Weekend Roundtable: Movies that Should Never Be Remade

These days, it seems that no movie, no matter how beloved or esteemed or sacrosanct, is safe from being run through the Hollywood remake factory. What movies do you consider so sacred that you’d be appalled to see them remade or rebooted?

Yes, this week’s topic was inspired by the new ‘Ben-Hur’ remake hitting theater screens this weekend. And yes, I fully recognize the irony that the famous 1959 version of ‘Ben-Hur’ was itself a remake of a silent movie from 1925. Nonetheless, William Wyler’s film was a major cultural touchstone, won 11 Oscars (a record still yet to be broken), and has endured as a classic over the past six decades. Based on the trailers, I see no reason to believe that the new remake will unseat it as the definitive adaptation of the story, and I’m a little appalled at the notion of turning such a respected piece of cinema history into flashy CGI-fest music video by the director of ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’.

Mike Attebery

I think this one is actually being remade as we speak, but ‘The Fugitive‘ is perfect. Everything about it is sublime. It was nominated for Best Picture (back when that still meant something). Harrison Ford has never been better than he is as Richard Kimble. Tommy Lee Jones won a much-deserved Oscar. This is a case of a movie taking a story that had already been done well as a TV show, and completely nailing it as a movie. I’ve watched this movie time and again. It’s one of my all-time favorites. When Hollywood tried to reboot it as another TV show, the results were disastrous. Leave well enough alone. You cannot improve upon perfection.

Shannon Nutt

Since Warner Bros. has been pretty protective when it comes to any attempt to reboot classics the studio owns (or own the rights to), such as ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Citizen Kane’, I didn’t go with the obvious in this week’s Roundtable. I think the odds of Warner ever touching those classics at this point in history is pretty low – although that hasn’t stopped other studios from trying to capitalize. (See: Paramount’s upcoming ‘Casablanca’-themed ‘Allied’ movie.)

Instead, I chose something a little more modern, a movie I hope never gets a reboot or sequel: Steven Spielberg’s ‘E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial‘. Occasionally, someone will ask me to name a “perfect” movie and ‘E.T.’ is always my go-to choice. That’s not to say that the movie is flawless (meaning free of any goofs or glitches), but rather perfect in construction, design and storytelling. It’s so good, even Spielberg has confessed that he’s not sure the current version of himself could direct a movie like that again.

Even when he went back and tinkered with the movie for a special edition that added some scenes and changed others (like replacing the government agents’ guns with walkie talkies) for its 20th anniversary, the film lost some of its magic. Fortunately, unlike his friend George Lucas, Spielberg quickly realized the mistake of trying to fix his 1982 movie and made sure that the original version would also always be available for those who wanted to see it.

While I’ll probably always be partial to ‘Jaws’, and while others will point to the more complex and culturally important ‘Schindler’s List’ as Spielberg’s masterpiece, I really think that from a filmmaking standpoint, ‘E.T.’ is probably his best work. I’m glad he never went through with a sequel (the closest we ever got was a novel) and hope that Universal is smart enough to never try rebooting one of our few modern-day classics.

M. Enois Duarte

Remakes and reboots are nothing new in the filmmaking business. They date as far back as the beginning of the industry itself with such classics as ‘The Great Train Robbery’ and ‘The Birth of a Nation’, which are today now considered untouchable holy grails. With news that principal photography on another holy grail remake (‘Suspiria’) is starting this month, it’s clear that the business side of movies is an unstoppable machine that cares little about the feelings and opinions of cinema lovers.

Another film favorite threatened with rumors of a remake, reboot, reimagining or/and sequel is the beloved cult classic ‘Blade Runner‘. I ardently implore Ridley Scott and his entourage of yes-men to please not let this happen. As demonstrated by what he did with the stupidly bad ‘Prometheus’, Mr. Scott’s talents are not in expanding his cinematic universes.

The unappreciated greatness in the gloomily imagined future of Replicants and humans is largely that it’s a product of its time, a short-lived bubble when movie studios were a bit more daring with weirdly fantastical and complex original stories. We’re currently in a period when Hollywood prefers safer box office bets, such as established franchises or remakes of recognized titles with loyal fan bases. That’s not to say that we haven’t seen a few audacious productions occasionally hit the silver screen, but the stories are usually not very complex, and don’t often try to explore existential questions, or complicate the three-act formula in interesting ways.

