Motion Pictures that should NEVER be remade?

[Lady Day]

I see no reason why any film should not be remade if attempting to tell a story as well as possible.

Thats the key, but most remakes made today are remade from the movie, not the source material. Once that changes, then remake away.

LD

 

[carter]

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Too late for this one, but Ocean's 11 should never have been remade. How they did two sequels to the remake is confusing.:whip:

IAMMMMW is one of the funniest films ever made and they'd never assemble an ensemble cast to match the original.

Also Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Then there are all those Peter Sellers films. Steve Martin was a poor substitute in The Pink Panther remake. He's a funny man (remember Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid) but he's no Peter Sellers.

 

[Feraud]

Here is where I do a 180. A pox on Spielberg and Will Smith if they try to remake Oldboy!
Spielberg doesn't have the hutzpah and Will Smith the acting chops to touch this one.

Although if it gets people to see Chan Wook Park's film then so be it..

 

[BAZ]

Actually, I'm gonna go off on a tangent, and ask IF A REMAKE WAS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL?
Any takers?

 

[Diamondback]

Well, there was a take on The Maltese Falcon before Bogie's...

There's also an exception to every rule.

 

[Dexter'sDame]

How much time have you got?

The Women --Didn't see the new one, but it was a bad idea. It was such a time capsule of the '30's, remaking it results in a completely different story with the same title.

I agree 100% with the poster who said Chaplin's "City Lights" and would also add "Modern Times" to a lesser degree. (Maybe they could, but why?)

Gone with the Wind --That was another bad idea. Margaret Mitchell was so detailed in the character descriptions, it has to be Gable and Leigh.

The Thin Man, and After the Thin Man-- Who but Myrna Loy is charming enough to make those little wisecracks to and about her husband without sounding either passive-agressive or witchy with a capital B? (i.e, "that flatfoot I'm married to..." Hilarious!)
*typo*...

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

Personally, they shouldn't remake any movie that achieved any kind of commercial/ cult success. Instead, Hollywood should concentrate on original ideas.

 

[just_me]

Any of Frank Capra's movies.

 

[WH1]

IAMMMMW is one of the funniest films ever made and they'd never assemble an ensemble cast to match the original.

Unfortunately gentlemen, they have attempted a remake of this great movie and it was a serious dud. Remember "Rat Race", Cuba Gooding, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Jon Lovitz, and a busload of Lucy impersonators. What a waste of time.

 

[Subvet642]

The Women --Didn't see the new one, but it was a bad idea. It was such a time capsule of the '30's, remaking it results in a completely different story with the same title.


The Thin Man, and After the Thin Man-- Who but Myrna Loy is charming enough to make those little wisecracks to and about her husband without sounding either passive-agressive or witchy with a capital B? (i.e, "that flatfoot I'm married to..." Hilarious!)
*typo*...

Couldn't agree with you more! I did see the first remake of The Women, It was made in the 50's, I forget what it was called, but it was terrible! The cast included men, so they had to write lines for them. shakeshead

The Thin Man movies are absolutely perfect the way they are. And Myrna Loy? Wow!

 

[Dexter'sDame]

Subvet642, I saw the '50's remake of The Women as well, and it's probably fortunate that I don't remember the title either.

SonofAtropos, :eusa_clap

 

[Atomic Glee]

There should never be a remake of "Forbidden Planet" - I could see no way to improve on the greatness of the original. Naturally, though, there is already a (sort of) remake in the works.

 

[Brinybay]

I can't see them re-making The Godfather. Besides, I have all the lines memorized anyway, I've seen it that many times.

 

[Brinybay]

Actually, I'm gonna go off on a tangent, and ask IF A REMAKE WAS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL?
Any takers?

Ben-Hur, but mostly due to technology. May not be a fair comparison, the 1925 version is in a class of it's own.

 

[Story]

Movies they ARE remaking. [huh]
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/152...geek&utm_medium=top10links&utm_campaign=top10

 

[BAZ]

There should never be a remake of "Forbidden Planet" - I could see no way to improve on the greatness of the original. Naturally, though, there is already a (sort of) remake in the works.

TOO RIGHT!!! They've gone and done Day The Earth Stood Still, so who knows!?!?
NOTHING is sacred!

 

[Edward]

When {i]I[/i] rule the world, Lou Adler shall be peeled and rolled in salt for even considering re-making The Rocky Horror PIcture Show; which is not to say that there's no room for a true-to-the-original screen version of The Rocky Horror Show - two very different beasts in many respects.

To my mind, however, the problem with the ubiquity of remakes and sequels is less a lack of respect for the "classics" and more a symptom of creative bankruptcy run rampant in Hollywood. Time for some new stories, please. I'd jut love to see a new noir, set in the US during the early years of WW2 but prior to the US's entry into the war, and starring Henry Rollins as a Bogartesque agent....

 

[LizzieMaine]

There's two ways a remake can go horribly wrong -- either it's a slavish attempt to recreate the original, in which case why bother, or it's a "contemporary reimagining" which completely discards everything which made the original memorable, in which case why bother.

There have been remakes that got it right -- the 1954 "A Star Is Born" was not an attempt to recreate the 1937 original, but it did manage to keep the essence of its appeal while adding a fresh dimension. Contrast that with the 1973 remake, which was a prime example of "Why Bother?" On the other hand, the 1927 "The Jazz Singer" succeeds only because of Al Jolson's dynamism. Without him, and with Danny Thomas or Neil Diamond instead, it's just a schmaltzy slop of a soap opera.

I also think remakes of properties that are inextricably tied to the personality of the original maker can't help but fail. No Chaplin or Keaton film could ever be remade for the simple reason that Chaplin and Keaton are dead, and anyone trying to recreate them would simply be doing a cheap impersonation, which couldn't help but suffer by comparison to the originals. Same with trying to remake a Marx Brothers picture, or a W. C. Fields, or a Laurel and Hardy -- the appeal comes from the personalities of the original performers, not from whatever threadbare story surrounds them.

 

[Prairie Dog]

This past Sunday, TCM aired the original 1963 "The Nutty Professor".
No pun intended but Eddie Murphy's remake is a pale version of the Lewis original.

Stella Stevens was never lovelier.

And the great Les Brown Band of Renown was featured in the finale.

Here's a fine moment from TNP. Rat Pack and very cool.
Watch for Stella Stevens in the video. Yummy eye candy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXQFPEB9rLo
The song "We've Got A World That Swings" is featured on singer Tony Desare's currrent CD.

 

[Fletch]

Please DO remake

The Misfits. I don't buy the common wisdom about how great this one is. Sure, it's damned good, I found the story and settings compelling, but couldn't care less about the characters. Gable, Monroe, Clift, and Wallach playing - basically - themselves? The only really likable one was the dog.

I think it could be redone - still about 1961 cowboys mind you - but with some slant and subtlety to counter the relentless genre nature of the original cast. How about...

Gay...Kevin Costner
Roslyn...Charlize Theron
Guido...Gary Sinise
Perse...Mark Ruffalo
Isabel...Laurie Metcalf