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Best Remakes?

post #1 of 62
1/17/07 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
VH1.com has been list-maniacal in regards to movies lately. It's too bad those guys can't take charge of the lame TV specials on that network. They just did Top 10 Remakes in recognition of "The Hitcher" and it's a pretty good list. I'd include "Ocean's Eleven" on there (it kicks the hit out of the original), but otherwise, hard to argue. What would be your top remakes list?
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post #2 of 62
1/17/07 at 12:11pm
Ocean's Eleven for sure. I'd also throw in The Hills Have Eyes and The Departed, but they are both a bit recent.
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post #3 of 62
1/17/07 at 12:24pm
That's a solid list. I'd personally add Jackson's King Kong.
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post #4 of 62
1/17/07 at 12:29pm
Spielberg's War of the Worlds and The Ring. Both of them get an undue amount of shit these days, but I love 'em.
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post #5 of 62
1/17/07 at 12:57pm
Yeah, that VH1 list is a pretty good one -- certainly better than the laughable lists EW usually slaps together. I'm really surprised and delighted that they included SOLARIS and THE THING in the top half of the list.

In addition to OCEAN'S 11, I would also include THE BOUNTY (1984).
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post #6 of 62
1/17/07 at 1:01pm
I'm sorry, but no way is the Demme version of "Manchurian" better than the original.

Otherwise, the top 2 picks are pretty unassailable and the standard-bearers for remakes of any genre. However, where the hell are "His Good Friday" and "The Maltese Falcon"??
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post #7 of 62
1/17/07 at 1:18pm
I know this won't be a popular opinion here, but I think Dawn of the Dead (2004) is far better than Romero's version. I hated Romero's version.
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post #8 of 62
1/17/07 at 1:28pm
Cape Fear is every bit as good as the original, and not one bit better or worse. The Departed is certainly just better than Infernal Affairs. Hills Have Eyes and Dawn of the Dead are good films, but the originals have a low-budget, rough around the edges charm and Dawn in particular has oodles of Romero's social commentary. I also really enjoyed The Italian Job, although the only thing it has in common with the Caine version is some minis. I'd say Solaris and The Thing are pretty much the best kind of remake there is, and I'd throw Cronenberg's The Fly and Philip Kaufman's version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in with them too.
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post #9 of 62
1/17/07 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Devildoubt
I know this won't be a popular opinion here, but I think Dawn of the Dead (2004) is far better than Romero's version. I hated Romero's version.
I didn't hate Romero's version, but the remake is a solid addition.

I thought about Spielberg's WOTW, but that seemed more a new adaptation of the book than a remake of the George Pal film.
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post #10 of 62
1/17/07 at 1:32pm
The new Manchurian Candidate isn't better, but it's good. I think it's ok to include it on here, because it's an excellent remake, and compared to most of the shitty remakes we're subjected to, it shines.

Saying it's not as good as the original isn't really an insult.
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post #11 of 62
1/17/07 at 1:45pm
I'd also add Chuck Russell's 'The Blob' to the list...yeah, the clothes and mullets date it, but the effects and 'twist' worked to it's advantage.

Just a damn FUN flick!
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post #12 of 62
1/17/07 at 1:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
I'd also add Chuck Russell's 'The Blob' to the list...yeah, the clothes and mullets date it, but the effects and 'twist' worked to it's advantage.
Oh, yes, one of the great horror movie endings. I still get chills.
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post #13 of 62
1/17/07 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fabfunk
I still get chills.
...are they multiplying?
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post #14 of 62
1/17/07 at 2:15pm
A surprisingly solid and decent list. I was expecting stuff like 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and god knows what other bad horror remakes to fill the page.

Good to see some Solaris love. A fantastically under-rated film.

I'd toss in 'A Fistful of Dollars'. It's not necessarily better than Yojimbo, but damnit, it's still awesome.
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post #15 of 62
1/17/07 at 2:23pm
Heat.
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post #16 of 62
1/17/07 at 2:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Devildoubt
I know this won't be a popular opinion here, but I think Dawn of the Dead (2004) is far better than Romero's version. I hated Romero's version.
Somewhere, Baba is spinning in his grave.

On topic, I'll add "The Maltese Falcon".
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post #17 of 62
1/17/07 at 2:44pm
The Maltese Falcon with Bogart is a remake. Miller's Crossing.

