# Are there any movies that should be remade?



## Tabitha (Sep 4, 2002)

You might have noticed me ranting here and there about remakes, and how I think in general they are terrible.  Maybe I just have 'issues', who knows, but I can't deal with them at all.  

But I got to thinking, perhaps there are movies out there that were great ideas that just went terribly wrong somewhere along the way.  You know, the kind of movie where you come out afterwards and say, "Well, it would have been okay if they hadn't had that trippy dream sequence/ really bad acting/all the extraneous nudity" or something along those lines.

Or perhaps there are much older movies that might benefit from a new interpretation, might be more fully realised with the advent of current special effects. 

I think at the moment there are very few movies that I would like to see remade, but perhaps something like The Lawnmower Man might be better now, if it were recast with more engaging actors and used more believable CGI for the 'internet' scenes.


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## triffid (Sep 4, 2002)

There is only one film that comes to mind when the word remake is used.......

Phantom menace.

Please, for the Love of holy trilogy, DELETE JAR JAR


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## Tabitha (Sep 5, 2002)

aww poor Jar Jar.  I think they did okay with TPM.  I re-watched it recently, and it was better than I remember.


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## ray gower (Sep 8, 2002)

I can think of any number of 'B's that could have been better, if there had been a budget as large as the directors hat size.
Earth Against the Flying Saucers,
War of the Worlds,
The Day the Earth Stood Still,
Island Earth,
Flash Gordon, okay it was only a B as in BAD but..


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## Tabitha (Sep 8, 2002)

Actually I like The Day the Earth Stood Still as it is.  I would only be happy with a remake if they kept the social commentary, which would obviously have to be updated a little for today's political climate.


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## triffid (Sep 8, 2002)

> _Originally posted by ray gower _
> *I can think of any number of 'B's that could have been better, if there had been a budget as large as the directors hat size.
> Earth Against the Flying Saucers,
> War of the Worlds,
> ...



Ray, you'll be pleased to know that War of the worlds is being remade and the best part is it's being set in the same time period as the original novel


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## ZachWZ (Dec 6, 2002)

Tarzan.  Edgar Rice Burroughs fans have never had a version 1/2 way close to the books.  These flims would include lost civilazations, fantastic dangerous creatures, and would contain La, High Priestess of Opar.

Captain america-An awful weak plotted release to video in the early 90's.  I want one true to the comics with Red Skull, Diamondback, Falcon, Batroc, and Baron Zemo.

ZachWZ


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## Tabitha (Dec 6, 2002)

With the slew of Marvel hero movies in development I wouldn't be surprised if you got your wish on the Captain America front.  To be honest I was never really that keen on his character, but I would certainly give a movie a chance if it were made.


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## DarkCity545 (Dec 7, 2002)

i would like to see Fantastic Voyage from 1966 starring Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasants should be re-made.

A surgical team is miniaturized and inserted into a dying man. 
A diplomat is nearly assassinated. In order to save him, a submarine is shrunken to microscopic size and injected into his blood stream with a small crew. They have just begun their voyage through the body to fix the injury to the brain when it becomes clear there is a saboteur on board.

the special effects were great for the year 1966 think of what it could be in this time of computers.


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## tabuno (Feb 11, 2003)

*"Forbidden Planet"*

Forbidden Planet (1956) was so far ahead of its time with its serious attempt at sci fi, its special effects.  But it is way out of date now.  But the premise is sound and it would be wonderful to see how the monsters from the id would be brought to the screen today.


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## Tabitha (Feb 11, 2003)

For all my complaints about remakes... I think I would actually watch a Forbidden Planet remake, Fantastic Voyage too. FP was always more of a psychological drama than a actiony movie, so perhaps a remake of it might end up more like Solaris and less like, oh, say, Men In Black.


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## tabuno (Feb 12, 2003)

*I'm Honored*

I am honored, Tabitha, that you took the time to acknowledge my post.   You seem to be the queen or king of sci fi fantasy.


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## ray gower (Sep 15, 2003)

Having recently seen Forbidden Planet again, I'm none too sure that Holywood could actually do a decent retread, even if they really tried.

Okay, the effects would be more modern (Note not necessarily better). Obviously todays fashion says the space ship will no longer be a frisbee or wobble and instead of mini-skirts the daughter will undoubtedly appear in something lycra. But they would also muck up one of the shows stars, Robby, for something streamlined.

I'm afraid if they took it up, it would become a big bang extravagansa and would lose the simple awe that comes with the film


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## tabuno (Sep 17, 2003)

*Forbidden Planet - The Thing*

A good remake was The Thing by John Carpenter, it updated and brought more crisp and contemporary clarity to the original classic.  I would think that a remake of Forbidden Planet could be accomplished in the same fashion.  While the original was cute, the psychological factor can be explored in depth (much like the Psycho-thrillers of day) - The Ring...The Sixth Sense...

