Given how generally the movie remake is not as good as (and frequently far worse than) the original, what are some movies in which you like the remake more than the original?
Lt Ripley
03-03-08, 06:39 PM
Carpenter's The Thing. Sure some call it a re-imaging instead of a remake though. Either way, it is better.
JPRaup
03-03-08, 06:58 PM
The Thing definitely
Cape Fear
Ocean's Eleven
Dawn of the Dead
The Italian Job
I may be in the minority but I thought that Vanilla Sky was much better than Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). I've listed the other better remakes below.
Cape Fear (1991)/Cape Fear (1962)
Meet Joe Black (1998)/Death Takes a Holiday (1934)
The Ring (2002)/Ringu (1998)
Sabrina (1995)/Sabrina (1954)
Lastyear
03-03-08, 08:57 PM
The Fly
The Departed
JumpCutz
03-03-08, 09:02 PM
Sorcerer
Zen Peckinpah
03-03-08, 09:13 PM
Agreed on The Thing, The Fly, The Departed, and Cape Fear. I love Sorcerer, but Wages of Fear is so much more epic than that, but I could watch Sorcerer more often. Dawn of the Dead is the only great example of the recent horror remake boom, as it successfully combined following and contradicting the source material. And the only other movie that had me as enthralled as I was in the last half-hour was probably Aliens.
One that hasn't been mentioned yet: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). The homeless banjo player's head on his dog's body never fails to scare me shitless.
Maxflier
03-03-08, 10:44 PM
Dawn of the Dead
Flynn
03-03-08, 10:57 PM
Ocean's Eleven
Great Expectations
Hamlet
Dr Mabuse
03-03-08, 11:00 PM
'The Departed' was a deliberately watered down remake that doesn't hold a candle to the Hong Kong original...
'The Thing' is i guess the best example there is... that was a great film... Carpenter rose above himself with that one...
Drexl
03-03-08, 11:11 PM
Hamlet
Which one?
Jay G.
03-04-08, 12:33 AM
Lord of the Rings
The Man with One Red Shoe
The Wizard of Oz
Casino Royale
cranberries fan
03-04-08, 12:53 AM
Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.
And I love them both:
Seven Samurai---The Magnificent Seven
Yojimbo--Last Man Standing
wuxiakitty
03-04-08, 12:58 AM
The Hills Have Eyes - I tried and failed to enjoy the original, but the remake was pretty good. Now the sequel to both... ick.
Perkinsun Dzees
03-04-08, 01:08 AM
Two remakes immediately come to mind as being superior to the originals:
The Wicker Man
and Cat People (Nastassia Kinksi :drool: )
Rypro 525
03-04-08, 01:12 AM
Two remakes immediately come to mind as being superior to the originals:
The Wicker Man
wait, someone actually liked the piece of shit Nic Cage remake of Wicker Man. I hated it so much that, i am actually a little affraid to attempt to watch the original.
Julie Walker
03-04-08, 01:43 AM
The Hills Have Eyes - I tried and failed to enjoy the original, but the remake was pretty good. Now the sequel to both... ick.
I agree and was going to list that as well. The remake was far better than the original. And I've tried to give the original a fair nonexpectation chance. It disappointed me when I first saw it as a kid. And it disappointed me again seeing it on dvd a few years ago. So I was surprised how effective and on edge the remake had me. It's one of the best U.S horror films made in the 2000s I think!
UAIOE
03-04-08, 01:44 AM
wait, someone actually liked the piece of shit Nic Cage remake of Wicker Man. I hated it so much that, i am actually a little affraid to attempt to watch the original.
Maybe he's unaware that it is supposed to be a serious movie and not a comedy.
SterlingBen
03-04-08, 02:51 AM
I am going to have to agree with the Departed
Dr Mabuse
03-04-08, 02:53 AM
Yojimbo--A Fist Full Of Dollars--Last Man Standing
fixed that for you...