With today’s cinema trends and what the majority of contemporary audiences prefer to pay money to see, I really believe that a remake, reboot and/or sequel of ‘Blade Runner’ is just a terrible idea all around and should never even be considered an option for Hollywood to capitalize on.

Brian Hoss

With so many favorite movies of mine that I consider irreproducible already having had the crummy remake/reboot treatment, some obvious choices are off the table thanks to crap like ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ 2010. At the very least, I think that most of David Lean’s sweeping epics are too large in scale and too steeped in cinematic history to get the quick buck treatment. As one example, ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai‘ just doesn’t substantively mesh with anything currently on a large scale. It isn’t a summer movie blockbuster or an international tentpole. Since these movies haven’t ever really left public consciousness, there’s no point in remaking them.

Luke Hickman

It’s not often that I wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats, but if ‘Back to the Future‘ is ever remade, I’m sure the middle-of-the-night fever dreams will begin. I grew up watching ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Ghostbusters’ with great frequency. This summer’s ‘Ghostbusters’ remake didn’t offend me, but if somebody ever goes through with remaking ‘Back to Future’, then I’m certain to become “that guy” who claims that the remake will “ruin my childhood.” It’s sacred, a Holy Grail of a film that should never again be touched by human hands. Not only does it belong on an endangered species list that protects it from ever being harmed by greedy producers and studio executives, it deserves to be a piece of Hollywood history. As the majestic bald eagle represents the United States, ‘Back to the Future’ should be the respected icon for Hollywood, never again touched for the potential for fleeting success, but a fixed and stable sign of all that filmmakers can aspire to achieve. Amidst bad moviegoing seasons, it will stand as the beacon on the hill that gives us hope and guides us through the thickest of fogs.

Adam Tyner (DVDTalk)

To my mind, ‘Jaws‘ is as close to perfect a film as they come. A remake could only be a step down, tarnishing the legacy of the original more than a parade of dismal sequels ever could. Picture a CG shark perpetually in front of the camera. I’m cringing at the thought of Richard Dreyfuss being dragged out for a bit part as a nod to the original. More sex and skin. A lousier sense of humor. A cast whose chemistry can’t help but pale in comparison. Less endlessly quotable dialogue. Scares that are simultaneously overcooked and tepid stacked up next to what Spielberg crafted all those decades ago. Heck, even an adaptation more faithful to Peter Benchley’s novel would be embarrassing, with its multiple trips to sea, unnecessary infidelity, a Mafioso subplot (!), and anticlimactic ending. Spielberg got it right the first time, so dig your claws into a film that’d actually benefit from a remake instead.

Josh Zyber

As much as I dread the prospect of a ‘Dune’ remake, I’ve resigned myself to the inevitability of that happening. Multiple filmmakers have attached themselves to the project. Although none of those attempts has yet survived Development Hell, one eventually will. I survived the crappy TV remake from the Syfy (then Sci-Fi) network, and I’ll survive whatever garbage version Hollywood cranks out next. I just won’t be happy about it.

Nobody better touch ‘Alien‘, though. That movie is virtually perfect right now. I understand the desire to want to remake it. The franchise has high brand-name recognition and an iconic monster. Some of the futuristic technology looks a little dated, and I’m sure you could do really flashy things with the spaceships and aliens using CGI today. Just don’t. Please, don’t. I’m OK with the uneven sequels. I can ignore the crappy ‘Alien vs. Predator’ spin-offs and the even crappier ‘Prometheus’ prequel. But a remake would be a step too far. We can’t let that happen.

For which movies do you draw a line in the sand? Tell us in the Comments about the movies you never want to see remade.

56 comments

  1. Paul Anderson

    Lots of great ones mentioned already. I am gonna tip my hat to the late great John Hughes and nominate The Breakfast Club. If they are willing to touch Ghostbusters, I can see someone trying to remake one of the quintessential teen movies of the 80s as well. Hands off Hollywood.

  2. Chris B

    A sequel to Blade Runner is already in production and is scheduled for release in October 2017. It’s my all-time favorite movie and I was pretty apprehensive when I heard the news. However it IS being directed by Denis Villenuve who’s churned out nothing but good to great movies thus far. Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto and even Harrison ford have been cast. And Roger Deakins is the DP. Maybe it will turn out not to be a total disaster after all. At least Ridley Scott isn’t directing, maybe he learned something from the Prometheus backlash? They recently released some concept art from the production. I must admit…it looks pretty sweet and faithful to it’s source. Here’s the link below:

    http://screenrant.com/blade-runner-2-images-artwork/

    • NJScorpio

      I wish I had the opportunity to make a sequel to a classic movie, then troll the huge fan base by releasing false teaser trailers misleading them about the direction of the film. ‘Blade Runner 2: The Musical’.

