Movies You'd Like To See Remade

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

Can you think of any movies from the past that you think should be or would be good remakes?

I'll name a couple to start off conversation.

The Goonies (1985)
Plot: A group of kids from the "Goon Docks" follow a map and the tall-tail of One-Eyed Willie, the kids find themselves with nothing to do for the day but to follow the map. Soon they are running from a small family of criminals, fighting their way through an elaborate boobie-trapped maze onto an old decaying ship with more boobie traps. The kids end up escaping and the day is saved with a feel good moment at the end.

Why it should be remade: Because the movie was fawkin awesome! There seems to be a large pool of kid actors all at the right age (ie: Angus T. Jones, ((not that I think he should be in it))) and I think Hollywood could add in 3D effects to make a few extra million bucks without ruining the flick.

White Water Summer (1987)
Plot: It's summertime, school is out, and parents are paying Vic (Kevin Bacon) to take their kids on a summer camping trip that is meant to teach their boys how to be men and rough it. Alan (Sean Astin) is defiant, and quickly gets under Vic's skin. Vic ends up going crazy over Seans' defiance, attacks the group of teenage boys, and ends up breaking his leg. Alan becomes the bigger man and with the help of the rest of the group they end up saving Vics life. It was a good movie IMO.

Why it should be made: It was IMO a timeless movie that could be made in any decade. On top of that I must have seen this movie 10 times from '87-'90. I think the story today would be just as interesting, even if it were completely re-written.

So what do you think? Got any ideas?

 

[relaxedanderson]

None.

Not one ever again, under any circumstances.

 

[nflman2033]

While my first inclination is to agree with Relaxed on this one, especially we you talk about good movies, there is never a need to remake a good movie because if it is truly a good movie it should still stand up on its own and not need it. So by that I have seen some remakes I felt were not bad. the first one that comes to mind is Friday the 13th, the original film is not that great and the series itself from a critical standpoint was in need of a good reboot, however A Nightmare on Elm Street did not.

So what you really have to pick is a movie that is bad and then a remake can work, so I'll say

Plan 9 From Outer space.

 

[Buzzman]

Fuck no with remakes of good movies, the whole point of a remake is to improve upon the original. Remake shitty films, not good ones like the Goonies.

 

[Houston]

Only if Martin Scorsese is remaking a movie from overseas(preferably Japan).

 

[JOHNNYTHECLOWN]

Toy Story... I really think they could have added a Woody/BoPeep sex scene.

 

[G-men]

While my first inclination is to agree with Relaxed on this one, especially we you talk about good movies, there is never a need to remake a good movie because if it is truly a good movie it should still stand up on its own and not need it. So by that I have seen some remakes I felt were not bad. the first one that comes to mind is Friday the 13th, the original film is not that great and the series itself from a critical standpoint was in need of a good reboot, however A Nightmare on Elm Street did not.

So what you really have to pick is a movie that is bad and then a remake can work, so I'll say

Plan 9 From Outer space.

i agree here. even thought its a comedy, the Hangover is a perfect example. the Hangover 2 could be a great movie, but no matter what its never gonna be better than the original.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Yeah, I don't think any movie that most people consider "good" should be remade......if its "good" (however you judge good) it can stand on its own, no matter how old it is.

My movie that I would like to see remade is Doom. Solid movie, I enjoyed watching it for what it is- a 90 minute popcorn action movie- but it was really Resident Evil in space, dealing with an infection and not an invasion from Hell. In this case, deviating from the game was not a good idea. Doom doesn't have the content that other video games to movies have, like Resident Evil or Hitman, but it certainly has iconic enemies and an interesting plot device with the invasion from Hell.

 

[BrntO4Life]

Like Buzzman said, critically acclaimed movies shouldn't be remade. But I also wouldn't care to see a bad movie remade, so I'd go with none.

 

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

Yeah I'm going to have to completely disagree with you guys. If good movies were never remade we'd have missed out on Ocean's 11, Scarface, and The Fly...all classics IMO. There are other films I enjoyed that were remakes as well, like The Little Shop of Horrors and one of my favorite Warren Beatty flick Heaven Can Wait.

Remakes are definitely a gamble. Fans sometimes just can't let go of the allure of the original, and that's understandable. But when you have a story that is timeless and the plot is right, a remake can be epic. Even when the remake isn't an instant hit like Ocean's 11 was it could still be entertaining with a good reboot.

Karate Kid is a good example of this. I don't think Kung-Fu Kid was as good as the original, but if I take it as a stand alone movie and forget all I know about Karate Kid, it was honestly an entertaining flick.

The latest Star Wars reboot worked well, and I'll admit I'll buy tickets to the next one with this cast.

The Al Pacino movie Insomnia was a 2002 remake of a 1997 foreign film, and it worked out pretty good. The same can be said for foreign film remakes True Lies, The Ring, and The Departed.

Of course remakes go bad, and that's just sad. It takes a really gutsy film maker to attempt to remake a good movie. If the script is right the film could be awesome. That's why I bring up White Water Summer. I doubt many people really know the movie I'm talking about, but that movie if remade today I think would be pretty good.

The Goonies, yeah maybe you don't touch that epic flick, but don't tell me you can't think of one, just one decent movie from the past that you could see being remade today with some success.

 

[BrntO4Life]

I'd put remakes of foreign films for and English-speaking audience into a different "category" altogether. It's more of a localization, in my opinion.

