# Top Ten Best Film Remakes Of All Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436 "2003-12-06T21:31:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![myles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@myles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myles)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/1 "2003-12-06T21:31:28Z")
What are people’s opinions on what the top ten greatest film remakes of all time are? Here’s my list (assembled in no particular order): 1. Frankenstein, 1931, (first film 1910) 2. Wizard of Oz, 1939, (first film 1910) 3. Ben Hur, 1959, (first film 1907) 4. Ten Commandments, 1956 (first film 1923) 5. Lord of the Rings, 2001-2003 (first film 1978) 6. Hound of the Baskervilles (w/Basil Rathbone), 1939, (1st-1920) 7. Dracula, 1931, (1st 1922) 8. Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet, 1948, (first film 1907) 9. Robin Hood (w/ Douglas Fairbanks), 1922, (first film 1912) 10. Little Shop of Horrors 1988 (first film 1960) Any other GREAT film remakes that you think should be on the list? All suggestions welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/2 "2003-12-06T21:49:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by myles \* > **3. Ben Hur, 1959, (first film 1907)** Have you seen the 1926 _Ben Hur_? Head and shoulders above the bloated, clunky 1959 re-re-make. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/3 "2003-12-06T22:04:27Z")
The Humphrey Bogart _Maltese Falcon_ was what, about the third, fourth film version? ---
**Author:** ![myles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@myles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myles)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/4 "2003-12-06T22:45:47Z")
While I agree that the 1920’s Ben Hur was far better than the 1950’s Ben Hur, (the reason I put that on my list is because the 1950’s version is usually better remembered by the lay public), you must admit that both pale completely when placed in comparison with the Ben Hur of 1907, Positively the most super Ben-Hur motion picture ever made. And one of the greatest films of that year, easily rivaling That Fatal Sneeze, and MR. HURRY-UP OF NEW YORK, and far surpassing such commercialistic tripe as The Roller Skate Craze and Dancing Box Match, Montgomery and Stone, The film shows the early genius of Sidney Olcott at his best, Gene Gauntier’s unimitable dialogue really allows us a fantastic glimpse into the seedy underbelly of early silent-era Roman sport-competition and reflects her outstanding abilities to outdo her earlier written genius as seen in The Days of ’61, and combine mad art with sublime style, not unlike her smash hit Why Girls Leave Home, For Herman Rottger, truly the star of this picture, this film represents the height of his actorial peak, like a supernova that sends light across a thousand galaxies, or a pyrotechnician in Womanhood, the Shame of a Nation, the scene with him in the Chariot Match is one of the few truly spiritual experiences one can hope to have in a movie theater. Ultimately, this 1907 film is proof positive for me that Jesus loves us and wants us to be Super. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/5 "2003-12-06T22:59:32Z")
. . . I don’t know _what_ Olcott was thinking casting Herman Rottger and not Arthur Johnson, though . . . ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/6 "2003-12-06T23:11:18Z")
Farewell, My Lovely (1975) - originally Murder, My Sweet (1944) Henry V (1989) - first film 1944 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - first film 1956 Richard III (1996) - first film 1908 Sorcerer (1977) - originally Wages of Sin (1955) Does the Magnificent Seven count??? ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/7 "2003-12-06T23:48:54Z")
The Fly (1986) - first film in 1958 ---
**Author:** ![Blackdragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Blackdragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackdragon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/8 "2003-12-06T23:58:21Z")
Get Carter (2000) - original 1971 ---
**Author:** ![HomerIU](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HomerIU](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HomerIU)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/9 "2003-12-07T06:22:00Z")
Ocean’s Eleven should be on the list. ``` You seem to mention some very old films. Please forgive my film history ignorance, but some of the originals from like 1910 or 1907....were those silent films? IF so, is it fair to compare them to movies made 30-50 years later? And what qualifies as a "remake"? Haven't there been many films on say Robin Hood, Frankenstein and Dracula? Does each that came after the original really qualify as a "remake"? There is a cartoon version of Robin Hood also. Is that a remake? ``` ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/10 "2003-12-07T06:25:52Z")
Would Point Of No Return count, since it was a remake of the French movie La Femme Nikita? Both are good, but I honestly prefer the American remake. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/11 "2003-12-07T06:46:56Z")
The first one that came to mind for me was John Carpenter’s **The Thing** , one of the best horror movies ever made. I like the Howard Hawks version too, but Carpenter’s film takes full advantage of the claustrophobic and paranoid atmosphere of the original story. The spider-head scene scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/12 "2003-12-07T07:09:19Z")
I’d include both remakes of _What Price Hollywood_. The first was _A Star is Born_ in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Frederic March. The second was _A Star is Born_ in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason. There was a third remake of it, but I’d just as soon forget about that one. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/13 "2003-12-07T10:52:19Z")
_A Star Is Born_ is not a remake of _What Price Hollywood?_, although they have similar plot elements. ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/14 "2003-12-07T12:56:07Z")
Cape Fear. ---
**Author:** ![peterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bb73d2/32.png) [@peterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peterW)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/15 "2003-12-07T15:26:43Z")
I consider “The Thomas Crown Affair” remake with Pierce Brosnan to be one of my favorite movies, although I’ve never seen the original. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/16 "2003-12-07T15:33:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HomerIU \* > \*\*\You seem to mention some very old films. Please forgive my film history ignorance, but some of the originals from like 1910 or 1907…were those silent films? IF so, is it fair to compare them to movies made 30-50 years later? \*\* Yes, most (though not all) films prior to 1928/9 were silent. You’re right, it’s not fair to compare them–but not _all_ talkies suck . . . I’m sure any day now they’ll get the hang of making them. ---
**Author:** ![myles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@myles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myles)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/17 "2003-12-07T18:29:27Z")
“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” – H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/18 "2003-12-07T18:33:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anal Scurvy \* > \*\*Cape Fear. \*\* You _must_ be joking. Robert Mitchum was far more menacing than Robert De Niro ever thought of being. The remake was poorly done, in my view, and completely unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/19 "2003-12-07T18:42:39Z")
No, I really like the remake of Cape Fear. I don’t remember the rape theme being as strong in the first. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436/20 "2003-12-07T19:11:37Z")
It was there, it was just more subtle. I _like_ subtle. I like the fact that Mitchum just blacked the eye of Bowden’s mistress, instead of turning her whole face into hamburger and putting her into a hospital bed, like De Niro did. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-best-film-remakes-of-all-time/217436.md?page=2)