      “Blade Ruuuuuunin’…runnin’ ’round town, noodles in the rain, origami crane, I’m comin’, I’m comin’ for yoooooooooou….”

      “If….if you could only seeeeeeee…..if you could only see what I have seen….with your eyes….”

  3. NJScorpio

    Technology. That is the key. Either the “dated” effects used for a movie contribute to it’s charm and thus CGI would ruin the appeal, or the lack of technology such as cell phones and the internet in the original plot would mean it couldn’t properly be set today with breaking the story. How many classic thrillers would have ended after 10 minutes if someone had a cell phone, or Google. So my list of movies that shouldn’t be remade are….

    ‘Babe’…the animatronic animals won awards, and are much more organic, and has proper weight in relation to the rest of the objects in the world. A remake with all CGI animals on top of the live action would be terrible.

    ‘Nighbreed’ – While, in this case, CGI would have made scary creatures scarier, it would also erase the bizarre esthetic of this cult classic.

    ‘Brazil’ – The technology in this movie appears SO dated…yet that makes everything seem so forgein, yet familiar. It is like technology diverted at a different point, but with the same technological grandparents. This works amazingly well against the Orwellian plot focused on the mundane life of a civil service cog. A position in life that is so easy for so many to connect with, in a world that seems so fantastical. It is like looking into the window of another world, not just looking into a future world…which is what I’m afraid a modern remake would look like.

  4. Came here to say ‘Back to the Future’, but Luke beat me to it. Luckily, Zemeckis and Gale own the franchise rights and have both stated they will never ever allow a reboot or remake. (I hope this deal extends beyond mortality).

    • Patient O.T.

      Bob Zemeckis is against it, but Bob Gale literally lives of BTTF now. It cannot be remade without both consenting. And I am pretty sure Gale is emailing Zemeckis every week about he needs to get paid,

      • david Batarseh

        That would actually work as we saw with Creed. My fear was a reboot staring Taylor Lautner as John Rambo and direct to video not actually caring Oscar capable Nic Cage as Col. Trauman, directed by Rob Cohen!

  5. Bolo

    ‘Akira’, the animated masterpiece. For a long time now Hollywood has been trying to get a live action remake off the ground. Hollywood’s track record with live action adaptations of anime is actually the only thing that makes its track record with video game film adaptations look good. What’s the best one they’ve done? Is it really ‘Speed Racer’? Yipes. As if that weren’t enough to make me think it can’t work, Hollywood also wants to transplant the setting to USA. I’m not somebody who normally gets all upset about movies being remade across national borders and adapted to the new host culture. Like when they used to take samurai movies and turn them into cowboy movies,. And other remakes like ‘The Ring’ don’t bother me. But this is a case, where I think the story truly is uniquely Japanese. A remake just spells more types of failure than I can count, and more than I could bare to look at even out of morbid curiosity.

  6. Csm101

    I’m not one to get too bent out of shape about remakes and reboots. As long as no one takes away my original, have at it. That being said, the thought of remaking Goodfellas, Glengarry Glen Ross, and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly would seem like a failure from the start.

  7. agentalbert

    I think if “Dune” gets remade, its much more likely to be in the form of a cable series, hopefully a premium cable network like HBO would do it. That’s too big a story for a simple movie.

    • Josh Zyber
      Author

      I don’t think even that would work. Although the first book could be made into a good miniseries (as opposed to the lousy miniseries we got previously), if you wanted to go all Game of Thrones with this, you’d need to adapt the rest of the books in the series, and those books suck. Even among the ones Frank Herbert wrote, they get really bad the further you go. Since he died, the garbage his kid’s been churning out to keep the franchise going is a travesty.

      An even bigger problem is the sheer scale of the story. It not only has a scope as large or larger than all of Game of Thrones, it takes place over the span of thousands of years. You’d have to tear everything down and rebuild from scratch every season. There’s no savings in reusing the same sets or locations (or even many of the cast) from season to season. The expense of it would be astronomical. Considering that the property is best known for a movie that flopped in the ’80s, I can’t imagine anyone risking it.

