a movie and a sequel, not a movie and a remake. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/18 "2011-04-16T19:08:40Z")
I can think of a couple of examples where European directors had a chance to direct the Hollywood remake of their own film, although the production values were not necessarily superior. George Sluizer’s 1993 reworking of his 1988 classic “The Vanishing” ballsed-up the ending and was widely panned by the critics; Michael Haneke’s 2008 remake of his 1997 original “Funny Games” was a lot more successful. I relaise that it pushes the concept, but you could perhaps count Stephen King’s film version of his “Maximum Overdrive” - the production values of the film are much higher than the original novel - but that’s straying into the world of adaptations rather than remakes. \Waris Hussein’s classic television mystery “An Unearthly Child” was a direct remake of an earlier, pilot version of the same story. I always thought they should have turned that into a full series - who _was_ that crazy old man, with his time machine - but sadly no, unless it had a different title and I missed it.\ You carry on, by the way. This is interesting. Not quite as interesting as the other thread with the chap being airbrushed out of old Beatles photographs, but interesting nonetheless. I’m going to have a cup of tea, you carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/19 "2011-04-16T20:38:15Z")
John Wayne and Howard Hawks made _Rio Bravo_, then made it again eight years later as _El Dorado_. The British film _Death at a Funeral_ was tragically remade with an American cast, but Peter Dinklage plays the same role in both films. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303/20 "2011-04-16T20:45:33Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > PSXer writes: > > \> John Carpenter and Kurt Russel did both Escape From New York and Escape > \> From LA > > This is an example of a movie and a sequel, not a movie and a remake. that’s the joke [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-by-the-same-people-with-better-production/578303.md?page=2)