# The worst movie remake of all time. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556 "2010-02-18T23:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [February 19, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/21 "2010-02-19T02:23:12Z")
Well, I think Wickerman is the winner, but I think the Wizard of Oz was a pretty good remake, if it counts. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/22 "2010-02-19T02:40:31Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Remakes are a mystery to me. I suspect that some people will just go to the movies to watch anything. You could remake “It’s Pat” and people are going to go watch it. Hey remakes can sometimes be better than the original - as Maholoth mentioned above, the '39 “Wizard of Oz” was a remake; so was the John Huston version of the Maltese Falcon. People will argue this, but the 70’s remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was better than the original. But this is about bad remakes…guess I’d have to say “Wicker Man”(?). > [@RealityChuck](#): > > The stage version of the movie is, in some ways, even better than Hitchcock (and I’m a big fan of the movie). Much funnier – and it manages to do every single scene in the movie with a four-person cast (one actor plays Hannay, another plays all the ingenues, and two actors play everyone else). If you get a chance, see it. The stage version is terrific in its own right, but in a very different way than the movie. Maybe as good as the movie, but on a much different plane. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/23 "2010-02-19T03:17:31Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I mean we have the orginal Halloween and Halloween 2, right? > A remake of Halloween I can understand. A sequel to that remake…another remake..Halloween 2…I just don’t get. > What kind of a boring world have we come to where we have to remake a whole movie series? Are they that strapped for ideas? None of the Halloween movies were remade. The franchise was rebooted with a completely different first movie that didn’t even resemble the plot of the original. Then the rebooted franchise spawned its own unique sequel. Reboots have become all the rage in horror movies nowadays because of the success of, uh, I forget offhand and I’m running out of edit time. (Dawn of the Dead, maybe?) Anyway, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes; everything’s getting rebooted. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/24 "2010-02-19T03:24:17Z")
[QUOTE] The Pink Panther with Steve Martin?[/QUOTE Sargeant Bilko with Steve Martin The Out of Towners with Steve Martin ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/25 "2010-02-19T03:30:10Z")
Father of the Bride with Steve Martin (actually I haven’t seen it - maybe it’s good. I just wanted to participate) ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/26 "2010-02-19T03:34:22Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Father of the Bride with Steve Martin > (actually I haven’t seen it - maybe it’s good. I just wanted to participate) Actually, this version was pretty good. And Martin Short as the effeminate wedding planner was hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/27 "2010-02-19T03:36:03Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > _Sleuth_ with Jude Law. Completely ruined all sense of coherency and tension of the original, whilst adding an unneeded and unwanted gay overtone. An absolutley dire retread of one of my favourite films. I was thinking this. I don’t know if it’s the _worst_ remake ever, but it sucks. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/28 "2010-02-19T03:42:33Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Father of the Bride with Steve Martin > (actually I haven’t seen it - maybe it’s good. I just wanted to participate) It’s better than the original, actually. Not a great movie, but decent. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/29 "2010-02-19T03:42:47Z")
It’s hard to argue with some of these – **Sleuth** (I don’t _care_ that Harold Pinter wrote the screenplay, and that everyone thinks he’s a far superior playwright – Anthony Schaffer’s play and screenplay and infinitely more quotable, and enjoyable), **The Wicker Man** , the 1976 **King Kong** , **Psycho** , tha abysmal, pointless, and humorless remake of **Charade**. There are plenty of others – like the insipid remake of **The Day of the Jackal** , all of Larry Buchanan’s Grade-Z TV remakes of 1950s monster films that were _already_ grade D, like **Attack of the the Eye Creatures, Creature of Destruction** , and **Zontar, the Thing from Venys** – but my candidate for the _worst_ remake is **The Day the Earth Stood Still**. It managed to dumb down one of the best and most intelligent science fiction films ever made. And its CGI Gort was far, far worse and more unrealistic-looking than the non-CGI one in the original! Way to go!! ---
**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:** [February 19, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/30 "2010-02-19T03:51:13Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > The stage version [of the 39 Steps] is terrific in its own right, but in a very different way than the movie. Maybe as good as the movie, but on a much different plane. True. They’re different, but both good, and that’s the way to do a successful remake. In any case, the worst I can think of is the David Hartman made for TV remake of **Miracle on 34th Street**. Deadly dull, and they made a fatal mistake. In the original, a centerpiece is the courtroom scene, and what makes that work so well is showing the reaction from the courtroom audience; some of the funniest moments involve people worrying about how the press and gallery will react. In the remake, someone realized that a hearing like that would take place behind closed doors, so it was about as funny as watching a sanity hearing. The 1994 remake was also bad, but not at the level of the TV movie. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/31 "2010-02-19T03:54:29Z")
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t come up to the level of suckititude of King Kong or The Wicker Man, but the 2008 remake of [The Women](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Women_%282008_film%29) deserves a dishonourable mention. When a 1939 movie is fresher than the 2008 remake, something is seriously wrong. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/32 "2010-02-19T03:59:59Z")
The 1995 version of _The Scarlet Letter._ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/33 "2010-02-19T04:04:40Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Sargeant Bilko with Steve Martin That wasn’t a remake of a movie, but a big-screen adaptation of a [TV series.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_Bilko) And it was actually pretty good. The (first) wedding scene alone is worth the price of admission. Sgt. Bilko is sitting around with his motor-pool crew and says, "What time is it? “Noon.” “Noon on Saturday . . . I think there was someplace I was supposed to be today . . .” Jumpcut to his girlfriend in a wedding dress standing alone at the altar of a packed church. Comedy **gold!** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/34 "2010-02-19T08:09:06Z")
Pamela Anderson starred in a movie called Barb Wire. It’s a remake of Casablanca. The Stepford Wives and The Manchurian Candidate were both very bad. (although the Glen Close Feak Out at the end of Stepford Wives is really good) ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/35 "2010-02-19T12:52:36Z")
_The Prisoner_ (OK, I know it’s TV. It’s still terrible) James Cameron’s remake of _A Night to Remember_ as _Titanic._😉 ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/36 "2010-02-19T13:02:11Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Pamela Anderson starred in a movie called Barb Wire. > > It’s a remake of Casablanca. Is this true? Because if it is, we have a winner! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/37 "2010-02-19T13:31:40Z")
There are some really bad stinkers that I hadn’t thought of in this thread - but the first one that came to my mind was the _Miracle on 34th Street_ remakes (mentioned earlier.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/38 "2010-02-19T13:46:29Z")
One of the more bizarre remakes was _Cruel Intentions 2_. The original _Cruel Intentions_ was released in 1999. It was popular and some people decided to make a TV series based on it. They remade the movie in 2000 as a pilot for the TV series with the actors who would presumedly star in the series. But the TV series was never produced so they released the movie on direct-to-video. So they ended up having a movie which was remade with a less famous cast within a year of its release. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/39 "2010-02-19T13:59:08Z")
I second \*\*Rollerball \*\*and **The Day the Earth Stood Still**. Especially **Rollerball** ; I managed to get all of 15 minutes into it before going 😕 and ejecting it from the DVD. Had to pay Netflix an extra $10 just for them to accept the return. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556/40 "2010-02-19T14:03:44Z")
I can’t argue with any of the previous cases, but for me personally I was more than a little offended when the wonderful [The Getaway (1972)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068638/) was redone as [The Getaway (1994)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109890/) for several reasons. The original, after Bullitt, was my favorite McQueen, and except for The Wild Bunch, my favorite Peckinpah. The remake, in spite of the Kim Basinger eye candy, lacked almost every aspect of the original that made the first one so entertaining. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-movie-remake-of-all-time/529556.md?page=3)