Edit: Dammit! Mattioli posted while I was typing.
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post #18 of 62
1/17/07 at 2:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti
Heat.
I know some of the dialogue is word-for-word from L.A. TAKEDOWN but is it really a remake or just a second attempt at very similar subject matter? Of the two, I've only seen HEAT.
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post #19 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Litmus Configuration
I know some of the dialogue is word-for-word from L.A. TAKEDOWN but is it really a remake or just a second attempt at very similar subject matter? Of the two, I've only seen HEAT.
Yes, it is REALLY a remake, and for MY money, there are segments of LA Takedown I prefer more. The ENTIRE opening segment, for example.
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post #20 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:05pm
12 angry men
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post #21 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaPabLe
12 angry men
NO FUCKING WAY!!!
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post #22 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee Harvey Cobblepot
Miller's Crossing.
Explain....

Re: Heat and LA Takedown, they are actually both different takes on an as-yet unproduced even larger script by Micheal Mann. It will never be made, but damn I'd love to read it. But yeah, Heat stomps all over LA Takedown though there are some fairly nice differences in Takedown. Isn't Xander Berkeley in both films btw?
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post #23 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaPabLe
12 angry men

Completely incorrect. Despite a few semi-decent performances, shifting the discrimination angle negated part of the films impact, and the time shift to 1997 made laughable a major plot point, considering the existence of contact lenses.

Barring a major rewrite, It's a film that needs to be left alone.
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post #24 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:23pm
Can't agree with the seeing of Freaky Friday on the list. That's fucked.

But yeah, Ocean's Eleven, Heat, The Departed, A Fistful of Dollars... them some good remakes.
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post #25 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sackley
Re: Heat and LA Takedown, they are actually both different takes on an as-yet unproduced even larger script by Micheal Mann. It will never be made, but damn I'd love to read it. But yeah, Heat stomps all over LA Takedown though there are some fairly nice differences in Takedown. Isn't Xander Berkeley in both films btw?
Yep, Berkely plays the Waingro role in TAKEDOWN. TAKEDOWN and HEAT tell the same story with most of the same characters. TAKEDOWN was fine for a TV movie but HEAT is a classic because of the layers and depth that Mann adds to the story that would be almost impossible to convey in a TV movie.

The ’83 SCARFACE did a nice job of taking the idea and theme of the original and updating it into a (at least back then) modern setting.
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post #26 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:36pm
Idea and themes, sure, but I was surprised at how many actual plot points the 83 Scarface kept from the original. It's more of a remake than I realized.
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post #27 of 62
1/17/07 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sackley
Explain....
It's an adaptation of the novel The Glass Key by Dahiell Hammet and can as such be considered a remake of the Alan Ladd-film from -42. While it contains elements of Red Harvest as well, it most closely resembles TGK.
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post #28 of 62
1/17/07 at 4:05pm
The Winslow Boy
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post #29 of 62
1/17/07 at 4:47pm
I'll second the love for The Blob remake. Lots of fun.

Also, Shawnee Smith haunted my dreams in the late 80's.
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post #30 of 62
1/17/07 at 5:07pm
All the King's Men

The Chronicles of Narnia
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post #31 of 62
1/17/07 at 5:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee Harvey Cobblepot
It's an adaptation of the novel The Glass Key by Dahiell Hammet and can as such be considered a remake of the Alan Ladd-film from -42. While it contains elements of Red Harvest as well, it most closely resembles TGK.
Thanks for the info. They'll both be checked out post-haste.
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post #32 of 62
1/17/07 at 5:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Septim
i think its rollball 2000 cause it has paul e dangeriously from ecw
I don't get it. Even if it is a joke - as the man said: "that's pretty fucking obscure".
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post #33 of 62
1/17/07 at 5:40pm
Septim is extremely bad at what he does.

Whatever that is...
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post #34 of 62
1/17/07 at 8:16pm
Seeing FREAKY FRIDAY make it on there over stuff like OCEAN'S ELEVEN, THE HILLS HAVE EYES and HEAT is just baffling. Where's Xagorath? We can have that whole "STAR WARS is a remake!" bullshit again.
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post #35 of 62
1/17/07 at 9:47pm
I hate to play devil's advocate, but FREAKY FRIDAY is pretty good, and is a lot better at what it does than OCEAN'S ELEVEN. It's a cute kids' movie, and although I initially started to watching it in the hopes of seeing Lindsay Lohan perform a cocaine-fuelled blowjob, it actually held my attention for the whole running time.

OCEAN'S ELEVEN is bullshit. I tried to like it, so many times, but it's just too self-conscious. A colossal disappointment.

The original ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is supposedly a remake of RIO BRAVO and is awesome, but for the life of me I can't see any similarities between the two.
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post #36 of 62
1/18/07 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul McCartney
The original ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is supposedly a remake of RIO BRAVO and is awesome, but for the life of me I can't see any similarities between the two.
A police station (PRECINCT 13) or town jail (RIO BRAVO) surrounded (PRECINCT 13) or occasionally shot at (RIO BRAVO) by a gang of street thugs (PRECINCT 13) or western outlaws (RIO BRAVO) looking to capture and kill (PRECINCT 13) or spring (RIO BRAVO) the father of a murdered young girl who killed one of the thugs for revenge (PRECINCT 13) or a member of the outlaw gang (RIO BRAVO).