Goat3001
03-04-08, 04:57 AM
Psycho (1998) comes to mind immediately.
yojimbo44
03-04-08, 06:34 AM
fixed that for you...
a personal thanks for catching that one, doc...and like everyone else, gotta throw my hat in the carpenter's The Thing ring, the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers and on a lesser note, i found the Crispin Glover remake of Willard from a few years ago pretty entertaining.
creekdipper
03-04-08, 07:12 AM
Add another vote for The Thing.
Also mightily agree with The Fly & Cat People, although I have to add that I enjoyed all three of the originals mentioned above, just on a different, campy level that matches the cheapness of the special effects & budget limitations of the originals along with the different intents (Val Lewton's more symbolic, Freudian horror compared to the more graphic, literal horror, for instance). We have to keep in mind that the originals were effective for their day & really frightened audiences then in a way that isn't likely to happen today.
Having said that, couldn't disagree more with the several votes for CAPE FEAR. The original is one of the most suspenseful, terror-driven films ever made & Mitchum's performance of evil (along with NIGHT OF THE HUNTER) has rarely been matched. His brute, animalistic force is something from nightmares...the perfect counterpart to Gregory Peck's civilized demeanor (along with the vulnerability of his wife & daughter). Seeing an honorable man (perfectly realized by Peck) reduced to desperate, illegal, ethically-questionable acts in order to protect his family just enhanced the terror. And the menacing of the young daughter...shiver. The beauty of the film is the unstated intentions of Cady...in that day, the dialogue couldn't be as explicit, yet it's very clear just what he intends to do to the daughter. When Cady runs his filthy paws over the wife, the helplessness & revulsion felt by Polly Bergin are palpable...and the audience still feels the same. The original still packs a wallop today...it's one of those films that always "catches" me if I stumble upon it while running the dial.
On the other hand, the remake is a pale imitation...sometimes laughable in its badness. In Scorsese's version, Max Cady is reduced to a pathetic loser...less pure evil than simply mentally deranged (by the way, I always thought the tats on DeNiro's body were either an homage or an imitation to Mitchum's knuckle tats in Night of the Hunter). I get the idea of dressing him in the out-of-style 70's fashions, but the overall, clown-like effect never achieved its goal, IMHO...just make him a ludicrous figure. And the oft-parodied 'riding under the car' scene really jumped the shark (ever catch the Simpson's version featuring a vengeance-seeking Sideshow Bob?). That scene brought out LAUGHTER from the audience in the theater when my wife & I saw it on its original run. The cheap Southern accent (which DeNiro overplayed) & religious fanatic angle were tired stereotypes (somehow, Nick Nolte managed to escape the Southern accent). In the original, I want to smash Mitchum's face into the ground; in the remake, I just want to get DeNiro some psychological help.
Also had a problem with the family in the remake...changed from the loving, nice family in the original to the stereotypical troubled, "disfunctional" modern family (cheating husband, resentful wife, rebellious daughter) that did nothing to help us identify with & sympathize with the characters. Not sure why Scorsese did that unless it was just an attempt to make "his" version different (notice that he wisely kept the same original score...too bad he didn't do the same for the script). I found myself almost sympathizing with DeNiro's obsessed, psychotic Cady over wimpy, deceptive Nolte (who deserved to have his *** kicked). I doubt that was the reaction Scorsese was going for. And the finale in the river...give me a break. Loved the original ending...but the 'speaking in tongues' remake version again brought out laughter from the audience we saw it with.
In conclusion, we thought the remake of Cape Fear was a desecration of a true classic thriller...right down the line in almost every category (acting, direction, writing). Have tried watching the remake several other times & haven't changed my opinion, although there are a few effective scenes such as the menacing of the family on the boat at the end). Still, those scenes don't compare favorably to the original.
For the record, don't think INVASION OF BODY SNATCHERS & PSYCHO remakes hold a candle to the originals either.
