# Why remake an already great movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521 "2017-09-17T03:38:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/1 "2017-09-17T03:38:04Z")
Why remake the great 1965 movie _Flight of the Phoenix_? I mean you have already got fricken’ James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine and George Kennedy all giving outstanding performances and you think you are going to put out a better version of the story?? Just watched the 2004 remake. What garbage! Any other disastrous movie remakes? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/2 "2017-09-17T04:10:39Z")
King Kong. All of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/3 "2017-09-17T04:11:55Z")
That 1998 shot-for-shot remake of Psycho comes to mind. A completely pointless excercise that still can’t be explained. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/4 "2017-09-17T04:26:43Z")
They don’t care whether it’s “better” or “pointless” or anything else - they do it, of course, because they think it will make money. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/5 "2017-09-17T04:39:27Z")
I’m okay with another interpretation of the source material, like _Dredd_. I’m okay with adapting a movie into a new TV series, like _Westworld_. I’m okay with remaking a movie that isn’t looked on favourably but has a core of a good idea, like _Battlestar Galactica_. But I’m not so happy with remaking a movie that is significant and still holds up, like _Ghostbusters_. Having said that, the new _It_ seems to be doing okay, as are the _Planet of the Apes_ movies. So I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/6 "2017-09-17T04:39:29Z")
Plenty. Some remakes are actually good. Some are even vast improvements. Some are actually good, but because the audience has strong positive associations with the previous version, they get rejected anyway. There are plenty of extremely flawed films that are considered beloved classics, too. One for sure that needed no remake, was The Day The Earth Stood Still. That original was not only well done for its time, it was directly tied to it. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2017, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/7 "2017-09-17T05:15:10Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > Some are actually good, but because the audience has strong positive associations with the previous version, they get rejected anyway. There are plenty of extremely flawed films that are considered beloved classics, too. I just saw _Shaft_ last night at a midnight movie. As a movie, there’s stuff wrong with it that’s easy to point out, but there’s stuff right with it that’s impossible to put your finger on. There’s a vibe to it that’s a product of the time, place, and people who made it, and maybe its flaws are even part of what made it work. People remake movies because they think they can catch lightning in the same bottle twice. I have not seen the remake of _Shaft_. I don’t feel like I need to. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/8 "2017-09-17T05:17:50Z")
This thought isn’t original to me. I can’t remember who said it first: “They shouldn’t keep remaking good movies. They should remake bad movies, and this time make sure they get done right.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/9 "2017-09-17T05:24:38Z")
There are so many young people that turn their noses up at an “old movie” that a remake is the only way they’ll watch. Cast today’s flavor of the moment actors and you’ll fill the theater. Stream or rent the original from Netflix and your 16 year old could care less. > [@](#): > > Jimmy Who? Ernest, you want me to watch a guy called Ernest in a movie? Mom!! Dad!!! You’re destroying my life! I’ve been there and lived that conversation too many times. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/10 "2017-09-17T08:10:02Z")
I’d love to see remakes of classic war movies like “Midway” and “Sink the Bismarck” since CGI had sufficiently advanced to the point they can make those giant naval battles actually look amazing (as opposed to a bunch of obvious models shooting fire crackers at each other) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/11 "2017-09-17T09:06:59Z")
All I have to say, is that I’m glad we no longer lose the original film when there’s a remake. It used to be that the earlier film would have its distribution rights bought by the remaking studio, and then pulled from distribution. That meant that a lot of great films, from Fredric March’s _Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde._ to nearly half of Irene Dunne’s corpus were unavailable until the 1990s, when public domain, and the demand for videos made them available. At least Gus van Sant’s grad school project _Psycho_ didn’t mean that his studio pulled Hitchcock’s original. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/12 "2017-09-17T09:25:40Z")
