I was posting recommendations on one of the movie related threads and found myself consistently writing, “See the original, not the crappy remake.”
Which got me started thinking…which films were actually better in the remakes than the originals?
I’m sure there must be some but I’m stymied right now.
Ocean’s 11. The original is quite poo.
Battlestar Galactica. Not a movie, but also way better than the original.
The Maltese Falcon - the Bogart version was the second remake
His Girl Friday - a remake of The Front Page (the Walter Matthau version was also better than the original
Karloff’s * Frankenstein*
Alastair Sim’s A Christmas Carol
This year’s Murder on the Orient Express was an improvement on the 70s version
The Fly - The Vincent Price original is a fun campy B-movie, but Cronenberg’s version is a deeply unsettling masterpiece of body horror.
It - I rewatched the miniseries in anticipation of the new film, this time without my nostalgia goggles, and other than Tim Curry’s performance, it did not hold up well.
The 1939 musical version of The Wizard of Oz was at least the fourth adaptation.
Not exactly direct remakes, but rather a redo of a concept… I think the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy was vastly superior to the 70s sequels that covered the same Ceasar story line (Escape From…, Conquest of… and Battle For…). On the other hand, Tim Burton’s remake of the original film was vastly inferior.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Thing were both remade in the 70s/80s and they were great remakes. Better is a matter of taste, but the remakes were more ambitious.
Those are good choices.
I’d say the 1970s invasion was good and nothing to be ashamed of, but I personally am not sure if it’s better. The Thing is such a different take, going back to Campbell’s original novella, that it’s hard to compare. (There was a remake in between that’s not too bad, either.)
I’d agree on The Fly but** It **is kind of iffy. Tim Curry’s performance made that film.
True on The Wizard.
I think the modern Ape films are very good, but again, hard to compare to the original series. Both are good, though.
I still like the original Ocean’s 11 more.
I have to confess I still haven’t seen the Galactica remake. I’ve been waiting for some free time to binge-watch…
The 1959 Ben-Hur (Charleton Heston) is better than the 1925 silent version (Ramon Navarro), which is better than the 1907 one-reel version (Herman Rottger). The remakes since then have been worse. (Although Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of Sheik Ilderim is worth watching.)
I have not seen every version of The Three Musketeers, but the 1973 version is better than the earlier versions that I have seen.
I know Steve McQueen was a better actor than Pierce Brosnan, but I prefer the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. The original film is about a bank robber. I have been on the receiving end of armed robberies at work, so when one of the henchmen shoots a bank guard, my sympathy for McQueen’s character comes to an abrupt end. In the remake, the crime is an art heist, and nobody gets hurt.
Also, Rene Russo is much hotter than Faye Dunaway ever was.
A lot of films were remade in sound versions after very early silent versions. A lot of those early silent versions were made on extremely low budgets and when films were necessarily shorter. It’s not at all surprising that later versions were better – they had the advantages of bigger budget, longer running time, and often sound and even color. Among such remakes that improved on the originals (and aren’t listed above)
She – there were two silent versions before Merian C, Cooper’s 1934 definitive version. (Thenm there were at least two later versions that were pretty awful)
Moby Dick – the silent version was called The Sea Beast, and it’s awful. Captain Ahab lives (!!) and returns home to his sweetheart (!!!) The John HUston version with script by Ray Bradbury bllows it out of the water.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – the 1916 version is actually pretty good. It also features Captain Nemo as an Indian (ages before Leaguer of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and it also includes much of Mysterious Island, but it’s not as good as the Disney version. Also, the 1929 part sound part silent film The Mysterious Island is also pretty clearly meant te a version of 20,000 Leagues, but they screw it up incredibly.
The Ten Commandments – more than half of Cecil B. deMille’s silent version is a modern story about morality. The part sent in ancient Egypt, with Moses, is pretty nicely done in the original, with then-state-of-the-art effects, but the remake from 1956 is better, and concentrates only on the ancient story.
Numerous versions of Dr. Jeckyll and Mister Hyde, A Christmas Carol, the various Sherlock Holmes titles, and The Wizard of Oz appeared before the “definitive” editions of each – or at least arguably definitive versions.
Gaslight (1940) was very good, but Gaslight (1944) was great.
Casino Royale.
The best known Maltese Falcon was the third version in 10 years.
The second remake of Planet of the Apes was better than the original and the first remake, although the original had a kitsch factor that made it fun.
I’d agree with all of those. I really loved the 1970s 3 and 4 Musketeers.
Gone in 60 seconds with Cage is better than the 1974 version (though the old one has some great 70s camp to it).
vs
John Wayne was somewhat better than Jeff Bridges, but in every other way, the Coen brothers’ remake of “True Grit” was better than the original.
John Carpenter’s “The Thing” was a hundred times better than Howard Hawks’.
Definitely. The two are so close in dialog and plot that The Duke could be shopped into the remake to make the superior film.
Pocketful of Miracles, Frank Capra’s last film, was a remake of one of his earlier films,Lady for a Day. The remake was marginally better and had the potential to exceed that if Capra had more control of the film. In addition to being Capra’s last film it was the Ann-Margret’s first, and it was the first movie to use the term ‘Godfather’ in reference to a mob boss.
Can’t believe I’m the first to say Lord of the Rings. However you feel about how it compares to the novels, at least it’s an improvement over Ralph Bakshi’s abortive attempt at an animated version (which wasn’t even completed!)