Another current thread on the remake of *The Longest Yard * made me think of this. One of my favorite movies is Westworld. I saw it again recently and couldn’t help wondering what it would look like with the help of current technology. Michael Crichton created *Westworld * and he would use the theme of ‘fantastic amusement park gone berserk’ again in Jurassic Park. The theme of ‘being stalked by robot’ also wears well as evidenced by movies such as The Terminator.
I would like to hear what other movies people would like to see remade. There are no wrong answers. I don’t want this to turn into criticism of another’s taste.
I would like to see *Westworld * made with someone like Ray Liotta as the robot gunslinger (originally played by Yul Brynner.) Maybe the Richard Benjamin character could be played as a young yuppie (Matt Damon?) or as an middle-aged man trying to regain some excitement (Harrison Ford?).
So here are the rules for this thread. Feel free to post any remake suggestion without fear of snobbish criticism. But anybody is allowed to make suggestions for the casting of your movie. For example someone might think John Malkovich might be a better candidate for the robot gunslinger who just won’t quit.
Give it a try. Maybe you’ll get an offer to become a casting director.
The Puppet Masters, played straight as Heinlein wrote it, this time.
Starship Troopers, ditto.
Arena, the Fredric Brown short story that has been ripped off innumerable times. Even the version they made for Star Trek (TOS) wasn’t at all true to the story. I’ve plotted this one out in my head – I’d love to see it done.
I could live the rest of my life happy without seeng a remake of Westworld – I wasn’t that fond of it to begin with.
This Island Earth – only this time actually following the plot of the book, which they completely jettisoned for the 1956 version.
Johnny Mnemonic, following the story as written. I can see it opening with Johnny walking through the streets on his way to the bar, and a voice-over of the “technical boy” speech. The climactic fight between the cloned ninja and the razorgirl, as written, would blow me away. And then there’s the War Whale and his SQUID…
It could have been so good, but we got what we got.
Queen of the Damned, with Akasha’s plans and motives presented as they were in Rice’s novel. And Hannibal, with Harris’ original ending. (I don’t know how to do spoiler boxes or I’d provide details – but you probably know what I’m talking about. The filmed versions of these novels were two more examples of Hollywood wimping out!)
Am I the only one who doesn’t consider most of these remakes? If two movies get made based on the same book, that doesn’t make the second one a remake of the first, unless the second movie actually is based on the first movie. MHO, anyway. As for original films to be remade, nobody ever agrees about these because either they think the original was bad and so why bother, or the original was good and so why bother.
Again, go back to the source, and get an experienced screenwriter to do the adaptation, a capable director, and a cast that doesn’t suck. Kriss Krisstofferson and Cheryl Ladd? Directed by Michael Anderson? Sure, it’s a time-travel story, but lets not go to hell with the joke.
Air Raid is a great story, with potential for a great movie.
All we got out of the first go-round is something to tease Scott Thompson about.
Maybe. Once a movie has been made, it’s been made. A second attempt is a remake, even if it’s starting fresh from the original source.
I would like for somebody to make an ORIGINAL movie for once. Hollywood is just choking on its own vomit these days. All those silly explosions, etc. cost so damn much they can’t afford writers or something.
Chorus Line was a very good Broadway musical, but one of the worst films ever made.
But we are wasting out time. Hollywood is filled with idiots…instead of re-making a bad film to make it good, studios continually want to take a good film and remake it into something bad.
Night Crossing. I saw it in the theaters when I was 11, and haven’t seen it since. Can’t find it in any local rental outlets. Sometimes, I swear I was the only one who ever heard of it.
I saw it in class. I clearly remember a scene with a hot air balloon catching fire, but the family having a super-spraying fire extinguisher, which I thought was totally awesome.