# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/21 "2017-09-17T14:35:49Z")
And of course, both are adaptions of a Japanese film, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/22 "2017-09-17T14:42:47Z")
Wolfgang Peterson’s re-make of, “Poseidon Adventure,” (without the adventure) was a turd. I did learn, though, that cruise ships have giant electric fans to steer with. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/23 "2017-09-17T14:56:49Z")
Don’t dis remakes. I’m looking forward to getting all cranky about the new version of **The Matrix** in a decade or two! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/24 "2017-09-17T16:26:48Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > 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. Of course, if the thread title is a serious question looking for a serious answer, this is it. > [@suranyi](#): > > 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.” I agree. Or at least, remake flawed movies, that could have been great but weren’t done right the first time. > [@aceplace57](#): > > 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. And that’s the other serious answer. Some people avoid old movies, especially if they’re black and white, or otherwise not state-of-the art. And new movies (even if they’re remakes) get attention and hype and interest. > [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > 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. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And of course, both are adaptions of a Japanese film, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. In my mind, at least, a remake of an old movie is different from an _adaptation_ of an old movie is different from a new movie based on the same source material as an older movie, both of which are a lot easier to defend. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/25 "2017-09-17T16:34:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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. Why worry about it? Well, for one thing, making a feature film takes an enormous amount of time and effort and money, and it seems like such a waste spending all that time and effort and money just to make something that already exists, instead of giving the world something it didn’t already have. For another thing, fans of the old version often have a definite idea in mind, based on that old version, of the way things are supposed to be, and it bothers them when the new version gets them “wrong.” And it bothers them that people will see the new version and _think_ they know the story, characters, etc. based on that, when the original gives a different depiction. I genuinely wonder: does the release of a remake of a classic movie make it more likely, or less likely, that people will go back and watch the original version? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/26 "2017-09-17T16:46:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Why worry about it? Well, for one thing, making a feature film takes an enormous amount of time and effort and money, and it seems like such a waste spending all that time and effort and money just to make something that already exists, instead of giving the world something it didn’t already have. You could make the same argument for not making yet another superhero movie, franchise movie or adaption of a popular state musical or book. For example, basically every James Bond movie is exactly the same. But these big-budget tentpole movies can make enough for the studio to support original movies. Some of the original films will be critical or commercial successes, while many will not. And some might even spawn yet another franchise. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/27 "2017-09-17T17:21:18Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > **RivkahChaya** , I see what you did there. You can say _that_ again! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/28 "2017-09-17T17:42:00Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > … > Some remakes are actually good. Some are even vast improvements. > > … Examples of each, please? > [@](#): > > 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. Totally agree here. I’m still amazed at how the interior of the spacecraft is timelessly futuristic, even by today’s standards. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/29 "2017-09-17T17:53:45Z")
I think the remake of Ocean’s Eleven was pretty good. The versions of The Wizard of Oz and Ben-Hur that you’re familiar with were both remakes, or at least not the first adaptation of the source material. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/30 "2017-09-17T18:01:31Z")
The very best remake was Ben Hur. The 1925 silent film is absolutely outstanding, but the 1959 color talking movie is a masterpiece. The 1961 remake of King of Kings shares only the title and the same basic subject matter as the 1927 Cecil B Demille masterpiece, but it is still a worth remake although not nearly as good as the silent version. Not everyone agrees with me, but I like the black and white version of The Man Who Knew Too much over the way too long and bloated color version. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/31 "2017-09-17T18:07:16Z")
I love the movie Highlander, but watching it I’m struck by how dated it is. The music and the effects are very much a product of their time. I would totally go to see a well made remake. It’s not unwatchable to me, because of my emotional attachment to the movie. But, my kids can’t sit through it, and I understand why. (Yes, I know, there can be only one!) ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/32 "2017-09-17T18:17:12Z")
Most movies I have no problem with if they are remade basically because they were crap in the first place. Good movies should only be remade by great directors. Great movies should never be remade. Who the hell wants to see a remake of The Godfather or Rear Window or Psycho or The Shawshank Redemption or Les Enfants du Paradis or La Grande Illusion? I guess you could answer people who have never seen the originals and sometimes don’t even know about them. But why should they make do with third-rate imitations? Once in a blue moon a remake is better than the original. For example The Maltese Falcon of 1931 was a good film in its own right but John Ford’s 1941 remake turned it into a masterpiece. So it can happen but very very rarely. But Hollywood can churn out remakes of bad or mediocre movies as much as they like for all I care. I won’t be seeing them anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/33 "2017-09-17T18:21:23Z")
