which movies to remake, which to not?

[mrhnau]

There have been a few threads lately about remaking movies. A lot of people have doubts, especially when remaking classics that should just not be touched.

Which relatively popular movies do you think should not be remade? I guess I'm thinking along the lines of movies that are starting to age. What about movies that are strictly off limits? Would you redo Star Wars:A New Hope? How about Gone with the Wind? Casablanca? Enter the Dragon?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Casablanca?

A remake of Casablanca :jaw-dropping: :barf:

Enter the Dragon?

A remake of Enter the Dragon :rpo: BLASPHEMER!!!!:cuss::tantrum::samurai:

However I think it was mentioned somewhere that they are in fact considering/doing a remake of Enter the Dragon.


Movies I think should have a remake.... How about Gymkata...they sure couldn't make it any worse

 

[terryl965]

Lets see another Rocky and differently another Teenager Mutant Ninja Turtles as well as anything with Steven Seagul he is the man, lets not forget Chuck Norris wonderful movies all of them need to be done again. Please lets beat down all thos edead horses.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

[Flying Crane]

I don't think any movies should be remade, ever. Whether they were good or bad, they are what they are. Leave them be. Movie makers ought to come up with original ideas, rather than just redoing what has been done before.

Technological advances that didn't exist years ago don't make for a better remake. They often detract from the quality of the movie, because they are relying more on special effects, while scripting and acting quality is overlooked.

Don't remake.

 

[mrhnau]

I don't think any movies should be remade, ever. Whether they were good or bad, they are what they are. Leave them be. Movie makers ought to come up with original ideas, rather than just redoing what has been done before.

Technological advances that didn't exist years ago don't make for a better remake. They often detract from the quality of the movie, because they are relying more on special effects, while scripting and acting quality is overlooked.

Don't remake.

I somewhat agree. I'd hate to be stuck with some of the old movies though... Nosfataru? Some of the older versions of Bible stories? Old Werewolf flicks? Some remakes are actually better, and not always because of special effects. God forbid a really special story gets a really crappy visionary or horrible film technology. Do you enjoy the cartoon movie "The Hobbit", or are you looking forward to the new one?

I would like to see fresher material, but some things just need to be redone...

 

[Steel Tiger]

Some films do need to be remade. Usually because they have excellent material that has suffered under the ego of some jumped up pretentious director. Some material has been so warped by the 'vision' of the director as to be barely recognisable.

And remakes don't have to be exactly the same. Howard Hawks' The Thing From Another World and John Carpenter's The Thing are both based on the same book and both are good in their own way.

One 'movie' I would like to see remade is A Wizard of Earthsea. There was a television special made which conflated material from the three novels and added spurious stuff. It was awful when it should have been magnificent.


I like Nosferatu. The 1922 version, not the 1970s one with Klaus Kinski.

 

[Flying Crane]

I somewhat agree. I'd hate to be stuck with some of the old movies though... Nosfataru? Some of the older versions of Bible stories? Old Werewolf flicks? Some remakes are actually better, and not always because of special effects. God forbid a really special story gets a really crappy visionary or horrible film technology. Do you enjoy the cartoon movie "The Hobbit", or are you looking forward to the new one?

I would like to see fresher material, but some things just need to be redone...

well, some STORIES can be redone into a better movie, like your Hobbit example, or I'd like to see a better Beowulf. But that's a bit different, considering the story already existed.

But when it's just a movie, I kind of think they ought to be left alone, or else do something to really make it a different movie, not just a remake.

 

[Flying Crane]

One 'movie' I would like to see remade is A Wizard of Earthsea. There was a television special made which conflated material from the three novels and added spurious stuff. It was awful when it should have been magnificent.

Excellent story. I've never seen the movie, but if done right, it could have been brilliant.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

Dragonlance REQUIRES a remake.

 

[Nolerama]

Movies I think should have a remake.... How about Gymkata...they sure couldn't make it any worse

I second that.

I think they should remake Wing Commander. The movie/storyline was terrible and didn't do what a game-turned-movie should do: cater to the geeks (like me) who love the source material.

 

[Empty Hands]

Dragonlance REQUIRES a remake.

There was a make to remake? Who knew?

