# Stop remaking classic movies/TV damnit! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796 "2004-09-09T16:50:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/1 "2004-09-09T16:50:31Z")
Apparently spurred on by the success of Rollerball, Dawn of the Dead and The Manchurean Candidate, Hollywood plans on making a few more. The Warriors - Tony Scott is rumored to direct this remake of the 70s classic. Death Race 2000 - Paul Anderson (original Verhoeven which would have been better) is rumored to be directing a remake. Rumor has it that Tom Cruise will be playing the roll of Frankenstein and Stalone may be reprising his role as Machinegun Joe whoever. Apparently Stalone’s plan is to begin and end his career with the same movie. I actually just saw the original for the first time yesterday. It has to be one of the dumbest movies ever, even by 70s standards. Thoughts? Personally, I think that they should only remake crappy films that no one has heard of like Ocean’s 11 or The Italian Job, but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/2 "2004-09-09T17:45:32Z")
Movies, even classic movies, become dated. Every generation, I feel, has the right to revisit a classic screenplay through its own eyes. **The Wizard of Oz** that we know and love was the [fifth](http://www.imdb.com/find?tt=on;nm=on;mx=20;q=Wizard%20of%20Oz) version to be made. **The Ten Commandments** was the second. **Ben Hur** was the third. Should these remakes have been made? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/3 "2004-09-10T00:00:19Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > Movies, even classic movies, become dated. Every generation, I feel, has the right > to revisit a classic screenplay through its own eyes. > > **The Wizard of Oz** that we know and love was the [fifth](http://www.imdb.com/find?tt=on;nm=on;mx=20;q=Wizard%20of%20Oz) version to be made. **The Ten Commandments** was the second. > **Ben Hur** was the third. Should these remakes have been made? Yes because no one heard of the previous crappy versions. It’s ok to remake mediocre movies or movies that are so dated that no one remembers them. But why remake Planet of the Apes or other movies that are still considered classics? If you really must remake a classic, at least give it a new name like Independence Day or something and put a new twist on it. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/4 "2004-09-10T00:02:40Z")
They can remake all the movis they want, it doens’t affect the originals. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/5 "2004-09-10T00:10:18Z")
Y’know, I thought _Death Race 2000_ was kinda cool, actually. What often has me cringing is the horrific casting that is often contemplated, i.e. Will Smith and Robin Williams in a remake of _Kind Hearts and Coronets_. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/6 "2004-09-10T00:53:56Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yes because no one heard of the previous crappy versions. :rolleyes: Yeah, the silent versions of _Ben-Hur_ and _The Ten Commandments_ certainly [wallowed](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016641/business) in [obscurity](http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/10_dwp_3.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/7 "2004-09-10T01:19:52Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Personally, I think that they should only remake crappy films that no one has heard of like Ocean’s 11 or The Italian Job, but that’s just me. You’re kidding, right? Both were popular movies in their day. Although Ocean’s 11 isn’t good in my opinion, The Italian Job is far funkier than the modern version. Also, it has a soul - it isn’t just a slick and well-marketed piece of multiplex fodder. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/8 "2004-09-10T02:35:55Z")
If you don’t want to watch the remake, don’t. Its existance doesn’t affect the quality of the original but may allow people who never saw the first one to discover it if they liked the remake enough. And, obviously, judging by a couple of the responses to this thread, you’re just as bad as anyone else, dismissing films like _The Italian Job_ and _Ocean’s 11_ when both did well enough in their day and are still relelvant enough not to need a remake. At least be consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/9 "2004-09-10T07:34:07Z")
Maybe if we could find some numbers, we’d see remakes aren’t any more prevalent now than in the past. But it sure feels like they are. Whether or not it’s ruining older classics, it annoys me because it’s lazy. Adapting a story is one thing. I think studios like to remake movies and make TV shows into movies because they already have name recognition, meaning less marketing is required, and that’s about it. The idea that our generation needed its own version of _Charlie’s Angels_ and _Scooby-Doo_ is really charming, I guess, but I don’t think it’s really part of the equation. And we get into really amusing territory when these movies do well, with the sequels to remakes (like _Ocean’s 12_) and the sequels to the movie version of the TV show. Ah, the cinema. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/10 "2004-09-10T07:39:31Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Apparently spurred on by the success of Rollerball, Dawn of the Dead and The Manchurean Candidate, Hollywood plans on making a few more. > > The Warriors - Tony Scott is rumored to direct this remake of the 70s classic. > > Death Race 2000 - Paul Anderson (original Verhoeven which would have been better) is rumored to be directing a remake. Rumor has it that Tom Cruise will be playing the roll of Frankenstein and Stalone may be reprising his role as Machinegun Joe whoever. Apparently Stalone’s plan is to begin and end his career with the same movie. > > I actually just saw the original for the first time yesterday. It has to be one of the dumbest movies ever, even by 70s standards. > > Thoughts? Personally, I think that they should only remake crappy films that no one has heard of like Ocean’s 11 or The Italian Job, but that’s just me. Unless they get Mary Woronov back for at least some role in a remake of Death Race 2000 they shouldn’t bother. Really, _they shouldn’t bother_. ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/11 "2004-09-10T08:17:23Z")
When they re-did “Of Mice and Men” I watched it for five or ten minutes,and then almost cried.The original,in black and white,was perfect to depict years gone by;the cast was perfect,and they followed the book almost exactly.The end always makes me cry,or it did when I could find it.When someone says to George that(paraphrase) if he doesn’t want Lenny locked away for life,there’s only one thing to do,you can see and feel his pain when he replies,“I know it.I know it.” I don’t think the younger folks consider it a good movie,but hey,it’s in color,and they certainly wouldn’t want to see it in black and white.That’s assuming it could be found. I deeply love the original.I don’t think I have the book anymore.I may have to re-buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/12 "2004-09-10T10:06:52Z")
_Rollerball_ was a success? Wasn’t it there and gone in an afternoon? ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/13 "2004-09-10T13:40:04Z")
_The Warriors_ is a classic? Who knew? Yikes, that movie stank. But it’s surely unintentionally funny. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/14 "2004-09-10T16:37:22Z")
> [@ageless6](#): > > When they re-did “Of Mice and Men” I watched it for five or ten minutes,and then almost cried.The original,in black and white,was perfect to depict years gone by;the cast was perfect,and they followed the book almost exactly.The end always makes me cry,or it did when I could find it.When someone says to George that(paraphrase) if he doesn’t want Lenny locked away for life,there’s only one thing to do,you can see and feel his pain when he replies,“I know it.I know it.” > > I don’t think the younger folks consider it a good movie,but hey,it’s in color,and they certainly wouldn’t want to see it in black and white.That’s assuming it could be found. > > I deeply love the original.I don’t think I have the book anymore.I may have to re-buy it. I still haven’t seen the Sinise/Malkovitch remake, to which I think you’re referring. There was also an alright TV version with Robert Blake & Randy Quaid. But Meredith/Chaney was wonderful! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/15 "2004-09-10T16:47:38Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > _The Warriors_ is a classic? Who knew? > > Yikes, that movie stank. But it’s surely unintentionally funny. Blasphamy!!! Ok it was kinda cheesy…70’s style. But it did have that classic scene with the guy from Commando (who Arnold “let him go”) clanking the bottles…“WARRIORRRRRS…COME OUT AND PLAAAAAY!!” (oh by the way, that guy’s back with Adam Sandler in a remake of Burt Reynold’s film The Longest Yard. All it needs is Cajun Rob Schneider yelling “Yooo can dooo eeeet!!!” from the sidelines) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398165/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398165/) ) But what other movies should be remade? Citizen Kane? A Clockwork Orange? The Shining…oh wait already done… ---
**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:** [September 10, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/16 "2004-09-10T17:08:49Z")
I’ll go further – why remake the crappy movies, too? Aren’t there any new works to adapt, new movies to make? It bugs me when they take a great flick and – for no apparent reason – remake it, like **Psycho** and **Charade** (as **The Truth About Charley** ) and **The Day of the Jackal**. But does the world really need remakes of \*\*Thirteen Ghosts, The House on Haunted Hill, The She Creature, How to Make a Monster, \*\* etc.? (Ignore the fact that The She Creature has already had a crappy remake, and I suspect the newest one only steals the name). ---
**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:** [September 10, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-remaking-classic-movies-tv-damnit/263796/17 "2004-09-10T18:22:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But does the world really need remakes of **Thirteen Ghosts**? I caught it on SciFi recently and it was pretty good. I had no idea it was a remake until I went to the IMDb to look up the credits.