      • Chris B

        What about a trilogy of films like LOTR or The Hobbit? That could work, it’s just too bad the previous attempt flopped so hard and probably scares away investors to this day…

      • Barsoom Bob

        Josh, I really think you are too hard on the 2nd and 3rd Dune books. Before your blood starts to boil, this is just my opinion as a long time Dune reader and fan. You are entitled to yours. “Messiah” and “Children” explore less traveled, but still very relevant ideas, from the first book. We have seen plenty of stories about the young hero becoming who he is destined to be, but the two sequels continue that story. What happens when the “good” movement of the hero grows bigger than him or becomes subverted by other forces, when “Bad” starts getting done in the name of “Good”, the final comeuppance for the abuses of powers and redemptions of sacrifices trying to set things right. I view the first three books as a very complete, exciting and relevant trilogy.

        The 4th book falls some where between what came before and, unfortunately, what will come after it.
        You do have to admit that if ever it was made, it would be extremely awesome for the main character to be a talking, sentient, horn-y, giant sand worm, emperor of the known universe. The mind boggles.

        As for the books that his son is co-authoring, they are most certainly not in the same league with the original trilogy, writing wise or preciently perceptive of real world issues wise, but I do find it fun to read them and to flesh out parts of the overall story.

        • Josh Zyber
          Author

          You’re probably right about me being too hard on the second and third books. I just remember Dune Messiah feeling like a big letdown after the first book. Children of Dune was an improvement, but still only seemed to capture about 1/3 to maybe 1/2 of the qualities that made the original so great. After that point, the later books were all a steep downhill slide. Although they had a few interesting ideas here and there, they were filled with dumb plotting. Even as a teenager, I thought all the nonsense involving the Honored Matres and their magical sex powers was embarrassingly juvenile. I cringed reading those parts, a lot.

    • Elizabeth

      I think there’s a difference between a remake and a new adaptation based on what is used as the source. For example, a new Dune movie would likely fall into the category of adaptation since it would go back to the novel as the basis. Whereas the recent Total Recall was clearly a remake of the previous Total Recall film and not a new adaptation of the original Phillip K. Dick story which is very different than both movies.

      I would be good seeing a new adaptation of Jurassic Park that more closely follows the novel including the full chase of Grant by the T-Rex and the visit to the pteradon aviary (which was basically used in JP3), instead of seeing them churning out more sub-par sequels (and yes I consider Jurassic World sub-par). Of course, I’d also like a version of LOTR that had no involvement of Peter Jackson.

  8. Chucky The Trousered Chimp

    For me, that un-remakable movie would have to be Taxi Driver. There’s been talk of a sequel or a remake with Lars Von Trier in the director’s chair, and while it’s died down, I really do not want either. The original is a masterpiece of its own. Accept no imitations.

  9. itjustWoRX

    Just because it’s my favorite film of all time, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” It’s actually amazing to think that Kirk Douglas had to be talked out of playing the lead role, and that it was his son who talked him out of it. Thank god.

    Now leave it alone, forever.

  10. photogdave

    My vote is Gremlins. Imagine a slick CGI version with a cast of current heartthrobs (probably musician/actors). It would just completely destroy the charm and scariness created by the live action creatures. And there is no way any of today’s current directors could equal Dante’s humour.

    • Elizabeth

      Ooh, it could be a musical on the Disney Channel. Imagine a 5 minute song and dance number with Gizmo singing in mogwai gibberish. And when all the gremlins climb out of the swimming pool, they break into song about how evil and mischievous they are. And in a bit of Disney Channel crossover, Sharpay from the High School Musical movies can replace Mrs. Deagle as the mean lady in town. Or maybe just replace all the main characters with High School Musical characters.

  11. plissken99

    The Crow

    Hollywood has tried to remake it numerous times over the years, and it always falls through. I’m sure they’ll get around to it eventually.

    The unique visual style of the movie, coupled with how Brandon Lee died during the making of it.. The effect that film has can’t be replicated.

  12. Elizabeth

    The Princess Bride.

    I can’t imagine Inigo, Fezzik, Wesley, or Vizzini being played by any other actors. Especially Andre the Giant’s gentle giant charm. It’s a classic and one of the few films that could be argued to be better than the book.

    • Timcharger

      This is the only example I wholeheartedly agree with.

