When did you discover a movie was a remake?

Jamtoy · September 05, 2006, 01:51:20 PM

I was in Wal-Mart yesterday and saw a DVD of The Wicker Man 1973. I did not realize the movie in theaters now was a remake. I had the same feeling with Gone in 60 Seconds.

It's a kinda "let down - been down that road before - but we pulled the wool over your eyes - because you didn't know there was an earlier movie" feeling.

Did that ever happen to you?

Ed, Ego and Superego · September 05, 2006, 01:59:16 PM

Ben Hur. The great classic was originally silent.
-Ed

RCMerchant · September 06, 2006, 05:51:09 AM

Boris Karloff played the Original Col.Kurtz in a Playhouse 90 episode of HEART of DARKNESS,the novel that was made into APOCALYPSE NOW ,in Nov. of 1958.Also in the cast were Roddy McDowall,Oscar(Mr.Sardonicus)Homolka,and Eartha(BATMAN TV)Kitt.
.MEET JOE BLACK,WITH Brad Pitt was first done as DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY,with Fredrick March.
DIRTY ROTTON SCOUNDRELS(with Steve Martin and Micheal Caine) was first done as SCHOOL for SCOUNDRELS in the early 60's with Terry Thomas.
(I always thought the remake of the THING was better than the original.)
With all the remakes of 70's horror films,I wonder if they'll remake I DRINK YOUR BLOOD,LAST HOUSE on the LEFT,or DELEVERIANCE?

Yaddo 42 · September 06, 2006, 07:07:34 AM

Actually "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is a remake of a 60s by the numbers studio comedy called "Bedtime Story" starring David Niven and Marlon Brandon. I was amazed when I finally saw it how little was actually changed from the first one, it's a good lazy/rainy Sunday afternoon movie. But there is apparently a real remake of "School of Scoundrels" due before the end of the year.

I was unaware until after I saw them that "Brewster's Millions" (1986) and "The Four Feathers" (1939) were each one of multiple versions of the same story. Even the bland Chris O'Donnell comedy "The Batchelor" was a remake of an often remade story.

The Louis Malle 80s comedy "Crackers" is a very mild Americanized remake of the classic Italian comedy "Big Deal on Madonna Street". I saw it on TV for years, it was my dad's girlfriend's favorite film, before I was ever aware of the original. The George Clooney produced comedy "Welcome to Collinwood" is a better remake of the same film, but both remakes lack the sweet charm of the original.

I was unaware that "Heaven Can Wait" was remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" early on, or that that film had been remade with Pat Boone as "Goodbye Charlie" (I think). But I was aware that the unfunny Chris Rock film "Down to Earth" was a remake of the same film. Just made me loathe that film even more.

I sought out the Russian version of "Solaris" once I found out Clooney was involved in a remake. I like both films, but recommend finding the Stanislaw Lem source novel. Neither film comes close to capturing the depth and breadth of the book.

Also saw most of the major Western/Amercian remakes/borrowers of Kurosawa films like "Yojimbo", "Seven Samurai" and "The Hidden Fortress" before I became aware of them.

RCMerchant · September 06, 2006, 05:06:59 PM

I didn't realize that the MALTESE FALCON(1941) was a remake of a 1931 version with Richard Cortiz as Sam Spade and Dwight Frye as Wilmer(!)
.The Fantastic Four was first made as a low budget Corman production in 1993 with Alex Hyde White as Mr. Fantastic,and Joesph Culp as Doc Doom! And Jay(Dennis the Menace) Underwood as the Torch!
Warner Oland played Fu Manchu in silent films before Karloff essayed the role in '32.

RCMerchant · September 06, 2006, 05:07:02 PM

I didn't realize that the MALTESE FALCON(1941) was a remake of a 1931 version with Richard Cortiz as Sam Spade and Dwight Frye as Wilmer(!)
.The Fantastic Four was first made as a low budget Corman production in 1993 with Alex Hyde White as Mr. Fantastic,and Joesph Culp as Doc Doom! And Jay(Dennis the Menace) Underwood as the Torch!
Warner Oland played Fu Manchu in silent films before Karloff essayed the role in '32.

