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Remakes that are better than the originals?

The Borgified Corpse

The Borgified Corpse

Admiral
Admiral
It's popular to slag off on remakes. But occasionally, a remake can be a good idea and can actually improve upon the original.

Halloween. I may be flogged for this, but I find John Carpenter's 1978 original to be terribly boring. I suppose I should forgive the movie for using so many slasher movie cliches. After all, it pretty much invented the genre. But still, I find it very lifeless. On the other hand, Rob Zombie's 2007 remake creeps the shit out of me. It also positions itself in an interesting place in horror film history since it casts such legendary villainous icons like Brad Dourif (Childsplay), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), & Danny Trejo (From Dusk 'Till Dawn) as the good guys. If these are the heroes, how much worse is the villain. I needed a big hug from mommy after this one.

Sabrina. IMO, the only thing that the 1954 original really has going for it is Audrey Hepburn. She is truly a radiant screen presence. However, the rest of the film doesn't seem particularly well thought out and Hepburn has no chemistry with Humphrey Bogart. (Despite Hepburn's best efforts to seem in love with him, Bogart just looks uncomfortable, like he can't shake the idea that he's just way too old for her.) The 1995 remake puts things together much better. True, Julia Ormond is no Audrey Hepburn. However, the romance between Ormond & Harrison Ford develops much more naturally. Ford convey's his character's conflicted feelings in a much more relatable way. Plus, whereas William Holden didn't have much to do in the original other than be a 3rd wheel, Greg Kinnear gives the character a much more satisfying arc.

Death Race. The 2008 remake doesn't have the satiric bite of the 1975 original. However, it more than makes up for that with high octane action and a chillingly villainous performance from Joan Allen. Jason Statham makes a great everyman hero. Ian McShane is an always welcome presence. (Still, I kinda miss Sylvester Stallone's baldfaced scenery chewing in the original.)

What are some of your favorite remakes?
 
Off the top of my head...

THE FLY (1986)
THE THING (1982)
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
BEN-HUR (1959)

I'm sure people will quibble over the difference between "remakes" and "new adaptations" (as well as vague definitions of "re-imaginations") but such distinctions seem pointless to me.
 
The Rat Pack's Ocean's Eleven really has nothing on the remake.

If we're including television, too, then the new Battlestar Galactica series really puts the old one to shame.
 
The Borgified Corpse said:
Sabrina. IMO, the only thing that the 1954 original really has going for it is Audrey Hepburn. She is truly a radiant screen presence. However, the rest of the film doesn't seem particularly well thought out and Hepburn has no chemistry with Humphrey Bogart. (Despite Hepburn's best efforts to seem in love with him, Bogart just looks uncomfortable, like he can't shake the idea that he's just way too old for her.) The 1995 remake puts things together much better. True, Julia Ormond is no Audrey Hepburn. However, the romance between Ormond & Harrison Ford develops much more naturally. Ford convey's his character's conflicted feelings in a much more relatable way. Plus, whereas William Holden didn't have much to do in the original other than be a 3rd wheel, Greg Kinnear gives the character a much more satisfying arc.
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Amen. I've been saying this for years. If the behind-the-scenes gossip is to believe, Hepburn already had a strike against her in Bogie's book because he wanted Lauren Bacall to play Sabrina, and for whatever reason he hated Holden's guts.

I also felt that Hepburn's transformation from childish, pre-Paris Sabrina to more grown-up (if not older & wiser) post-Paris Sabrina was totally unconvincing. After Paris, Ormond's Sabrina not only has a new hairstyle and wardrobe, but her whole attitude changes as well.

sojourner said:
OdoWanKenobi said:
The Rat Pack's Ocean's Eleven really has nothing on the remake.
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^I like the finale of the original Ocean's 11 better.
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The finale of the original was good, and certainly not what I was expecting. That said, for all their Rat Pack charm, Frank, Dino, Sammy and the rest had me bored to tears.

OdoWanKenobi said:
If we're including television, too, then the new Battlestar Galactica series really puts the old one to shame.
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QFT.
 
As everyone has said:
The Maltese Falcon
The Fly
The Thing
Ocean's 11
Nu BSG

My additions:
The Thin Red Line
House On Haunted Hill
Casino Royale

The odd opinion that'll get me lynched:
Get Carter
 
The Borgified Corpse said:
It's popular to slag off on remakes. But occasionally, a remake can be a good idea and can actually improve upon the original.