All I have to say, is that I’m glad we no longer lose the original film when there’s a remake. It used to be that the earlier film would have its distribution rights bought by the remaking studio, and then pulled from distribution. That meant that a lot of great films, from Fredric March’s _Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde._ to nearly half of Irene Dunne’s corpus were unavailable until the 1990s, when public domain, and the demand for videos made them available. At least Gus van Sant’s grad school project _Psycho_ didn’t mean that his studio pulled Hitchcock’s original. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/13 "2017-09-17T09:32:03Z")
All I have to say, is that I’m glad we no longer lose the original film when there’s a remake. It used to be that the earlier film would have its distribution rights bought by the remaking studio, and then pulled from distribution. That meant that a lot of great films, from Fredric March’s _Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde._ to nearly half of Irene Dunne’s corpus were unavailable until the 1990s, when public domain, and the demand for videos made them available. At least Gus van Sant’s grad school project _Psycho_ didn’t mean that his studio pulled Hitchcock’s original. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/14 "2017-09-17T09:48:27Z")
Some stories are trascendental enough that they should be remade every once in a while, because they allow for multiple iterations. Your Hamlets, your Counts of Montecristo, your Red Riding Hoods, your Draculas… it’s fine by me. And flight of the Phoenix is one of those tales. I didn’t hate the 2004 remake. It pales in comparison with the original, and while there are some scenes in the original seared in my mind forever, I’ve already forgotten most of the Dennis Quaid vehicle. But if it was an original movie, if I wasn’t comparing it to something else, I’d happily recommend it as an underrated gem. It didn’t change or improve the original, and the fanbase for that movie was non existent, so it wasn’t even made out of greed. But if at some time anybody wants to try to do something interesting with the premise, I’ll be there. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/15 "2017-09-17T11:44:25Z")
**RivkahChaya** , I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/16 "2017-09-17T13:06:34Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I’d love to see remakes of classic war movies like “Midway” and “Sink the Bismarck” since CGI had sufficiently advanced to the point they can make those giant naval battles actually look amazing (as opposed to a bunch of obvious models shooting fire crackers at each other) Or painfully obvious/poor quality stock footage which often doesn’t match the actual planes/ships at all… ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/17 "2017-09-17T13:15:15Z")
Two of my favorite movies are _Dial M for Murder_, a 1954 Hitchcock film starring Ray Milland; and _The Big Sleep_, a 1946 film with Bogart and Bacall. Two of the worst movies I’ve ever seen are _A Perfect Murder_, a 1998 film with Michael Douglas that was supposedly a remake of _Dial M for Murder_; and _The Big Sleep_, the 1978 remake with Robert Mitchum. The Mitchum _Sleep_ was so silly I don’t remember it at all, except that the tone was completely different from a Chandler novel. Some of the script was left intact despite that the setting was 1970’s London instead of 1940’s L.A. Naturally this led to absurdities. The Douglas _Perfect Murder_ would have been a very bad movie in any event, but to consider it a remake of _Dial M_ was laughable. The climax of the Hitchcock film has the moustache-twirling Chief Inspector cleverly proving Milland’s character guilty. In _A Perfect Murder_ the police are ineffectual; the climax has Douglas’ character chasing his wife with a knife; wife lucks out and kills hubby somehow. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/18 "2017-09-17T13:16:41Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I just saw _Shaft_ last night at a midnight movie. As a movie, there’s stuff wrong with it that’s easy to point out, but there’s stuff right with it that’s impossible to put your finger on. There’s a vibe to it that’s a product of the time, place, and people who made it, and maybe its flaws are even part of what made it work. People remake movies because they think they can catch lightning in the same bottle twice. You could say the same things about the film “Ocean’s 11”, but I’m pleased with the remake. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/19 "2017-09-17T13:30:04Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > At least Gus van Sant’s grad school project _Psycho_ didn’t mean that his studio pulled Hitchcock’s original. I think you meant _grade_ school project. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/20 "2017-09-17T13:39:30Z")
Why worry about it? To take a recent example, the 2016 version of _The Magnificent Seven_ took nothing away from the 1960 version of _The Magnificent Seven_. They were two separate movies. If you feel one of them was great and one was terrible, you can ignore the terrible one. If you feel one of them is great and the other is just good, enjoy them both for what they are. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521.md?page=2)