In other words, a bit of a stretch. The screenplay is credited to "John T. Chance," however.
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post #37 of 62
1/18/07 at 1:13pm
I'll cast a vote for Ferrara's Body Snatchers. A lot of thought went into that remake.
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post #38 of 62
1/18/07 at 4:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by greysfang
All the King's Men

The Chronicles of Narnia
I hope you're joking.
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post #39 of 62
1/18/07 at 5:18pm
^^ I'm sure you mean ATKM and not Narnia, I can't imagine anyone would think that one of Narnia's previous incarnations are even remotely clsoe to the 2005 release.

I HATED the original ATKM, the remake is a better movie. It depends on whether this list is intended for remakes that are better than the original or that the remake is excellent. I don't think the remake of ATKM is great, just better than the original.
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post #40 of 62
1/18/07 at 5:18pm
^^ I'm sure you mean ATKM and not Narnia, I can't imagine anyone would think that one of Narnia's previous incarnations are even remotely clsoe to the 2005 release.

I HATED the original ATKM, the remake is a better movie. It depends on whether this list is intended for remakes that are better than the original or that the remake is excellent. I don't think the remake of ATKM is great, just better than the original.
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post #41 of 62
1/18/07 at 5:25pm
how cares how bad the previous effort was? narnia 2005 is a BAD movie. improving on shit does not a good movie make. and if you dont even have a good movie, how can you have a good remake?
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post #42 of 62
1/19/07 at 1:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Happenin
A surprisingly solid and decent list. I was expecting stuff like 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and god knows what other bad horror remakes to fill the page.

Good to see some Solaris love. A fantastically under-rated film.

I'd toss in 'A Fistful of Dollars'. It's not necessarily better than Yojimbo, but damnit, it's still awesome.
Somone was mentioned "A Fistful of Dollars" today in editing class. Wasn't "Last Man Standing" basically a remake of that as well?
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post #43 of 62
1/19/07 at 1:29am
No. I've always thought "Last Man Standing" was semi remake of "Yojimbo."
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post #44 of 62
1/19/07 at 1:39am
"The Hitcher" was only good because of Rutger Hauer and since he's not in the remake-screw it.

"The Fly" continues to be coolness. I'll defend the original "Ocean's 11", simply because Clooney ain't no Sinatra.

An oldie but a goodie is "Gaslight." A Hollywood remake of a British film of the same name. Love that film.
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post #45 of 62
1/19/07 at 2:02am
So is the remake of DOA any good? If it is, I have to check it out because I loooved the original DOA.
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post #46 of 62
1/19/07 at 3:01am
Yeah I freaking adore the original DOA. But I can't be sure the remake is any good. I don't think it follows the Film Noir formula like the first one did.
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post #47 of 62
1/19/07 at 3:44am
"D.O.A", with Dennis Quaid? Nah, it sucks. Meg Ryan seems miscast. It's not a film noir at all. More like a race-against-time deal. Dull too.
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post #48 of 62
1/19/07 at 11:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by General Zod
No. I've always thought "Last Man Standing" was semi remake of "Yojimbo."
Both A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and LAST MAN STANDING are remakes of YOJIMBO, although only the latter gives credit to Akira Kurosawa and his co-writer Ryuzo Kikushima. Sergio Leone reportedly escaped a lawsuit when Kurosawa claimed that he had based the story on Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest without giving credit, and thus would not hold Leone accountable for plagiarism. This is all related in Richard Schickel's Clint Eastwood biography, and (I seem to remember) in Christopher Frayling's book on spaghetti westerns. Frayling also notes similarities to Carlo Goldoni's play The Servant of Two Masters.

THE WARRIOR AND THE SORCERESS (1984), directed by John Broderick and starring David Carradine, is another uncredited remake of the Kurosawa film. Elements from both Red Harvest and Hammett's The Glass Key appear in MILLER'S CROSSING (1991).
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post #49 of 62
1/21/07 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabriel Williams
I'll cast a vote for Ferrara's Body Snatchers. A lot of thought went into that remake.
Got there before me, damn you! I love that film, such a good interpretation of the idea and so underrated.

I gotta say, even though it's not an improvement on the original, I really like the Manchurian Candidate remake too.
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post #50 of 62
1/22/07 at 6:02pm
Pixar's Bug's Life has a very 7 Samurai vibe to it.
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