# Which movies \_should\_ be remade with modern special effects? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692 "2006-05-14T01:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/1 "2006-05-14T01:35:41Z")
Which movies do you think could do better justice to the original concept now that better special effects are available? The best example I can think of is the remake of The Thing, which is much closer to the original SF story “Who Goes There?” Granted the original has a certain classic kitsch, but really- a guy in monster makeup? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/2 "2006-05-14T02:34:21Z")
_The Creature from the Black Lagoon_, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/3 "2006-05-14T02:40:22Z")
I haven’t seen Creature for a few years. I remember thinking it held up pretty well, as far as the way the Creature looked. No zippers showing anyway. 🙂 I’d like to see Them! with better ants, but they were pretty good, for the 50’s. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/4 "2006-05-14T03:09:37Z")
I like to go for the ultimate: _Plan 9 from outer space_. I still remember seeing it on TV but dubbed to Spanish and it scared me when I was little, finding that it was one of the worse movies of all time was surprising then, but now I can see how clumsy it was. I agree with critics that mentioned that the script, though goofy, moved the story at a good pace and the end was interesting, finding that the alien leader had a good reason to do what he was doing and the earthlings dismissing with violence what he said was a nice touch, almost completely lost in the total incompetence of the acting, non-existent production values and rotten special effects. I can picture how a modern production could use terrific effects and a much terrifying plot with aliens controlling the recently un-dead with their vast technology and using the information of the recently dead that had access to defense secrets or power to make the dreaded plan 9 a success. (or almost a success, if happy endings are more to your liking) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/5 "2006-05-14T03:39:31Z")
_Fantastic Voyage_ where the submarine and crew get shrunk and injected into a patient. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/6 "2006-05-14T03:42:17Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > _Fantastic Voyage_ where the submarine and crew get shrunk and injected into a patient. That would be excellent. By the way, is anyone as _uninterested_ as i am in seeing the remake of _The Poseidon Adventure_? ---
**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:** [May 14, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/7 "2006-05-14T03:57:42Z")
**This Island Earth**. And they should cut out the pulp crap like the Mtant , and Metaluna turning into a sun, and the rest. \*\*Quatermass and the Pit[/B (aka **Five Million Years to Earth** ). Both the TV serial and the 1960s film were great flicks, and the “Martians” were done perfectly, but the effects at the end definitely fell short, and were disappointing. For that matter … **Quatermass 2 (Enemy from Space)** could do with a face-lift. **A Journey to the CEnter of the Earth** was surprisingly good, despite the stupid tuff in it, saved by the presence f James Mason and music by Bernard Hermann. But they could get rid of the dumb dimentrodons and be a bit more faithful to Verne with CGI effects. **Demon with a Glass Hand** - not a novie, but my all-time avorite TV SF episode (from the original run of **Outer Limits**. Great script by Harlan Ellison. It’s look a heluva lot better with aliens the Kyben) that didn’t look like guys with too much mascara around the eyes, and stocking caps. And we could get a force field that really looked like one. I don’t see the point in remaking **The Day the Earth Stood Still** or **Forbidden Planet** or **The Andromeda Strain** – their effects stand up. I’d like to see some movies redone, but in most cases the problem isn’t the effects, it’s the writing, like the aforementioned **This Islan Earth** , or Heinlein’s **The Puppet Masters**. There’s no [point in remaking **The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms** , but they did it anyway, and called it the 1990s **Godzilla**. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/8 "2006-05-14T04:45:54Z")
Maybe a decent remake of the 1954 _Godzilla_—like Peter Jackson’s _Kong_. Set back in the original time period, no shocking utter changes to the basic premise or the story, just modern special effects and moviemaking. It’d invite some bad juju by ditching the traditional suitimation, granted, but you might be able to pull it off if you respect the basic core of the character design. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/9 "2006-05-14T14:19:24Z")
