PhantomStranger

Frankly, Hollywood has largely left American audiences behind for international markets. It's easier exploiting that market with dumber and dumber movies, as long as there are pretty F/X and loud explosions every ten minutes.

We're lucky they still make Hollywood movies in English. Transformers 9 will be made in Chinese.

Count Dooku

Hey! Did you all hear that they are planning on remaking one of the greatest comedies of the 80s: Ghostbusters

Paff

Thanks Eddie, that's my argument as well. You could hate a movie 7 ways to Sunday, but if you bought your ticket, that's all they care about. A movie can be sitting at 5% on Rotten Tomatoes, but if they pull in enough on opening weekend, it's considered a success. And they'll follow that template again and again until it's no longer successful. We're the only ones with the power to break that cycle, and we can do that by not seeing it opening weekend, not buying the Blu-Ray, and not even streaming it on Netflix.

Brack

The number of remakes isn't the issue, but the fact that they're made to begin with is the OP's argument. If you count stuff like all the Shakespeare adaptations, monster movies, etc., then yeah, I'd make an argument that there have been just as many remake, reboots, whatever you want to call them, but they seem to get more notice today because of the Internet having a fit over them.

Jaymole

A: if the number of remakes were in the same proportion as they were back in the old days, I am sure the OP would not be complaining.

B. Remaking silent films is not the same as remaking a sound film. You can't see a need to remake a silent film in sound?

C. Please read up some more on film history...you will see that remakes are a small proportion of the studios releases each year.

Jaymole

And to help you out, here are the top B.O. films from each year of the 1960's. I only found 2 remakes:

1960

001 $ 44.8 n/a $ 44.8 Let's Make Love (1960)
002 $ 40.4 n/a $ 40.4 Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
003 $ 32.0 n/a $ 32.0 Psycho (1960)
004 $ 30.0 n/a $ 30.0 Spartacus (1960)
005 $ 19.5 n/a $ 19.5 La dolce vita (1960)
006 $ 11.1 n/a $ 11.1 Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)
007 $ 7.9 n/a $ 7.9 The Alamo (1960)
008 $ 7.4 n/a $ 7.4 Midnight Lace (1960)
009 $ 4.7 n/a $ 4.7 Cinderfella (1960)
010 $ 4.3 n/a $ 4.3 G.I. Blues (1960)


1961

001 $ 153.0 $ 71.0 $ 224.0 One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
002 $ 43.7 n/a $ 43.7 West Side Story (1961)
003 $ 26.6 n/a $ 26.6 El Cid (1961)
004 $ 25.2 n/a $ 25.2 The Parent Trap (1961)
005 $ 8.0 n/a $ 8.0 Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
006 $ 2.0 n/a $ 2.0 Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
007 $ 1.2 n/a $ 1.2 The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961)
008 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 L'année dernière à Marienbad (1961)
009 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 Une femme est une femme (1961)
010 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 Teen Kanya (1961)


1962

001 $ 16.1 $ 43.5 $ 59.6 Dr. No (1962)
002 $ 46.5 n/a $ 46.5 How the West Was Won (1962)
003 $ 39.1 n/a $ 39.1 The Longest Day (1962)
004 $ 37.5 n/a $ 37.5 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
005 $ 15.0 n/a $ 15.0 The Music Man (1962)
006 $ 14.6 n/a $ 14.6 That Touch of Mink (1962)
007 $ 14.0 n/a $ 14.0 Hatari! (1962)
008 $ 13.7 n/a $ 13.7 Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
009 $ 13.1 n/a $ 13.1 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
010 $ 4.0 n/a $ 4.0 Taras Bulba (1962)
011 $ 3.5 n/a $ 3.5 State Fair (1962)
012 $ 2.6 n/a $ 2.6 Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
013 $ 1.8 n/a $ 1.8 Kid Galahad (1962)
014 $ 1.2 n/a $ 1.2 Premature Burial (1962)
015 $ 0.4 n/a $ 0.4 Mafioso (1962)