      I can’t and don’t want to imagine anyone else in those
      roles. Sure maybe the Rodents of Unusual Size might
      look more menacing with CG. But the film is about the
      charm those characters, those actors.

      The lines are absolutely perfect as is. We don’t need
      another version of what rhymes with: anybody want a
      peanut. A remake, it’s inconceivable!

      And thus, all the other suggestions, I am actually
      curious what new writers, what new actors, what new
      technology might bring to the remakes. I am intrigued.
      Sorry Raiders, Back to the Future, Jaws, Alien. Sorry
      these are all sequel films. Many sequels. If you can be
      sequel-ized, repeatedly sequel-ized, then you’re in the
      bound to be remade category. And I am curious how
      an updated version would change things.

      But charm. Charm endures. And Princess Bride is pure
      charm.

  13. Thulsadoom

    So many of the films I’d say should never be remade, already have now. Some are remakes, some are prequels or sequels that are still effectively bad remakes/reboots (The Thing, Star Wars).

    I’ll go with Josh’s choice on Dune, one of my favourite films, though as someone else said, it would likely be a ‘fresh adaptation’. I’m one of those freaks who actually prefers the movie to the book (even though I do enjoy the book). It’s probably because I saw the movie First. I didn’t get beyond book three, as I found them progressively weaker.

    Also, the usual Alien, Bladerunner, shouldn’t be remade. I’ll add Escape From New York, but there are plans for that already…

  14. EM

    Last night I attended a screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, the kid-made feature-length scene-by-scene home-video remake that the recent documentary Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made is about (I attended a screening of the documentary as well). I enjoyed watching the product of the kids’ love and determination and chutzpah, but still I’ll say this: Not only should Raiders of the Lost Ark never be remade (again), neither should The Adaptation. Especially by kids staging stunts with fire and/or a moving truck.

    Both the Adaptation and Raiders! screenings yesterday had Q&As with the informative and personable Eric Zala, whose many duties on The Adaptation included directing and starring as Belloq, as well as playing a Raven’s Inn thug with his back on gasoline-fueled fire. He and his supportive family (his wife ran the merchandise table, where Eric was happy to autograph swag at no extra charge) are on tour across the country. You can see the scheduled itinerary on http://www.raidersguys.com (sorry, no animated red line on a map). Maybe they’re coming to your town! (Don’t worry: They probably won’t set it ablaze.) If they are, and if you’re at all interested, I recommend you meet up with these raiders of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

  15. William Henley

    So many have had remakes, more or less. Like Terminator Genyses pretty much wipes out Terminator 3 and 4 (well, actually, it wipes out 1 as well), The Force Awakens is pretty much a remake of A New Hope, Poltergeist got a remake, Parent Trap got a horrible remake, Freaky Friday got a pretty good remake in the 90s, but then it had one or two bad ones after that, Ghostbusters got a remake – these are all movies that should have been left alone (Although I did like all except for the Disney remakes).

    I think the sacred ground is going to be a lot of Disney IPs, and sadly, that is where most of the remakes are coming from. But movies like Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Lady and the Tramp, The Black Hole, Hocus Pocus, Oliver and Company, The Gnome Mobille, The Monkey’s Uncle, these are classics (I would add in more animated cartoons, but as a lot of their animated stuff is sourced from public domain stories, other companies have made adaptations of them.

    Truthfully, though, I am okay for the most part with remakes if you keep the original there. Shoot, a director or studio can tinker with a movie all they want if the original is still there (Blade Runner, Dune, Star Trek The Motion Picture, Superman II, etc). What gets under my skin is that you can easily find stuff like the remade Parent Trap, but Disney still has never released an HD version of the original. Or Lucas with his Star Wars films, and we have to resort to the Silver Screen Edition or the Despecialized Editions.

    Truthfully, there are quite a few movies that I quite like that I would love to see remade, perferably into miniseries. These include the Harry Potter books, Interview With The Vampire (and all the books), the Twilight movies, Gone With The Wind, and The Wizard of Oz (the interesting thing is, Wizard of Oz actually already is a remake, and other adaptations have come along). On these, get some script writers who can stay true to the books, and start writing out television shows – like a chapter per one hour episode (this would work really well on things like Harry Potter – an entire book could run across 18-24 episodes, so the stories get told, and you have seven seasons of the show. I wouldn’t mind seeing Fiddler on the Roof remade – its a classic, but it is a film adaptation of a broadway play, and I have seen a couple of stage productions of it, and wouldn’t be surprised if NBC eventually tackles it for a live performance broadcast. Quite frankly, I don’t even mind Disney remakes too much as long as the original is still available

    So yeah, I don’t think anything is so sacred that no one else is allowed to tinker with it and reimagine it, just make sure we still have access to the original.