Halloween. I may be flogged for this, but I find John Carpenter's 1978 original to be terribly boring. I suppose I should forgive the movie for using so many slasher movie cliches. After all, it pretty much invented the genre. But still, I find it very lifeless. On the other hand, Rob Zombie's 2007 remake creeps the shit out of me. It also positions itself in an interesting place in horror film history since it casts such legendary villainous icons like Brad Dourif (Childsplay), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), & Danny Trejo (From Dusk 'Till Dawn) as the good guys. If these are the heroes, how much worse is the villain. I needed a big hug from mommy after this one.
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To each their own but I love Carpenter's Halloween and find it genuinely disturbing. I haven't seen Zombie's remake, but I never saw the point when I love the original so much. And it isn't like Dourif, McDowell and Trejo haven't played good guys before, in fact Dourif's rep had already been played upon in the opening to Urban legend.

Lonemagpie said:
As everyone has said:
The Maltese Falcon
The Fly
The Thing
Ocean's 11
Nu BSG

My additions:
The Thin Red Line
House On Haunted Hill
Casino Royale

The odd opinion that'll get me lynched:
Get Carter
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ha ha, never seen Stallone's Get Carter but I've heard its underrated. Can't imagine it beating the original though.

Definitely the Thing for me, the realisation of the monster is so much better than the human carrot from the original!

the 70s version of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers is very good, more unsettling than the original, and I'd give props to the Ethan Hawke starring remake of Assault of Precinct 13, the original has a certain rawness, but its also painfully low budget.

Not exactly a superior remake, but I always hold Dawn of the Dead up as example of what remakes should be aiming for. It doesn't have anywhere near as much to say as the original (and has some dubious editing) but its a highly enjoyable zombie film in its own right.
 
I miss the satire from Death Race too much - plus the hospital scene! Original for me.

The 70s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (that hideous scream gave me sleepless nights) and the Thing are defo for me. Two of my favourite, disturbing horror movies.

Assault on Precinct 13 was a really good remake and I found that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was enjoyable and pleasingly lacking in pointless gore. The Halloween remake was surprisingly faithful, just a bit glossier, but I think I prefer the original.

I haven't seen both versions of some of the other movies mentioned to make the comparisons.
 
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Nardpuncher said:
The Ring. I prefer the American one over the Japanese one.
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Oooh yeah - the US version seemed to hang together a lot better with one exception - the TV scene wsa just so much creepier in the Japanese version - I can't put my finger on why but it just is.

Trek is a reboot with an original story rather than a remake of a pre-existing story.

TMP might count though! :p
 
Regarding Death Race, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Battlestar Galactica, The Thing, and The Fly, I'm kind of coming to the realization that they work because they are very much their own takes on the material. Whether they are better or not isn't as big of a deal because they aren't as faithful to the original. I enjoy all these and their original versions and for very different reasons.
 
Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I saw the remake first and enjoyed it. Later I saw the original and found it to be waaaay over rated.
 
Pauln6 said:
Nardpuncher said:
The Ring. I prefer the American one over the Japanese one.
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Oooh yeah - the US version seemed to hang together a lot better with one exception - the TV scene wsa just so much creepier in the Japanese version - I can't put my finger on why but it just is.

Trek is a reboot with an original story rather than a remake of a pre-existing story.

TMP might count though! :p
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I agree about the TV part in the Japanese one. Maybe it's because the living room was smaller and not a big apartment like the guy in the US one had. And the lighting...the lighting for that scene in the Japanese one was more realistic.
 
The Borgified Corpse said:
It's popular to slag off on remakes. But occasionally, a remake can be a good idea and can actually improve upon the original.

Halloween. I may be flogged for this, but I find John Carpenter's 1978 original to be terribly boring. I suppose I should forgive the movie for using so many slasher movie cliches. After all, it pretty much invented the genre. But still, I find it very lifeless. On the other hand, Rob Zombie's 2007 remake creeps the shit out of me. It also positions itself in an interesting place in horror film history since it casts such legendary villainous icons like Brad Dourif (Childsplay), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), & Danny Trejo (From Dusk 'Till Dawn) as the good guys. If these are the heroes, how much worse is the villain. I needed a big hug from mommy after this one.
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Blasphemy! If there were a flogging over this, I'd be first in line. :p "Halloween" is my favourite horror movie of all time and I find it absolutely enthralling from start to finish. Nothing beats that opening scene which mesmerizes me and creeps me out with the big reveal every time. And Donald Pleasance's intensity as he builds up Michael Myers with his wide-eyed ominous dialogue is delicious. I also loved all the characters from the shallow, airheaded teens to the straight arrow responsible nerd played by Jamie Lee Curtis. I didn't think this movie was very cliched at all. For once, all the characters in a slasher movie weren't cliches.