1963

001 $ 57.8 $ 62.0 $ 119.8 Cleopatra (1963)
002 $ 24.8 $ 54.1 $ 78.9 From Russia with Love (1963)
003 $ 46.3 n/a $ 46.3 It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
004 $ 22.2 n/a $ 22.2 The Sword in the Stone (1963)
005 $ 20.0 n/a $ 20.0 Irma la Douce (1963)
006 $ 11.4 n/a $ 11.4 The Birds (1963)
007 $ 10.9 n/a $ 10.9 The Pink Panther (1963)
008 $ 4.0 n/a $ 4.0 Blood Feast (1963)
009 $ 2.2 n/a $ 2.2 It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)
010 $ 1.8 n/a $ 1.8 L'eroe di Babilonia (1963)
011 $ 1.5 n/a $ 1.5 Fun in Acapulco (1963)
012 $ 0.8 n/a $ 0.8 Zuo ye meng hun zhong (1963)
013 $ 0.5 n/a $ 0.5 Contempt (1963)
014 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 Bay of Angels (1963)
015 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 8 1/2 (1963)


1964

001 $ 51.1 $ 73.8 $ 124.9 Goldfinger (1964)
002 $ 102.3 n/a $ 102.3 Mary Poppins (1964)
003 $ 72.0 n/a $ 72.0 My Fair Lady (1964)
004 $ 12.4 n/a $ 12.4 A Shot in the Dark (1964)
005 $ 11.0 n/a $ 11.0 A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
006 $ 9.4 n/a $ 9.4 Dr. Strangelove (1964)
007 $ 7.0 n/a $ 7.0 Marnie (1964)
008 $ 7.0 n/a $ 7.0 Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
009 n/a $ 6.0 $ 6.0 The Train (1964)
010 $ 5.1 n/a $ 5.1 Viva Las Vegas (1964)
011 $ 4.8 n/a $ 4.8 The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
012 $ 3.0 n/a $ 3.0 Roustabout (1964)
013 $ 2.8 n/a $ 2.8 Kissin' Cousins (1964)
014 $ 2.4 n/a $ 2.4 Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964)
015 $ 1.0 n/a $ 1.0 A Hard Day's Night (1964)


1965

001 $ 163.2 n/a $ 163.2 The Sound of Music (1965)
002 $ 63.6 $ 77.6 $ 141.2 Thunderball (1965)
003 $ 111.7 n/a $ 111.7 Doctor Zhivago (1965)
004 $ 8.0 $ 12.0 $ 20.0 The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
005 $ 17.3 n/a $ 17.3 Shenandoah (1965)
006 $ 15.0 n/a $ 15.0 For a Few Dollars More (1965)
007 $ 8.5 n/a $ 8.5 Daytona Beach Weekend (1965)
008 $ 6.0 n/a $ 6.0 The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
009 $ 4.0 n/a $ 4.0 The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
010 $ 3.1 n/a $ 3.1 Girl Happy (1965)
011 $ 1.5 n/a $ 1.5 Harum Scarum (1965)
012 $ 1.5 n/a $ 1.5 Tickle Me (1965)
013 $ 1.2 n/a $ 1.2 The Legend of Blood Mountain (1965)
014 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 The Saragossa Manuscript (1965)
015 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 Juliet of the Spirits (1965)


1966

001 $ 28.0 n/a $ 28.0 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
002 $ 22.7 n/a $ 22.7 Casino Royale (1966)
003 $ 20.0 n/a $ 20.0 The Sand Pebbles (1966)
004 $ 19.0 n/a $ 19.0 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
005 $ 14.0 n/a $ 14.0 The Wild Angels (1966)
006 $ 6.0 n/a $ 6.0 El Dorado (1966)
007 $ 2.5 n/a $ 2.5 Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)
008 $ 0.8 n/a $ 0.8 The Battle of Algiers (1966)
009 $ 0.2 n/a $ 0.2 Masculin Féminin (1966)
010 $ 0.1 n/a $ 0.1 Made in U.S.A (1966)