        • William Henley

          Well, it looks like there are 4 surviving cast members, one is in her 90s, so I would be surprised if we got even a cameo from her. Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Karen Dotrice might be interesting

          I looked at the synopsis on IMDB, and it does indeed look to be a sequel. It looks like it takes place 20 years later.

  16. Charles M

    Sorry, but Ben-Hur has always been a dumb, cheesy biblical epic. Sure it won Oscars, so did Titanic. Ben-Hur was critically panned. It was basically the Transformers of it’s time. If there’s any kind of film that should be remade, it’s that one.

    Having said that, there shouldn’t be any movie that shouldn’t be remade. Why should only one director be allowed to tackle a script or subject? Should there only be one Hamlet film? If you can have multiple interpretations of Macbeth, you can have multiple interpretations of Citizen Kane, Jaws, Star Wars etc.

    • photogdave

      “Having said that, there shouldn’t be any movie that shouldn’t be remade. Why should only one director be allowed to tackle a script or subject? Should there only be one Hamlet film? If you can have multiple interpretations of Macbeth, you can have multiple interpretations of Citizen Kane, Jaws, Star Wars etc.”
      Sure, if it’s an adaptation of an existing story. But examples such as Star Wars and Citizen Kane were conceived and (co-)written by the directors. To me those are original works of art of the film medium and shouldn’t be remade.
      I think it’s fine for different directors to re-interpret existing works from other media.
      Certainly a grey area though!

    • Thulsadoom

      The 1959 Ben Hur was hardly the ‘Transformers of its time’. Dumb and cheesy? No offence, but have you watched the film? 😉 It was most certainly not critically panned, either. Quite the opposite. Sure, there were some criticisms at the time, but they were few and far between.

      Having recently bought the Blu Ray (I hadn’t upgraded and watched it since my old VHS copy), I can honestly say it’s gobsmacking when you watch it now, fully restored. The problem with re-making Ben Hur is that, despite being a remake itself, it’s a remake that fires on every single level, to damn-near-perfection for that story. So remaking it, is just asking for trouble. The odds of making something of a similar level of quality are just absurdly slim. A similar film, I would say, is Carpenter’s The Thing. It’s a remake of the old B&W, but is made so perfectly in many ways (including going back to the original source), that it’s nearly impossible for any remake to reach those heights.

      Having said that, those films themselves being remakes, I have nothing against someone having a go. It might be an exercise in futility, but such films are still adaptations of literary works, so someone else can always have their interpretation.

      I’m with Photogdave, though. “Citizen Kane, Jaws, Star Wars etc.” are a somewhat different matter. They were written and created for the screen by a primary controlling individual (as much as film can be), and fit ‘Auteur theory’ as much as any films can. It then becomes a bit like saying “I’ve hired this group of artists to paint a new version of The Mona Lisa, and The Sistene Chapel.” You can try it, but you’re pretty much shooting yourself in the foot.

  17. Pedram

    Goonies.
    Though maybe a sequel could work. But it would have to be because they have a good story, not because they want to make more cash off it.

  18. Well i have my own choice of movies

    Cleopatra
    Lawrence of Arabia
    Doctor Zhivago
    Jaws
    Indiana Jones movies
    Alien

    But i really don’t mind a remake of Dune or Et i really don’t feel any love for those movies at all. However i really hate the remake of Fright Night, i love the 80’s original.

    • Pedram

      It’s interesting you bring up fright night. I grew up in the 80s and love many an 80s movie. However, I had never seen fright night and when the remake came out, I decided to go back and watch it. Then I watched the remake right after it. I have to say that I honestly liked the remake better. The same thing happened when Red Dawn came out (had never seen the original, watched both back to back, liked newer version more).
      I think it goes to show that we have an emotional connection to films we see as youngsters that skews our impressions of any remakes. How much it is skewed and what the quality of the remake is up for debate, but I confidently believe that there is some bias in there somewhere. And then some remakes are clearly not as good as the original and you wonder why they even tried. I’m looking at your Total Recall (and to a lesser extent Robocop, though that remake was pretty decent, and I liked how it also dealt with political issues of its generation).

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