Fearless Freep · September 06, 2006, 07:42:06 PM

I think that post was a remake...

peter johnson · September 06, 2006, 11:46:02 PM

Ha! Freep, you're funny!
I'm usually fairly "up" on remakes, so was very surprised to learn here that there's a '31 Falcon out there somewhere -- I really had no idea!
I was certainly amazed the first time I found out that the Frankenstein story had been originally shot by Edison in 1910 --
Also, I was floored when I found out that there were so many Tarzans and Wizard of Oz's, dating from before 1912 -- L.Frank Baum apparently helped film a 1908 version of Oz himself. I had known about the 1912 Elmo Lincoln Tarzan, but apparently there are some out there earlier still.
* * *
Remakes in film should really be no more of a concern than a restaging of Hamlet, for example. If the people involved think they can really make a good go of it, or give it a step up or a new take, then go for it, please.
I like both Yojimbo AND Fistfull of Dollars, for instance . ..
Where I start getting my knickers in a twist, as it were, is when you read of or see remakes wherein you know that the people involved had no CLUE as to what the appeal and the presence of the original really meant. Hence my constant jokes about the porno-claymation-musical remake of Citizen Kane.
I think that recent Jodie Foster thing on the airplane was a perfectly good remake of Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes", for example, and I like both films equally well in their own ways.
I thought the remake of The Blob was a great addition to "Blobabilia", and like both the original and the remake for different reasons.
There are lots of remakes that I hate with a dull throbbing despair, but why speak of those?
I will say in conclusion that I have seen more sucky remakes than good ones.
peter johnson/denny crane

dean · September 07, 2006, 03:43:14 AM

I guess it all depends on your view on what makes a remake.

Technically, for me at least, I wouldn't count any of those films that remade silent films for instance, or get too angsty of movies based off books etc. Especially since alot of those are classic tales that automatically seem to be done everynow and then [like Frankenstien etc]

Eg. Though it was based on Heart of Darkness, I wouldn't really count Apocalypse Now as a remake [in my mind that is] but just a very well done, unique adaptation of the original story.

By the same token I wouldn't consider Speilberg's War of the Worlds a remake of the 50s film, but more an adaptation of the original story by Wells, since the 50s version and Speilberg's were all based on the same source, and Speilberg didn't really pay much homage to something specific in the 50s version

I'd also love to call Fast and Furious a remake of 'Legend Of Speed' but I'd more class that as a rip off than a remake!

But then you have movies like Scorsese's Cape Fear which I originally didn't know was a remake, which in turn takes alot of elements from "Night of the Hunter''.

I guess I consider an official 'remake' as a film specifically drawn, inspired by and made based on another film, rather than other text, unless of course that text was superseded by the film version to the point where people think of the film version way before even realising it was based on a book.

Ed, Ego and Superego · September 07, 2006, 12:22:57 PM

I gitta agree with Dan here. He nmade some interesting "remake vs ripoff vs tribute vs same source matterial" ground rules. Nice analysis!
-Ed

BoyScoutKevin · September 07, 2006, 01:57:08 PM

Which would make the current "The Wicker Man" w/ Nic Cage and Ellen Burstyn a remake of the earlier film w/ Edward Woodward and Chris Lee, as the original film is acknowledged in the credits of the remake.

And while "Heaven Can Wait" is a remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," the title comes from another, earlier "Heaven Can Wait" w/ Don Ameche.

peter johnson · September 07, 2006, 10:00:45 PM

Re. Scorscese's remake of Cape Fear:
Both Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck get cameo roles in the remake. They were the original Robert DiNiro and Nick Nolte characters in the original
peter crane/denny johnson

RCMerchant · September 08, 2006, 06:03:14 AM

Well, I hope the remake of WICKERMAN isn't as lame as the hippy dippy original.(Gasps from purists go here)
Which gets me to thinking how much of a bore HORROR of DRACULA was to me.(I 'll need sa bullet proof vest for that one...)

peter johnson · September 08, 2006, 06:47:33 PM

I've missed what sort of things you DO enjoy, RCMerchant --
What might they be?
I'm secure enough in my deep affection for all things Chris/Hammer not to have your putdowns affect me (left eye starts twitching uncontrollably) . . .
Er, could you be a tad more specific, re. why Horror of Dracula, a movie I watch easily 5 times a year, whether I need to or not, is such a bore to you?
peter johnson/denny crane

Inyarear · September 08, 2006, 07:27:08 PM

Originally, this film was known as Shop Around The Corner, it was made in 1940, and it was set in Hungary. It starred James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.

Then, someone decided it would make an excellent advertisement for AOL's e-mail service.

If the original hadn't been in my college library, I might never have known...