1967

0001 $ 141.8 $ 64.0 $ 205.8 The Jungle Book (1967)
0002 $ 104.5 $ 10.0 $ 114.5 The Graduate (1967)
0003 $ 43.1 $ 68.5 $ 111.6 You Only Live Twice (1967)
0004 $ 56.7 n/a $ 56.7 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
0005 $ 50.0 n/a $ 50.0 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
0006 $ 45.3 n/a $ 45.3 The Dirty Dozen (1967)
0007 $ 44.4 n/a $ 44.4 Valley of the Dolls (1967)
0008 $ 36.0 n/a $ 36.0 The Born Losers (1967)
0009 $ 31.1 n/a $ 31.1 Camelot (1967)
0010 $ 20.2 n/a $ 20.2 I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967)
0011 $ 20.0 n/a $ 20.0 Barefoot in the Park (1967)
0012 $ 11.0 n/a $ 11.0 Wait Until Dark (1967)
0013 $ 10.0 n/a $ 10.0 The Trip (1967/II)
0014 $ 9.0 n/a $ 9.0 Doctor Dolittle (1967)
0015 $ 8.0 n/a $ 8.0 The Taming of the Shrew (1967)


1968

001 $ 57.0 $ 12.0 $ 69.0 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
002 $ 58.5 n/a $ 58.5 Funny Girl (1968)
003 $ 38.9 n/a $ 38.9 Romeo and Juliet (1968)
004 $ 33.4 n/a $ 33.4 Rosemary's Baby (1968)
005 $ 32.6 n/a $ 32.6 Planet of the Apes (1968)
006 $ 22.3 n/a $ 22.3 The Lion in Winter (1968)
007 $ 17.0 n/a $ 17.0 Yours, Mine and Ours (1968)
008 $ 16.8 n/a $ 16.8 Oliver! (1968)
009 $ 16.4 n/a $ 16.4 Candy (1968)
010 $ 12.0 n/a $ 12.0 Night of the Living Dead (1968)
011 $ 10.1 n/a $ 10.1 With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)
012 $ 8.0 n/a $ 8.0 Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968)
013 $ 5.3 n/a $ 5.3 Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
014 $ 4.0 n/a $ 4.0 Star! (1968)
015 $ 3.1 n/a $ 3.1 Coogan's Bluff (1968)


1969

001 $ 96.7 n/a $ 96.7 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
002 $ 22.8 $ 41.8 $ 64.6 On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
003 $ 44.8 n/a $ 44.8 Midnight Cowboy (1969)
004 $ 31.7 n/a $ 31.7 Paint Your Wagon (1969)
005 $ 30.0 n/a $ 30.0 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
006 $ 19.2 n/a $ 19.2 Joe (1969)
007 $ 14.2 n/a $ 14.2 True Grit (1969)
008 $ 14.0 n/a $ 14.0 The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)
009 $ 13.0 n/a $ 13.0 Run, Angel, Run! (1969)
010 $ 10.5 n/a $ 10.5 The Wild Bunch (1969)
011 $ 9.0 n/a $ 9.0 Hello, Dolly! (1969)
012 $ 6.3 n/a $ 6.3 Alice's Restaurant (1969)
013 $ 4.3 n/a $ 4.3 Marooned (1969)
014 $ 2.0 n/a $ 2.0 Che! (1969)
015 $ 1.2 n/a $ 1.2 De Sade (1969)

Brack

Well, if top movies from the 1960s are all you're going by, then maybe you need to read up more on film history. Last I checked, a lot more than 15 movies get released each year, and not all the top movies are remakes, but whatever, you're hell-bent on making a point, so point taken.

dvdjunkie32

It seems like all the creative juices and originality are in the tv realm now. Game of Thrones is an apex example of a fantasy world and style of story telling like never seen before. It's funny that movies like Ben Hur are trying to emulate that Game of Thrones vibe.

Brack

Games of Thrones, a show that's based on a series of books?

d2cheer

Or even the general public??


Hollywood listened about Adam Sandler though... since he now goes through Netflix.

inri222

Vote with your dollars.

Jaymole

I am giving you an example to show how wrong you are. Pick any year from 1930 to 1970 and you will see that remakes are a very small portion of what was released.

Seriously, do you even watch classic films? I have been studying film history for over 30 years so I don't make statements without facts behind me.

I am just tired of hearing people trot out the "Hollywood has always made remakes, today is no different than before" when it is a completely wrong assertion in regards to proportion.

Anyway, I don't think I will change your mind so I will bow out.

jeffkjoe

TWO WORDS:

Ben. Hur.



That will flop. I'm sorry, Morgan Freeman, but it will.

davidlynchfan

Only Xage does this.

