The day the earth stood still

[jayn_j]

I wasnt a big fan of the original and tend to be a believer that a remake can be better than the original if its done right.

And there is a question. Can you name 5 movies where the remake was significantly better than the original?

I certainly can think of ones where a lot of special effects have replaced plot, and if you are an FX fan, I guess that could be OK, but I might argue that flashier doesn't mean better even in the ADD generation.

 

[snathanb]

And there is a question. Can you name 5 movies where the remake was significantly better than the original?

I certainly can think of ones where a lot of special effects have replaced plot, and if you are an FX fan, I guess that could be OK, but I might argue that flashier doesn't mean better even in the ADD generation.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Little Shop of Horrors
Ocean's Eleven
The Departed
Titanic
The Ring
The Thing
The Hills Have Eyes
The Thomas Crown Affair
Godzilla
I Am Legend
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)


Was that more than 5? Of course, those are all subject to opinion. But, those are ones that I enjoyed the remake more than the original.

 

[jayn_j]

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Little Shop of Horrors
Ocean's Eleven
The Departed
Titanic
The Ring
The Thing
The Hills Have Eyes
The Thomas Crown Affair
Godzilla
I Am Legend
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)


Was that more than 5? Of course, those are all subject to opinion. But, those are ones that I enjoyed the remake more than the original.

I guess I'd disagree on Titanic, as it is a completely different movie than 'A Night to Remember" I never did get into the whole Jack and Rose thing, and I felt that the original did a much better job of describing the tragedy of the passengers.

It's been years since I saw 'Bedtime Story', but I remember it as a pretty good '50s comedy. Not that Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is bad, but I wouldn't say better either. Or were you talking about the upcoming 2010 remake.

As for The Thing, nothing can compare with the suspense of the novella "Who Goes There". The Thing from another world is a close contender. Both are good, but the original pulls off the success without any special effects whatsoever. I kind of give it an edge.

Pretty much agree on the others.

I'll add some contenders though.

- Showboat (1953 edition)
- Ben Hur
- Casino Royale (kind of a cheat if you know the history)
- Bedazzled (neither was great, but I liked the chemistry with Brendon Frasier and Elizabeth Hurley)
- His Girl Friday. It's difficult to make a bad version of The Front Page (although they managed with the 1988 "Switching Channels"). I still think the 1940 remake was the best.


I left LoTR out as the original was never meant to be that sort of epic.

 

[jayn_j]

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Little Shop of Horrors
Ocean's Eleven
The Departed
Titanic
The Ring
The Thing
The Hills Have Eyes
The Thomas Crown Affair
Godzilla
I Am Legend
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)


Was that more than 5? Of course, those are all subject to opinion. But, those are ones that I enjoyed the remake more than the original.

Oops. Either some got added, or I didn't see them all at first. Godzilla is an FX remake of a cheesy US exploitation of a Japanese movie. The US inserts didn't work well. Personally, I didn't like either one.

It also is a bit of a cheat to look at high budget remakes of Roger Corman stuff. He was always constrained by having a requirement to keep budgets low and make a profit on everything. It is easy to improve on his best work by throwing money at it, and the really amazing part is how much good stuff came out of his on the cheap productions.


Thomas Crown affair is debatable. New one is glitzier, but I don't think it does a better job of telling the story.

 

[dfergie]

Stagecoach the 66 version...

 

[Bobby]

John Ford, John Wayne, Andy Devine, Thomas Mitchell.... I gotta go with the original 1939 version here!

 

[Sammy033]

As for remakes:

Titanic was passable at best.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers... eh.
Godzilla.... definitely not.
I didnt know I Am Legend was a remake.
The Thomas Crown Affair... maybe, but Brosnan is no Steve McQueen.
In some ways A Fistful of Dollars because of Clint.
War of the Worlds... no, but I am not that impressed by the original either.

I will add as a better remake "The Man Who Knew Too Much" but with the caveat that Hitchcock made the original as well. Oh, and even tho they were not theatrical releases: the pilot movies for BSG.

 

[snathanb]

As for remakes:

I didnt know I Am Legend was a remake.

It's a rehash of "The Omega Man".

[ame="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067525/"]The Omega Man (1971)@@AMEPARAM@@http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTk3MzA2Mjk1M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMzY2ODg5._V1._SX94_SY140_.jpg@@AMEPARAM@@BMTk3MzA2Mjk1M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMzY2ODg5@@AMEPARAM@@SX94@@AMEPARAM@@SY140[/ame]

I'll also toss in "Man on Fire" for consideration.

 

[KAB]

It's a rehash of "The Omega Man".

The Omega Man (1971)

Actually, Omega Man was a rehash of The Last Man On Earth, 1964 starring Vincent Price.
The Last Man on Earth (1964 film - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 

[MikeD-C05]

Actually, Omega Man was a rehash of The Last Man On Earth, 1964 starring Vincent Price.
The Last Man on Earth (1964 film - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

I liked Omega man the best out of all three movies past and present.

 

[mperdue]

It's a rehash of "The Omega Man"

Which was a remake of "The Last Man on Earth."

Edit: Someone beat me to it...

 

[mdonnelly]

I liked Omega man the best out of all three movies past and present.

And Richard Matheson's book is the best of all. But Charleton Heston did an excellent job in the movie. It's just too bad that the plot of the movie didn't follow the book.

 

[tomcrown1]

Qustion did anybody see the remake of The day the earth stood still--is it any good??

 

[KAB]

I liked Omega man the best out of all three movies past and present.

Same here. I must have seen it at least four times in the theater. My freshman year in college.

 

[navychop]

Side note: If you get the chance to see the 2005 version of Mysterious Island- DON'T!

Incredibly bad, and the special effects "weren't." I cannot conceive how such junk was produced so recently.

 

[nsaspook]

Remakes to look forward to. (maybe)

Forbidden Planet Remake Not A Remake?

and maybe the Forbin Project.
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[primestar31]

And Richard Matheson's book is the best of all. But Charleton Heston did an excellent job in the movie. It's just too bad that the plot of the movie didn't follow the book.

Yeah, but we got Anthony Zerbe as Mathias. He stole that movie all the way.

I've probably seen the "Omega man" at least 10 times or more. If you consider the fact it was released in the mid-seventies, kind of goes in hand with the realistic 'end of the world' style of the stark "Planet of the apes" 1968 filming, it still holds up pretty well. Especially since the original book was basically a short story, and could have been filled out a little better. I didn't care for the Will Smith version, and I've seen both endings they filmed for that version.