If Event Horizon could have been made into a real psychothriller instead of a horror/slash movie, Forbidden Planet could have the same eerie, moodish feel.  I think that Robby the robot will have to go in a remake...we have not 2001: Hal 2000 images now.  An Alien approach to Forbidden Planet would have potential I could image.


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## Tabitha (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by ray gower _
> *
> I'm afraid if they took it up, it would become a big bang extravagansa and would lose the simple awe that comes with the film *


I don't know Ray.  I think there would surely be an understanding that this isn't your average SF actioner if a remake was made.  I would have high hopes for another film based on this premise, and anything that manages to make SF look smart and/or interesting again would get my vote.

But I agree about Robby - it would be hard to fit him in to a newer film without some kind of revision.  Although perhaps minimal interference could be achieved by use of a retro styling - having said that, surely a retro new Forbidden Planet would be little different from the original!

And good call on The Thing tabuno - it was a very well made remake of an old schlock SF movie.  I would add Cronenburg's "The Fly" to that list too.


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## ray gower (Feb 10, 2005)

With much trepidation, I would remake the Quatermass films. They are uniquely modern stories that would benefit from a little money behind them.


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## Dave (Feb 10, 2005)

Ray - you and I would watch that kind of "cerebral" scifi, but you would have a hard time convincing Hollywood that young kids brought up on a staple diet of console games and "kill-happy" films would.

That's not to say that they wouldn't like it, just that you would have a hard time getting it made.

'Forbidden Planet' is Shakespear's 'The Tempest'. Those stories are timeless, and can be re-invented as many times as you like. They did a 'Richard III' with Tanks not so long ago.

I also agree with 'The Thing' and 'The Fly' being excellent re-interpretations of the originals, but there seems a tendency recently for remakes that I think is getting out of hand, and I started another thread on that, so I won't repeat myself here.

One more thing though, since all us "Baby-Boomers" are rapidly approaching our pensions, maybe Hollywood ought to start catering for us as well as those young kids.


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## immortalem (Feb 10, 2005)

I would like re-makes of the following films:

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Hollow Man

Wargames


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## ray gower (Feb 10, 2005)

Thinking particularly of the Quatermass Xperiment, which desperately needed money for effects, it could be done as a monster flick and not loose a great deal.

But I suppose films like the Blob or The Thing are to a large extent remakes, as they borrow heavily from Q?


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## immortalem (Mar 13, 2005)

Dracula should be remade.  I would love to see that.


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## Dave (Mar 13, 2005)

Shouldn't they only remake films in which they can add to or improve on the original (maybe with CGI), or adapt it to fit modern circumstances?

I think films like The Stepford Wives, Soylent Green and Westworld should have been, or should be, left alone. What can be added or improved?

But Terminator 2 is a vast improvement on The Terminator with basically the same story and just better effects.

Many older films (while fantastic as a product of their times) are just too corny, hackneyed and trite to be remade.

For instance, I love those old Boris Karloff type of monster movies.... Dracula, the Mummy, Frankenstein, the Wearwolf.

You couldn't remake them today. It would end up as a travesty like Plan 9 from Outer Space

It depends how we are defining "remake" though.

You CAN re-imagine them, or you can go back to the original gothic novel which actually had more substance.... Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, the Mummy series. 

I wouldn't call those "remakes" though, they bear little resemblance to the original films apart from the title.


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## ray gower (Mar 13, 2005)

> _Originally posted by immortalem _
> *Dracula should be remade.  I would love to see that. *


Which Dracula would you remake?
There are over 30 readily available variations out there already (nine with Timothy Lee). Some were good, some were ... interesting, but most were pretty bad.

The same can be said for Frankenstein's Monster (where Karlov became famous), Mummys or anything to do with mutant worms, rabbits, spiders, tomatoes or any other domestic object- including vacumn cleaners. If your video rental shop hasn't got at least 3 versions of each of these you should really change your shop!


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## immortalem (Mar 14, 2005)

> _Originally posted by ray gower _
> *
> Which Dracula would you remake?
> 
> ...


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## BookStop (Jul 17, 2008)

I wouldn't mind seeing *Clash of the Titans* remade. The story is great, and although the special effects are charmingly bad, it might still be nice to see if a new masterpiece can emerge.(edit - oh, and Sinbad too)

My mind is blanking out on me - What is that movie with the guy in a huge spaceship with a giant tree growing. Maybe last tree anywhere? Anyway, I remember liking it even though I can't remember anything else. WOuld I want it remade. Maybe, I'd have to refresh my memory of the original first.