 

[relaxedanderson]

Yeah I'm going to have to completely disagree with you guys. If good movies were never remade we'd have missed out on Ocean's 11, Scarface, and The Fly...all classics IMO. There are other films I enjoyed that were remakes as well, like The Little Shop of Horrors and one of my favorite Warren Beatty flick Heaven Can Wait.

Remakes are definitely a gamble. Fans sometimes just can't let go of the allure of the original, and that's understandable. But when you have a story that is timeless and the plot is right, a remake can be epic. Even when the remake isn't an instant hit like Ocean's 11 was it could still be entertaining with a good reboot.

Karate Kid is a good example of this. I don't think Kung-Fu Kid was as good as the original, but if I take it as a stand alone movie and forget all I know about Karate Kid, it was honestly an entertaining flick.

The latest Star Wars reboot worked well, and I'll admit I'll buy tickets to the next one with this cast.

The Al Pacino movie Insomnia was a 2002 remake of a 1997 foreign film, and it worked out pretty good. The same can be said for foreign film remakes True Lies, The Ring, and The Departed.

Of course remakes go bad, and that's just sad. It takes a really gutsy film maker to attempt to remake a good movie. If the script is right the film could be awesome. That's why I bring up White Water Summer. I doubt many people really know the movie I'm talking about, but that movie if remade today I think would be pretty good.

The Goonies, yeah maybe you don't touch that epic flick, but don't tell me you can't think of one, just one decent movie from the past that you could see being remade today with some success.

Ok, you list three there. I can't really comment on Scarface or The Fly since I watched them years before I even knew the originals existed but I think that the reason that Ocean's 11 is lauded as a successful remake is because it was slightly less shit than the original.

Still, each to their own but I will counter those three by inviting you to have a look through this list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Film_remakes

I challenge any film fan to read through that list and not want to cry.

Ok, there are a handful of very good films on there but most of them were either remade in exceptional circumstances, such as The Man Who Knew Too Much, or seem to be on there because someone can't tell the difference between a book adaptation and a remake (Night of the Hunter).

I would say that since Cape Fear in 1991, a decent but arguably unnecessary remake, every film on that list has been markedly inferior to the original. Just look at how badly Michael Caine has been treated by that list; Alfie, The Italian Job and Get Carter - all reduced from cinematic classics to cinematic abortions in the last decade or so. All we need now is for Nicholas Cage to take the lead in a remake of The Ipcress File and The Rock to play Bromhead in a new version of Zulu and they might as well bury the great man in a washing machine.

I suppose you could make a case for things like The Departed since we are still living in a time where western audiences won't watch a foreign film, no matter how good, unless it's remade in English with some pretty Americans in the lead roles. However, the loophole that was tightened with Godzilla could be closed permanently when the new version of Akira is released.

I'm inclined to agree in principle with the idea that a bad film can be redeemed with a good remake, the problem is this flies in the face of Hollywood economics. Going to a studio asking them to finance a new version of a movie that was a box-office flop and/or is roundly ridiculed for being a terrible film is like asking them to pay for the privilege of you having a big shit in their child's bed. It's hard enough to sell them a good original film, convincing them to have another go at a failure is impossible.

No, the only stuff they are interested in is stuff that made a mint first time (King Kong, The Poseidon Adventure) or has since become so iconic it's ingrained in the public's consciousness (all the horror films from the 70s and 80s).

That means that we should probably look forward to things like:

Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Vin Diesel and Fergie from Black Eyed Peas
Duck Soup with Martin Laurence, Jack Black and Robert De Niro
Jaws with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Sunset Boulevard with Bruce Willis and Kim Kardashian
Dr Strangelove with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Battleship Potemkin with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Roman Holiday with Queen Latifah and 50 Cent
The Great Dictator with Will Ferrell
The Ladykillers with Tom Hanks and Marlon Wayans

Hang on...

 

[BrntO4Life]

The Ladykillers with Tom Hanks and Marlon Wayans

They should get the Coen brothers involved, as well.

 

[Houston]

could be closed permanently when the new version of Akira is released.

Ok, first I thought this was some sort of twisted joke however I went to Wiki and it was real.
Possible names include Justin Timberlake and Robert Pattinson?

I'm going to be sick....

 

[nflman2033]

I'd put remakes of foreign films for and English-speaking audience into a different "category" altogether. It's more of a localization, in my opinion.

Yeah not really the same thing, albeit usually the american version doesn't stand up, outside of e few exceptions, the departed being one.

The fly is an exception to the rule a case can be made fore scarface, however most critics would say the original is better and oceans 11, lol who cares for either. More than 90% of remake movies are a waste of time, I'll name 5 bad remake for every good one you can name.

One exception not mentioned here is thing, however again many critics would say the original is better.

 

[j.hen]

Rebel Without a Cause, just call it "Rebel" and have Scorsese or Marc Webb direct it.


And I wanna play Jim Stark.

 

[spiker]

I would hate to see The Goonies remade. It's great the way it is and that's how I want to remember it. For starters, just look at what Hollywood did to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Karate Kid. Those remakes are nothing more than cash-grabs.

 

[Nucking Futs]

Scanners(1981)

 

[SOS4Prez]

I wasn't completely against the idea of Spielberg and Will Smith remaking Harvey, though it'd be a tough role for Smith to nail since, in my opinion, Harvey featured James Stewart's best performance ever.

But for the most part I detest remakes.

 

[spiker]

Scanners(1981)

On the other hand, who cares if Hollywood wants to remake a shitty movie.