I agree with all of Harvey's picks except "The Thing". I haven't seen the original, but I plan to someday. I just don't think that movie has much going for it beyond its hilariously over-the-top gory special effects. The characters and story do nothing for me. As a rule, if I really love an original, I'll never watch the re-make, so I'll never watch the 2007 Halloween. I made an exception for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and regretted it. I'm offended that the 2007 Halloween movie even exists. I've read that it supposedly takes away all the mystery and mystique from Michael Myers by explaining his childhood trauma in excruciating detail and that's appalling to me.

I liked "The Departed" more than "Infernal Affairs", which I found forgettable. I like the 50s one very much, but I think the 70s version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is better. It was cool seeing Leonard Nimoy outside of a Star Trek movie and Veronica Cartwright once again proving why she's the queen of on screen freaking out. I also think it has one of Donald Sutherland's most fun performances and this contributes significantly to the movie having one of my favourite movie endings ever.

I enjoyed 2004's "Dawn of the Dead" more than the original. People talk about how the original is so much better because there's actually a satirical bent to it, but that criticism seems a little exaggerated to me. Yeah, the original has that wonderful moment when the zombies are clawing at the store window while the mall speaker talks about shopping, but that's it. The rest of it is a pretty tedious and repetitive stream of scenes of people running around the mall, hiding from zombies, and killing or being killed by zombies. Like "The Thing", not much thrills me about it besides how amazingly grotesque the gore effects are. At least the re-make had interesting characters and some really memorable scenes that were impressively shot, like the awesome shower scene at the beginning.
 
Boo Much Fun said:
I enjoyed 2004's "Dawn of the Dead" more than the original. People talk about how the original is so much better because there's actually a satirical bent to it, but that criticism seems a little exaggerated to me. Yeah, the original has that wonderful moment when the zombies are clawing at the store window while the mall speaker talks about shopping, but that's it. The rest of it is a pretty tedious and repetitive stream of scenes of people running around the mall, hiding from zombies, and killing or being killed by zombies. Like "The Thing", not much thrills me about it besides how amazingly grotesque the gore effects are. At least the re-make had interesting characters and some really memorable scenes that were impressively shot, like the awesome shower scene at the beginning.
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Well for me what's interesting is not so much the mindless zombies wandering around the mall, but what happens to the living. They essentially are holed up in a consumer paradise, they can have everything they want- food, money, jewells, clothes, electrical items,weapons...but essentially their existance is hollow; one of the most damning indictments of consuermism and capitalism out there for me (I'm not sure I wholly agree with it but I enjoy it anyway). By contrast the remake is flashier and more exciting, but it never really encourtages you to think (not that this is always a bad thing! Like I say as pure entertainment I love the 2004 version.)
 
Richard Lester's version of THE THREE MUSKETEERS trumps the many, many previous versions (although I'm also fond of the Gene Kelly/Vincent Price version). And the seventies tv version of THE SCARLET PIMPERNAL, with Anthony Andrews, Ian McKellan, and Jane Seymour, holds up better than the old Leslie Howard version, and has a much stronger ending. And while it's probably unfair to compare a talkie to a silent, the Tyrone Power version of THE MARK OF ZORRO is better than the Douglas Fairbank's version. Ditto for the 1932 version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, which easily bests all the silent versions. And THE HORROR OF DRACULA is more entertaining than Lugosi's version.
 
Stalkers said:
Boo Much Fun said:
I enjoyed 2004's "Dawn of the Dead" more than the original. People talk about how the original is so much better because there's actually a satirical bent to it, but that criticism seems a little exaggerated to me. Yeah, the original has that wonderful moment when the zombies are clawing at the store window while the mall speaker talks about shopping, but that's it. The rest of it is a pretty tedious and repetitive stream of scenes of people running around the mall, hiding from zombies, and killing or being killed by zombies. Like "The Thing", not much thrills me about it besides how amazingly grotesque the gore effects are. At least the re-make had interesting characters and some really memorable scenes that were impressively shot, like the awesome shower scene at the beginning.
Click to expand...

Well for me what's interesting is not so much the mindless zombies wandering around the mall, but what happens to the living. They essentially are holed up in a consumer paradise, they can have everything they want- food, money, jewells, clothes, electrical items,weapons...but essentially their existance is hollow; one of the most damning indictments of consuermism and capitalism out there for me (I'm not sure I wholly agree with it but I enjoy it anyway). By contrast the remake is flashier and more exciting, but it never really encourtages you to think (not that this is always a bad thing! Like I say as pure entertainment I love the 2004 version.)
Click to expand...

There's that and the zombies "shopping" at the mall, have you never seen a mall where the shoppers seem the same way?
 
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