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## TK-421 (Jul 17, 2008)

Tron is being remade apparently.


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## Perpetual Man (Jul 17, 2008)

I'm not too sure about a Tron remake, I'm sure I read somewhere it's a modern sequel with many of the same characters... 

And this is not really a remake as there is nothing wrong with the originals, but I'd love to see the James Bond novels made into movies, starting at the beginning (Casino Royale), but following the books more and in the time period they were originally set.


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## j d worthington (Jul 17, 2008)

BookStop said:


> My mind is blanking out on me - What is that movie with the guy in a huge spaceship with a giant tree growing. Maybe last tree anywhere? Anyway, I remember liking it even though I can't remember anything else. WOuld I want it remade. Maybe, I'd have to refresh my memory of the original first.


 
Sounds like you're thinking of *Silent Running*; in which case, it wasn't a single tree, but the last bits of remaining forest, being carted out there to save them for the future. Unfortunately a decision was made to "bring the boys back home", and the domes (containing the trees) were to be destroyed. Lowell refused, and kept one dome going, but at a rather high cost....

The special effects there were actually quite good, overall (Douglas Trumbull of *2001* fame was the driving force behind this one); the story has logical flaws you can drive a planetary system through, but somehow the damned thing still works, and works beautifully. And I doubt anyone would ever top Bruce Dern's performance as Lowell, or the performances put in by the three who played the Droids, and the chemistry between them all....


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## Connavar (Jul 17, 2008)

*Mad Max*

*Le Samurai -* not by hollywood of course.....

*Dracula* - the one i remember fondly are i think from the 70s. Maybe the Coppola one ?  With Christian Bale !


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## TK-421 (Jul 17, 2008)

Some upcoming remakes:

Adventures in Babysitting (by Disney at that!)
Weird Science
(with these two my tender pre-teen years in the 80's will be shattered)
Evil Dead
The Fly (a remake of a remake!)
Seven Samurai
Masters of the Universe (not sure if this actually a remake or not but certainly one of the series...man, my little brother loved that show!)


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## BookStop (Jul 18, 2008)

Yes, JD, that's the one. Oh, now I have a hankering to see it again as I hardly remember it at all.


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## yngvi (Jul 19, 2008)

TK-421 said:


> Some upcoming remakes:
> 
> Adventures in Babysitting (by Disney at that!)
> Weird Science
> ...


 
Oh my god TK, you like the same films as me!

(it's time to worry)

There's hope though if you wouldn't like to see Aliens remade but with only the crappy backdrop effect on the unstable platform near the end (where Ripley thinks Bishop has buggered of and stranded her).


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## Ashley R (Jul 22, 2008)

A lot of the old classics have been remade over the years. My most recent favourite was King Kong, which caught the spirit of the original story, by setting it in the past.

Some other remakes have been less endearing.

However I would like to see the following remade:
Quatermass and the Pit
This Island Earth
Planet of the Vampires remade
Damnation Alley (going back to the source material)


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## gully_foyle (Jul 22, 2008)

I would like to see Star Wars I, II and III rewritten and remade, without Lucas at the helm, and no CGI. Do I sound bitter?

On a less vindictive note, maybe Forbidden Planet, but bringing it back to its Shakespearian roots.

And I would have loved to see Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (remember the 70s concept album) realised on the big screen. Pity old Dick Burton isn't around to narrate it again. Funny to see that ancient comment at the beginning of this thread about a War of the Worlds remake being set in the correct period. If only Senor Spielbergo could be so imaginative.


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## Connavar (Jul 22, 2008)

The person who remakes Seven Samurai will top my hate list for hacks....

No one in hollywood is fit to touch works of the great Kurosawa.

Why cant they leave him in peace...


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## The Ace (Jul 22, 2008)

Somebody should remake, 'The 300 Spartans,' after the insult to their memory that was, '300.'


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## Celeritas (Jul 22, 2008)

the only thing 300 had going for it was the role reversal of sexual exploitation (meaning I only saw like two naked chics but I have never seen that many hard muscled scantily clad men on one screen at on time!)


that being said, I would love to see a remake of "they live" 

and if they remake seven samurai I will kill someone, that's a promise....


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## Connavar (Jul 23, 2008)

Celeritas said:


> and if they remake seven samurai *I will kill someone*, that's a promise....




If you are talking about the director and the producer AMEN to that


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## Ashley R (Jul 24, 2008)

Just thought of another remake I'd like to see...

GunHed. Obscure Japanese B movie about giant robot kicking butt big time.

Actually, just a decent directors cut re-release with sub-titles for the Japanese dialogue would do, as that would satisfy my nostalgia urge.


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