# The Remake is Better **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314 "2013-03-30T00:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/21 "2013-03-30T07:31:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > … > > Likewise \*\*Thir13en Ghosts \*\*(2001) appealed to me much more than **13 Ghosts** (1960). When I finally saw the original I couldn’t believe how little actually happens in the movie. You were obviously using your Illusion-O viewer wrong. If you look through the blue part you don’t see the ghosts. No telling how many heart attacks were prevented by that blue filter… (PT Barnum had nothing on William Castle.) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/22 "2013-03-30T08:02:57Z")
I like William Friedkin’s **Sorcerer** (1977) better than the French original **Le Salaire de la Peur** [sup]\*[/sup] (1953). Most critics seem to prefer the original, but I’ve found a few folks who agree with me. - “The Wages of Fear”. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/23 "2013-03-30T08:44:37Z")
> [@planetcory](#): > > I’m not. I enjoyed it more. ‘Better’? I don’t know, but I enjoyed it more. I didn’t, for one thing it basically dropped the whole “real or not?” ambiguity half way in and never bothered with it again, the original had the guts to take that ambiguity all the way to the end. The director reveals what he considers to be the truth in the DVD commentary, but you can watch the film by itself and make up your own mind. Battlestar Galactica is the premier example for me of the remake was better, the original show had a fascinating premise which was dumped about two seconds into the pilot and it just became a Star Trek clone. The remake not only stuck to the premise, it brought in some new elements like examining the nature of war and the dehumanizing of the enemy, along with questions about what makes one human. Ending up with a show that felt like an adaptation of a golden era scifi novel, some of the best scifi in decades. The ending divided fans I’ll admit.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/24 "2013-03-30T13:36:32Z")
Douglas Sirk’s 1954 version of **Magnificent Obsession** with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson is even more melodramatic than the 1935 version starring Irene Dunne. I don’t feel qualified to declare one better, but I enjoy the later one more. That might just be the technicolor, but I think it’s more than that. I believe it counts as a remake. Both films credit the the original novel, but the 1954 film is “based on the screenplay” used in the 1935 version. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/25 "2013-03-30T13:51:33Z")
The '70s remake of _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ with Donald Sutherland was, IMHO, a much better movie than the original '50s classic, iconic though the earlier version may be. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/26 "2013-03-30T14:01:45Z")
I think Heaven Can Wait was superior to Here Comes Mr. Jordan. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/27 "2013-03-30T15:18:19Z")
I am going to disagree that a work based off of another source material can’t be a “remake.” Now and then a film may be made that’s completely naive to the previous versions, but that’s going to be extremely rare. In practice, new films draw from everything surrounding the work, including previous movies based on it. > [@gwendee](#): > > Douglas Sirk’s 1954 version of **Magnificent Obsession** with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson is even more melodramatic than the 1935 version starring Irene Dunne. > > I don’t feel qualified to declare one better, but I enjoy the later one more. That might just be the technicolor, but I think it’s more than that. > > I believe it counts as a remake. Both films credit the the original novel, but the 1954 film is “based on the screenplay” used in the 1935 version. I was going to bring in another Sirk film. The 1959 Douglas Sirk **Imitation of Life** is one of the great masterpieces of film, full of brilliant commentary on the American dream, film, and race. It’s one of the greatest masterpieces on film. The 1934 **Imitation of Life** was a fairly straightforward, not particularly interesting film. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/28 "2013-03-30T17:13:19Z")
A lot of people seem to feel that **His Girl Friday** was superior to the Adolphe Menjoe **The Front Page** , but I actually prefer the earlier version. I like HGF, too, and the 1970s version with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. But I don’t like the one set in the TV newsroom. John Huston’s **Moby Dick** is definitely better than **the Sea Beast**. I prefer Hitchcock’s later version of **the Man Who Knew Too Much** to his earlier black and white version, even though the first had Peter Lorre. The first BBC version of **Day of the Triffids** is much better than the first theatrical film version. The 1980s version of Heinlein’s **The Puppet Masters** is infinitely better than the 1950s rip-off **the Brain Eaters** , but it’s still far short of what it could be (despite Donald-anything-for-a-back-Sutherland doing a good job, and the inspired casting of Richard-Conspiracy-Theory-Belzer as an agent who – Surprise! – gets captured by the slugs. ) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/29 "2013-03-30T17:18:11Z")