Vipper II
03-04-08, 07:30 AM
Psycho (1998) comes to mind immediately.
Surely, you jest.
nateman
03-04-08, 10:26 AM
The Hills Have Eyes
riotinmyskull
03-04-08, 10:33 AM
if one more person mentions DAWN OF THE DEAD i'm going to vomit.
raven56706
03-04-08, 10:36 AM
Dawn of the Dead...
alright riotinmyskull.... vomit
mmconhea
03-04-08, 10:38 AM
Evil Dead II
The Bus
03-04-08, 10:44 AM
Snatch.
cerial442
03-04-08, 10:46 AM
Ocean's 11
The Hills Have Eyes
The Thing
The Fly
Italian Job
I was hoping for a much higher body count from 'Cloverfield'
Hellraiser - cenobites kick ass!
riotinmyskull
03-05-08, 11:12 AM
I was hoping for a much higher body count from 'Cloverfield'
Hellraiser - cenobites kick ass!
you in the right thread?
JackBurton
03-05-08, 11:15 AM
Originally Posted by Mondo Kane
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread...4&page=1&pp=25&
I like the remake better.
:lol:
Giles
03-05-08, 11:17 AM
you in the right thread?
actually, no... no I'm not
:lol:
MScottM
03-05-08, 11:38 AM
I liked Omega Man (Charleton Heston 1971) a remake of Last Man on Earth (Vincent Price 1964). And although I liked I Am Legend (Will Smith 2007) I still think the Omega Man is the best of the three. I didn't care for the CG creatures in the Smith movie and the ending just sucked in my opinion. They did the ending much better in Omega Man even if the villians in this movie were kind of a joke.
woemcats
03-05-08, 12:45 PM
The Thomas Crown Affair. I really disliked the original but the Brosnan version is a fun caper.
The supposed sequel is production is, oddly enough, slated to be a remake of Topkapi.
celmendo
03-05-08, 08:33 PM
I know it's probably heresy but Aliens is much better to me. Alien, while EXCELLENT, feels dated to me and is def. a "in the mood" movie.
Aliens, could be released today and still do mega business and be just as exciting as ever.
Yes, Alien is overall a better movie but rewatchability (that's a word!) wins out for me.
Drexl
03-05-08, 09:07 PM
I'm pretty sure Aliens is considered a sequel, not a remake.
Lt Ripley
03-05-08, 10:29 PM
I know it's probably heresy but Aliens is much better to me. Alien, while EXCELLENT, feels dated to me and is def. a "in the mood" movie.
Aliens, could be released today and still do mega business and be just as exciting as ever.
Yes, Alien is overall a better movie but rewatchability (that's a word!) wins out for me.
I won't even bother.
old-boo-radley
03-10-08, 07:16 PM
I actually liked the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake better than the original, although they're both really great. The Hills Have Eyes is up there with the original, but not quite.
The Fog remake was by far the best retelling done yet. Oh wait, no it wasn't.
Eric D.
03-10-08, 07:27 PM
I'm pretty sure Aliens is considered a sequel, not a remake.
Yep, it's a sequel. I don't think that guy read this thread correctly.
Goat3001
03-10-08, 07:32 PM
Surely, you jest.
I do jest. And don't call me Surely.
KillerCannibal
03-11-08, 12:52 PM
The Thing. It's also my favorite film of all time.
The Fly is also a superior film in every way.
The Blob.
I vacillate between The Hills Have Eyes, but I think I'll give a slight edge to the remake. It's just so gory and hardcore and fucked up. I love it.
naitram
03-11-08, 09:41 PM
I agree about The Thing. When I was kid I loved Thing From Another World, but now it's all about John Carpenter.
The Ring
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
War of the Worlds
celmendo
03-12-08, 01:14 PM
I'm pretty sure Aliens is considered a sequel, not a remake.
trying to read and type while intoxicated. :(
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