[Here](http://screenrant.com/remakes-better-than-original/)’s a list of remakes that are, according to the writer, better than the original. The list includes The Departed, True Lies, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Scarface. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/34 "2017-09-17T19:13:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think the remake of Ocean’s Eleven was pretty good. The versions of The Wizard of Oz and Ben-Hur that you’re familiar with were both remakes, or at least not the first adaptation of the source material. > [@aldiboronti](#): > > … > Once in a blue moon a remake is better than the original. For example The Maltese Falcon of 1931 was a good film in its own right but John Ford’s 1941 remake turned it into a masterpiece. So it can happen but very very rarely. But Hollywood can churn out remakes of bad or mediocre movies as much as they like for all I care. I won’t be seeing them anyway. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](http://screenrant.com/remakes-better-than-original/)’s a list of remakes that are, according to the writer, better than the original. The list includes The Departed, True Lies, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Scarface. Good points. Thx. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/35 "2017-09-17T19:21:26Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > 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.” I remember hearing Gene Siskel say that on his old TV show with Roger Ebert. I don’t know if it was original to him, but it was the first place I heard it. And I agree that the answer to the OP is that most kids won’t waste time on old movies, but they’ll pony up big ticket bucks to see today’s stars in a remake. \*That \*is the marketplace driving Hollywood decisions. The rest of us are just tails trying to wag the dog. ---
**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, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/36 "2017-09-17T19:28:26Z")
> [@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. > [@hogarth](#): > > You could say the same things about the film “Ocean’s 11”, but I’m pleased with the remake. I love the remake of _Ocean’s 11_. I don’t know the original very well; I think I’ve only seen it once, and it was after seeing the remake. They both work for the same reason, a bunch of good actors who are great together. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And that’s the other serious answer. Some people avoid old movies, especially if they’re black and white, or otherwise not state-of-the art. And new movies (even if they’re remakes) get attention and hype and interest. When I was a kid, my mother loved old movies. I couldn’t see the attraction. I thought I hated old movies; it turns out I like them, I just don’t like the same ones my mom did. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/37 "2017-09-17T19:35:51Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Once in a blue moon a remake is better than the original. For example The Maltese Falcon of 1931 was a good film in its own right but John Ford’s 1941 remake turned it into a masterpiece. That would be John Huston, not John Ford. Adding to the list of “disastrous movie remakes,” the 1992 version of _Night and the City_ seems to have been made by someone who did not understand the original. There are lots of other remakes that proved “disastrous,” but in looking at online lists, I notice that I seem to have successfully avoided watching them. Superior remakes are not as rare as some people believe. Among others not yet mentioned in this thread: _Bonnie and Clyde_ (1967) _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ (1931) _Fistful of Dollars_ (1964) _The Good Thief_ (2002) _Moby Dick_ (1956) _Mogambo_ (1953) _One Million Years B.C._ (1966) _Sleeping Car to Trieste_ (1948) _Thief of Baghdad_ (1940) _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_ (1954) _The Unholy Three_ (1930) ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/38 "2017-09-17T19:56:14Z")
My personal preference is for movies to be remade: I always like to see how movies can be improved by advances in technology. And, if it’s the kind of movie that couldn’t be improved by technological advances, there’s about a 99 percent chance that I wouldn’t have been interested in watching it, in the first place. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > For another thing, fans of the old version often have a definite idea in mind, based on that old version, of the way things are supposed to be, and it bothers them when the new version gets them “wrong.” > > And it bothers them that people will see the new version and _think_ they know the story, characters, etc. based on that, when the original gives a different depiction. So what? Let 'em be bothered. If Paramount decides to remake, say… I dunno, _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_, and you’re someone who believes that it should never be remade, you probably aren’t who they are trying to get in the theaters, anyway. > [@](#): > > I genuinely wonder: does the release of a remake of a classic movie make it more likely, or less likely, that people will go back and watch the original version? Answering for myself, I can say that it does not. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > And I agree that the answer to the OP is that most kids won’t waste time on old movies, but they’ll pony up big ticket bucks to see today’s stars in a remake. \*That \*is the marketplace driving Hollywood decisions. The rest of us are just tails trying to wag the dog. Don’t just put it on the kids: I’m in my forties, and I won’t watch old movies, either. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/39 "2017-09-17T20:05:12Z")
Geez, the answer is simple. You cant make much money on replaying The Magnificent Seven. You can make $162,360,636.00 on the remake. And the remake is hardly shot for shot. You can love the 1960 version\* and still enjoy the 2016 version. - or even the 1954 Japanese original, which is a classic of classics. Dropo- the Bonnie and Clyde (1967) version was horrible. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521/40 "2017-09-17T20:40:23Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > 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. Michael Winner wanted to answer the great dangling mystery, [who killed Owen Taylor?](https://www.shmoop.com/big-sleep/ending.html) Turns out nobody cares. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-an-already-great-movie/796521.md?page=3)