Not a movie, but I’d like to see **Babylon 5** remade with all of the effects cleaned up. I think they were the first TV show to keep all of the effects in the computer, and boy does it show 😉 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/10 "2006-05-14T14:27:08Z")
My Dinner with Andre ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/11 "2006-05-14T19:53:03Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > My Dinner with Andre Man, that would kick ASS! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/12 "2006-05-14T19:56:37Z")
After seeing the Star Wars Fiasco, as well as a number of the other latest Computer-Generated-Movies™ (CGM’s) my vote is for “none”. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/13 "2006-05-14T20:02:18Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **This Island Earth**. And they should cut out the pulp crap like the Mtant , and Metaluna turning into a sun, and the rest. I never would have guessed that _you’d_ like that movie 😛 ---
**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:** [May 14, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/14 "2006-05-14T20:30:11Z")
I don’t think any movie should be remade simply to update the special effects. If a film was terrible, but had a decent premise (e.g., **Day of the Triffids** ), by all means. And if you think there’s a way to remake the story, OK. But merely adding more current special effects is not going to improve a movie that’s good otherwise. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/15 "2006-05-14T21:33:12Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > _Fantastic Voyage_ where the submarine and crew get shrunk and injected into a patient. You mean like [Innerspace](http://imdb.com/title/tt0093260/)? > [@RealityCghuck](#): > > If a film was terrible, but had a decent premise (e.g., **Day of the Triffids** ), by all means. And if you think there’s a way to remake the story, OK. > > But merely adding more current special effects is not going to improve a movie that’s good otherwise. Agreed. With that in mind, I’d remake **They Live**. The biggest upgrade would be hiring an _actor_ to play the lead. The special effects getting a boost would just be a nice bonus. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/16 "2006-05-14T23:27:45Z")
I actually thought **The Poseidon Adventure** was a good choice. I mean, a bunch of people are trapped in a boat that has flipped upside down. That’s a DAMN good premise for a thriller. Sadly, the reviews have been lackluster. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/17 "2006-05-15T00:06:19Z")
_Gone With The Wind_ (I’m kidding.) ---
**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:** [May 15, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/18 "2006-05-15T02:45:38Z")
**Day of the Triffids** _has_ been remade, by British TV. It was broadcast in the US a couple of times, and I think it’s now on video. But they didn’t do it with CGI – they redid it with intelligent writing that stuck close to the book, and avoided the iiocy of the 1960s version. You _could_ redo it with CGI now, making the Triffids really move, btr I don’t see the point. It wouldn’t add much to the remake. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/19 "2006-05-15T03:35:53Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > With that in mind, I’d remake **They Live**. The biggest upgrade would be hiring an _actor_ to play the lead. The special effects getting a boost would just be a nice bonus. I dunno, that movie was more about the politics and economics of the Reagan years than about the aliens. And don’t diss my man Roddy. Nobody can take a 5.5-minute beating over a pair of sunglasses like him. Speaking of which, I’d like to see a return of _AlienNation_. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692/20 "2006-05-15T13:14:22Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Maybe a decent remake of the 1954 _Godzilla_—like Peter Jackson’s _Kong_. Set back in the original time period, no shocking utter changes to the basic premise or the story, just modern special effects and moviemaking. > > It’d invite some bad juju by ditching the traditional suitimation, granted, but you might be able to pull it off if you respect the basic core of the character design. It’s been done, and by all reports, very nicely. > **[Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314111/)** > > Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla: Directed by Masaaki Tezuka, Katsumune Ishida, Kazuki Ohmori. With Yumiko Shaku, Shin Takuma, Kana Onodera, Kô Takasugi. A new Godzilla causes the JSDF to construct a cyborg countermeasure from the original monster's... is the only one I’ve seen, and it was darned good. There’re also a spectacular series of Gamera movies out there, made in the late 90s. I’ve got all three, and they’re great. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-_should_-be-remade-with-modern-special-effects/356692.md?page=2)