 

[Empty Hands]

They TOTALLY need to re-make Ben-Hur. Except Jesus can't die this time, that is WAY too depressing. Ben-Hur needs to join up with a Shaolin monk and Jackie Chan to rescue Jesus in an extended gun/car chase battle. With nuclear BOMBS. And Optimus Prime.

Tell me you wouldn't see that.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

There was a make to remake? Who knew?

I caught it on ppv.
Worst. Animation. Ever.
Worst. CGI. Ever.
Worst. Combination. Ever.

it was so sad.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

They TOTALLY need to re-make Ben-Hur. Except Jesus can't die this time, that is WAY too depressing. Ben-Hur needs to join up with a Shaolin monk and Jackie Chan to rescue Jesus in an extended gun/car chase battle. With nuclear BOMBS. And Optimus Prime.

Tell me you wouldn't see that.

I would SO see that!

 

[Empty Hands]

I caught it on ppv.
Worst. Animation. Ever.
Worst. CGI. Ever.
Worst. Combination. Ever.

it was so sad.

That is sad. That was one of my favorite book universes as a kid. Even as an adult, Raistlin stands as one of the best metaphors around for the corrosive effects of power.

 

[thardey]

Don't we run into the problem of limited plot lines?

I mean, isn't there something like 10 basic plots in stories throughout history? Eventually, any story is going to have to be a "retell" or a "remake" of some other story, and it would be cheaper to purchase the rights to some old movie title and tell your own story as a "remake" rather than deal with being sued for plagiarism.

 

[Steel Tiger]

Don't we run into the problem of limited plot lines?

I mean, isn't there something like 10 basic plots in stories throughout history? Eventually, any story is going to have to be a "retell" or a "remake" of some other story, and it would be cheaper to purchase the rights to some old movie title and tell your own story as a "remake" rather than deal with being sued for plagiarism.

You're right, there are a limited number of elemental plot lines. The skill in writing is to present a new, different perspective on those plot lines. The one that leaps to mind for me is the quest. It can be spiritual and allegorical like the Holy Grail, it can be to ward off a great evil like Lord of the Rings, any Indiana Jones movie, and many others (this seems to be the easiest), or it can be as simple as searching for a lost person.

So many stories have been written over the centuries that one should be able to find something to make a film about that has not been done before. What about Jack Vances' Demon Princes series? Or 'Doc' Smith's Lensman series? Very good books but nobody has thought to bring them to the screen (there is a Lensman animated feature but its not good). One of my favourites is the Earthsea trilogy. It has been done extremely badly and really deserves better treatment. It would go over very well now given the success of Harry Potter and Narnia. A magic school, dragons, wierd evil, how could it fail?

 

[MA-Caver]

Flying Crane... There are exceptions to the rule where remakes are a very bad idea... one great example is Ocean's 11. Originally done by the Rat Pack of Vegas (Sinatra, Davis Jr., Martin and several others...) After seeing the Clooney, Pitt version first, then watching the original... the original was YUCK!

But how about NOT doing the following: Ben Hur, 10 Commandments, Big Sleep, Key Largo, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Maltese Falcon, Little Ceasar (oh wait they did... one of those Gangsta flicks)... White Heat, Hunchback of Notre Dame, just to name a few.

But yeah remakes shouldn't happen at all. With the number of books on the shelves there are thousands of plotlines to be had.

 

[Sukerkin]

As Thardey intimated, there are only seven plot-lines in the world - I wonder who came up with that particular limitation?

It's how the plot elements are blended together and how the characters are 'drawn' that makes the difference. When films are under the eye, then it's the quality of the acting and, to a much lesser extent. the production values, that help distinguish it.

Acting as a craft has gotten much better at its average than it used to be. Even 'cheap' movies have competent 'shadowsmiths' in front of the lens these days. But we still have a limited number of truly great actors who can lift a story by their performance alone.

Think of Lord of the Rings with Sir Ian playing Gandalf. He projected intense emotions through very subtle changes in facial expression. No grand motions or CGI painted scenes; just talent.

That's what we need more of, remakes or no.

 

[mrhnau]

I really hope one day they can do justice to 2001:A Space Oddesy. Yeah, its a classic, but those extended periods of silence and dead time just drive me nuts! I loves 2010 though I hope they finish the series some day...