Good TV/Movie Re-makes

I'm probably going to get popcorn thrown at me by purists, but I enjoyed the remakes of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Dawn of the Dead." I have seen the original "Dawn" and liked both for different reasons. I've yet to the original "Chainsaw," but Jessica Biehl aside, the new one wasn't too bad.

I've enjoyed the original Pride and Prejudice with Laurance Olivier and Greer Garson. The 1995 version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle was a good however a little to long which made it seem like it'd never end. But, I love the 2005 version with Keria Knightly and Matthew McFadyen! They were dynamic in their roles and looked like they belonged together. Plus, the music in this version is wonderful especially the main theme song.

I'm usually a purist and like things in original form - but having recently watched the original Long, Hot Summer with Paul Newman, I have to say I preferred the remake. Sure, it had Don Johnson - and compared to Paul Newman, well, there's no comparison.

But aside from Paul Newman, the original had no one who could ACT worth a tinker's darn.

And for some reason, The Long, Hot Summer (remake) struck a cord with me when I saw it and it stuck. (it was a long, hot summer and my bare skin was stuck to the leather couch while I watched).

The remake of The Maltese Falcon (Yes, the Bogey one) is superb and is close to being as good as the book. But, try as I might, I can't find a copy of the original film.

I second that the Bogey version of The Maltese Falcon is great, but haven't seen the previous two versions so it's hard to claim a comparison. I saw at least one remake that followed, which I didn't care for.

Other truly great remakes that are often not thought of as remakes, because most of the other versions before and after seem irrelevant:

The 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz
The 1931 version of Frankenstein
The 1940 version of Thief of Baghdad
The 1999 version of The Talented Mr. Ripley

...and at least very good remakes:

The 1959 version of Ben-Hur
The 1956 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much
The 1991 version of Beauty and the Beast
The 1940 version of The Mark of Zorro
The 1994 version of The Jungle Book (seeming to be more of a remake of the 1942 live-action version, rather than the 1967 cartoon)

I almost mentioned the new series of Doctor Who as a great TV remake, but despite the revisions it's presented as a continuation of the older series like the various new versions of Star Trek that have enjoyed less and less success with each attempt. I wish I could like the remake of the Battlestar Galactica series (just plain don't enjoy it) but it's hard to deny it's light years above the original series. The revivals of The Twilight Zone, both the version from the 80s and the one from a couple years ago, are underrated gems that included some good remakes of the original series scripts.

I liked the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair (the original was pretty good too). And I thought the remake of The Italian Job was fun (though the ending of the original left things kinda hanging). And for simple car chase fun - Gone in 60 Seconds...well, okay, the remake attempted to actually add a plot. Oh, and I liked Mel Gibson's Payback remake of Lee Marvin's Point Blank though Mel tried to make the character more likeable.

Take care all -

I tend to like the originals...take for instance The Omen the original released in 1976 and the re-make thirty years later...I have no desire to see the latter...

The Amityville Horror also comes to mind...the original was good--re-make eh... was okay--there are some differences but the re-make is closer to the book...

The Fog 1980 version is tons better than the one which came out a few years ago...

This is, however just a few that come to mind...

But as stated before I tend to like originals better...some movies should never be messed with Gone With the Wind being one of them.

aspiringwriter said:

But as stated before I tend to like originals better...some movies should never be messed with Gone With the Wind being one of them.

Click to expand...

I just watched North by Northwest earlier....great movie....surprised no one has remade it but perhaps that's another movie that doesn't 'need' to be remade.