What was the best movie that had the worst remake?
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filmfann (
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June 6th, 2010
Hollywood has a bad habit of trying to remake remarkable films. La Femme Nikita was terrific, but the American version sucked big time. The original The Day The Earth Stood Still is one of the best ever, and the Keanu Reeves version fell far short. I see they are remaking Robocop now…
So, what original movie and its remake had the largest quality gap between them? I have two suggestions, which I will hold back for a bit, to see if they are mentioned by anyone else.
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31 Answers
@perspicacious The original was Love Affair, made in 1939 with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne. The first remake, An Affair to Remember, was a terrific film, and the third version, with Warren Beatty, was difficult to watch. Good call.
The remake: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the original: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
For shame, Hollywood, for shame.
@filmfann I was not aware of the 1939 movie. I was referring to the 1957 An Affair to Remember. Then there was another remake in 1994 called Love Affair. The 1994 film is the one I was calling inferior.
Nobody will ever be able to top the line so deftly delivered by Peter Weller; “Come with me or there will be…trouble.”
@Trillian “Stay out of trouble” and the weird way he says “No” are two staples when I talk to my kids.
That movie just rocks!
@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities I agree. The remake sucked big time. No creepy river ride, and they should have used Marilyn Manson for Willy Wonka like they originally planned.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Spoorloos
@Michael_Huntington I totally loved the TCM remake and prequel haha. I mean come on, Ronald Lee!
The Last House on the Left.
The remake completely missed the point.
@filmfann There are just so many aren’t there” My personal favorite from that movie is when Clarence gets thrown through the air mid sentence; “What is this Shiiiiiiiiiitt?”
I’ve been re visiting Eric the Viking lately:
“Oh that’s a good idea, take all his sheep.”
“I smell one of those foreigners, it’s the fifth one this week!”
“Now you’ve got all the beards on one side and all the mustaches on the other.”
“But Eric, it was the pillow…”
“If Keitl goes, there’ll be on one else to..do the things he foes for us.” “Or sharpen our knives and mend our pans.” “Shhh!”
“Well, we’d really like it if you’d sing for us.” “You’re just saying that.” “Of course he is!”
The Pink Panther remakes were a train wreck.
The Parent Trap
I really like the old one.
The Italian Job & Get Carter.Timeless British classics utterley inferior, pointless, dickwad remakes. There are many more but off the top of my head those ultimately, for now get my vote of shame.
Without a shadow of a doubt for me it would have to be the dreadful remake of The Wicker Man what is it with Nicolas Cage these days and remakes? anyway in this case The remake should be avoided in favour of the far superior original. Just wonderful.
The Women, and Cape Fear.
I’ve got two really bad ones. And both bad remakes star Tom Hanks.
There’s The Money Pit which was a pretty lame remake of _Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House._
But the worst remake of all is the remake of _The Shop Around The Corner_ titled _You’ve Got Mail._ It’s so bad. Plus it’s really just a 90 minute commercial for AOL.
(The Shop Around The Corner was also remade as a musical. That one’s titled In The Good Old Summertime and is pretty good)
A thousand Lurve to @bunnygrl for that one. Christopher Lee FTW!
Wonder why I can’t get italics to work half of the time.
Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m sorry, but I had a real problem with the Oompa Loompas being Indian instead of the fat orange faced, green haired goofs I always knew.
I know there are more… I just really can’t think of them at the moment.
I mentioned in the OP that I had two suggestions:
The first is Casablanca, as perfect a film as can be, and it’s remake: Barb Wire
@Seek_Kolinahr <throws mountains of hugs> I love that movie in ways that are just not explainable (is that a word? I’m very sleepy lol) it truely is a little gem, a classic, a true standard to judge other movies by. The atmosphere is so real you can almost touch it. Just amazing.
hugglys xx
I was gonna answer Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. I see @jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities already mentioned it, and i concur.
Tim Burton has yet again destroyed another would-be great story.
Everything from Wonka’s Michael Jackson wardrobe style, to the really stupid addition of the “Willy Wonka’s dad” character, who was never in any book. There was no point, and nothing interesting about that side-story. It was just Tim Burton concentrating too much on ambiance and too little on Story (as usual for him).
Oh, FFS, people. The Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was not a remake of the 1971 film with Gene Wilder. Calling it a remake would be like calling Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet a remake of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version. It’s not. It was a re-adaptation of the original book. And even with the added bit, it was still truer to the spirit of the original source material than the ‘71 film (which, by the way, I love).
@MacBean: You are technically right, but to me, there were too many similarities to the original movie with Gene Wilder. You really can’t NOT compare them.
DOA (1950) a classic noir made into something stupid and disjointed
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) a beloved cartoon turned into something really creepy
The In-Laws (1972) Peter Falk asks Alan Arkin about joining the CIA: “Are you interested in joining? The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That’s really the key to the benefit program.” Michael Douglas is just not that funny.
Sabrina (1954) how could you even think of remaking a movie starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, and William Holden? Hubris!
Karate Kid (1984) this hasn’t come out yet, but i predict a washout.
Almost universally, American remakes of foreign films are complete and utter garbage. I’m sure there’s an exception that proves the rule out there somewhere, but I can’t think of it.
@Cat4thCB
As a girl who watched The Karate Kid movies every day for all of 1992 to demonstrate her love for Ralph Macchio, and still does the breathing exercise when she meditates or needs to relax, I actually become angry upon seeing Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith attached to that legacy. Hilary Swank was pushing it, but at least Noriyuki Morita was involved in that movie.
It’s the Karate Kid. They don’t do fucking KUNG FU. Miyagi is an OKINAWAN FISHERMAN!
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