> [@grude](#): > > The director reveals what he considers to be the truth in the DVD commentary, but you can watch the film by itself and make up your own mind. What did he say? Is it like Blade Runner, where the director’s opinion is different from others? ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/30 "2013-03-30T18:27:28Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I didn’t, for one thing it basically dropped the whole “real or not?” ambiguity half way in and never bothered with it again, the original had the guts to take that ambiguity all the way to the end. I think they tried to raise the question again in the last scene, with their own Inception ‘spinning top’ moment. But yeah, it became less important as a plot element somewhere along the way. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/31 "2013-03-30T21:55:43Z")
The 1954 Judy Garland version of **A Star is Born** is superior to the 1936 Janet Gaynor version, though the latter is still a good movie. Judy’s is just a little bit better. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/32 "2013-03-30T23:04:47Z")
I liked the 2005 version of _Dawn of the Dead_ better than George Romero’s original. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/33 "2013-03-30T23:16:46Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I’m aware I’m in the minority here, but I enjoyed the Depp/Burton _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ more than the Gene Wilder one. You and me both. I enjoyed the music much more in the remake as well. At least I know one other person in this world agrees with me on this! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/34 "2013-03-30T23:23:40Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Oceans 11. The Frank Sinatra version… not so good if you ask me. Ocean’s 11 is the first movie I thought of, although I thought the Rat Pack version was okay (but not great). ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/35 "2013-03-31T00:40:06Z")
The first movie that came to mind for me is _Little Shop of Horrors_. The 1960 Roger Corman film is certainly low budget and has its own charms as a cult classic (a very early Jack Nicholson), but the 1986 musical version by Frank Oz surpasses it on many levels. (TCM is showing the original this week, on 4/6.) ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/36 "2013-03-31T02:02:34Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > The first movie that came to mind for me is _Little Shop of Horrors_. The 1960 Roger Corman film is certainly low budget and has its own charms as a cult classic (a very early Jack Nicholson), but the 1986 musical version by Frank Oz surpasses it on many levels. > > (TCM is showing the original this week, on 4/6.) I don’t know if it could be called a remake, since it was based on the musical. Peter Jackson’s **King Kong** was parsecs ahead of the 70s version. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/37 "2013-03-31T02:45:00Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > You are the first person in history to ever say that. :dubious: You could argue that the Ed Norton movie isn’t a remake, but it’s a far superior treatment. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/38 "2013-03-31T02:45:28Z")
The circa 2000 _Bedazzled_ (Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley) is much, much better than the circa 1967 one (Peter Cook, Dudley Moore). ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/39 "2013-03-31T03:48:04Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > Not sure if I’m in the minority on this, but I liked the Coen brothers True Grit more than the original. I wish we could plop John Wayne down in the middle of the remake. Everything else is much better, but I couldn’t get behind Jeff Bridges’ take on Rooster. He mumbled more than half-incoherently, which, while it was an interesting choice, sucked without subtitles. As said above, Carpenter’s _The Thing_ is far better. _Batman Begins_ is better than any other live-action Batman origin story. Can’t speak to animated versions. The Donald Sutherland version of _The Puppet Master_s was from 1994. I didn’t see the original, but for a low-budget production I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314/40 "2013-03-31T03:52:09Z")
Speaking of the Coen brothers, I liked their version of The Ladykillers better than the original. I’m in the minority though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-remake-is-better/654314.md?page=3)