PhantomStranger

Remakes are far more prevalent today than ever before. Studios have "holes" in their release schedule and need known corporate ideas to fill them. Studios were once tightly owned businesses run by a handful of people. Today they are multi-billion dollar corporations with quarterly goals that need to be met.

If a remake fails, no one will blame the movie executive. If an original idea fails, that same executive's job is on the line.

Why So Blu?

OCD folks and mouthbreathers.

Tom Creo

worse offense: Star Wars:The Force Awakens

GuessWho

windom

^ Ideally, HBO should do a Game of Thrones style series of Dune after GoT ends.

Ash Ketchum

I count eight remakes. Some are simply new versions of books or plays that had been previously adapted to film, e.g. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, JUNGLE BOOK, ROMEO AND JULIET; some are treatments of historical subjects that had been made before under the same title, e.g. CLEOPATRA. There were a lot more actual remakes of old Hollywood films during these years that would have been just a few notches down on these lists, e.g. Elvis's KID GALAHAD (1962) and Capra's A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961), a remake of his own LADY FOR A DAY (1933), and the source of Jackie Chan's later MIRACLES (1989). A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS is a western remake of YOJIMBO.

Other direct remakes of old Hollywood or foreign films in the 1960s, off the top of my head: CIMARRON, THE LOST WORLD, KING OF KINGS, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THIEF OF BAGDAD, TOWER OF LONDON, SERGEANTS THREE (western remake of GUNGA DIN), THE KILLERS, STAGECOACH, OF HUMAN BONDAGE, MADAME X, THE OUTRAGE (western remake of RASHOMON), UP TIGHT (black-cast remake of THE INFORMER), THE LOST MAN (black-cast remake of ODD MAN OUT). There's more, but the top of my head can only hold so much at a moment's notice.

I don't know if all this bolsters or weakens your case, Jaymole, esp. since I've completely forgotten what your original point was, awash as I am in the joy of making lists. But in looking over my long list of films I saw from the 1960s and having been an aware moviegoer for most of that decade, even as a child, I would argue that remakes and sequels were not even close to being as common back then as they are now. Plus we saw a much wider range of genres at neighborhood theaters than we do in today's multiplexes, including many films from other countries that were dubbed in English.

Groucho

That would be pretty terrific.

Traxan

One more word: Papillon. That's being remade too.

Brack

Wasn't going to do it, but your arrogance won me over, so here goes it, with just the 60s, and limited to how much time I wanted to spend doing this, and excluding a number of genres that had countless knockoffs with even exact same actors. I could have included the film musicals (orignally stage shows no more original than remakes) but you'd probably say those are just film adaptations or something else based on how dismissive your posts have come across on this subject.

1960 - The Magnificent Seven, Cinderfella, Swiss Family Robinson, Sword of Sherwood Forest, Sabine und die hundred Mannert
1961 - The Big Show, The Children's Hour, Something's Gotta Give; Move Over, Darling, Pocketful of Miracles
1962 - King Kong vs Godzilla, State Fair, Tower of London, Kid Galahad
1963 - Stoken Hours, The Old Dark House
1964 - Deaf Sam-yong, A Fistful of Dollars, Night Must Fall, The Outrage; Paris, When It Sizzles, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
1966 - The Boy Who Cried Murder, Meet Me in St Louis, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, One Millions Years B.C., The Plainsman, Stagecoach, Walk Don't Run
1967 - King Kong Lives, The Mummy's Shroud
1968 - Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Romeo and Juliet,The Shakiest Gun in the West

I counted 5 remakes (Cinderfella isn't anything different than the gender remakes people are whining about today) for those top films you listed, and 34 overall (maybe more, I'm not spending any more time on this petty back and forth).

Edit: Ash beat me to it, and added some I had forgotten.

DthRdrX

The older remakes tend to at least be watchable, and most are pretty good movies.

A better request would be to stop making so many SHITTY remakes, which have become simple cash grabs of the original titles! Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes account for most of the really bad ones.

Brack

What I don't get is why they keep making them. The only recent one that even had a marketing campaign to go with it was Ghostbusters. Total Recall, Robocop, Ben Hur, etc. have all been dumped during weak box office months, so why bother?