Remakes are becoming more and more common, but are by no means a new phenomenon. The film industry constantly updates films from the past in a hope of making more money, and reinventing an old storyline. There are plenty of examples where the remake has gone horribly, horribly wrong - The Wicker Man, The Omen, Get Carter, City of Angels, Alfie, Vanilla Sky, I Am Legend, The Italian Job, 12 Angry Men, The Amityville Horror, Mr Deeds, Ultraviolet, 13 Ghosts, Taxi, Shaft, Rollerball, The Producers, Planet of the Apes, and even the otherwise reliable Coen Brothers’ version of The Ladykillers. I’m sure you can add your own. Now film fans everywhere have more reason to fear for the integrity of the classics, as Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are rumoured to be taking on Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy. Don’t even get me started…

So, where are the examples of successes? Where was the effort needed to remake a film worthwhile? Surely some directors can take the source material and turn it into something better? We have 11 examples.

So, we know the name of the game, but by what rules are we playing?

1. We are going for actual remakes, not films “heavily influenced by” others. Star Wars is said to be a loose retelling of The Searchers, Alien owes a huge part of it’s existence to The Terror From Outer Space. We are only going for remakes here, no matter how close the script of one is to another. It is a pretty fine line between a remake and a “sequel” in some cases, so feel free to disagree.

2. We are only going for film remakes. The Bourne Trilogy started life as a TV mini-series, and the film version was much better, but we are only comparing like for like. Likewise, Michael Mann’s Heat was a remake of the TV movie, LA Takedown, and because it was a TV movie I don’t have to have the worry of deciding which version was better.

3. A special case here. Both films need to be the same “take” on the source material. It wouldn’t be fair to say that Daniel Craig’s version of Bond in Casino Royale was better than David Niven’s version, because Niven’s version was a spoof.

4. There is a big difference between a remake and a retelling. Recent Superman and Batman films have effectively re-written the history of those characters, even though they had several films before them. These are different interpretations of the character, and could be considered re-imaginings, but they are not remakes. The key difference between these and “A Remake”  is that these films actively discourage comparisons to earlier works.

5. Finally, two takes on the same book, and the second film is considered a remake unless it deliberately tries to do something the original didn’t. Once a book has been made into a film it is “a film” and any succeeding films based on the same book will not only be held up in comparison to their source book, but also to the original film. Don’t believe me? Look at how Zefferelli’s 1968 version of Romeo And Juliet is revered as “the definitive” screen version of The Bard’s play, yet you couldn’t say that Baz Luhrmann’s version was a remake of that, even though the script was (obviously) identical. We included The Three Muskateers, The Maltese Falcon and Ben Hur here because the later versions were as much of a reaction towards the older film as it was towards the original book. And hands up who knew Ben Hur was a book first?

His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940) - remake of The Front Page (Lewis Milestone, 1931)

The first film on this list is by Hollywood’s most versatile of directors, and is the first of two Milestone films which were remade. His Girl Friday and The Front Page were both based on the Broadway play, The Front Page. Milestone’s version is an early screwball comedy, while Hawkes - at home in any genre - made one of the definitive films of the genre. The most significant change he made was to replace the male lead in The Front Page, with a female character. Not only did this small change add chemistry to the dialogue between Walter Burns (Cary Grant) and the newly cast Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell), it also allowed Hawkes to play with more realistic conversations between characters. Hawkes noted that when most people have a conversation they don’t speak to each other, they speak over each other. Cary Grant’s snappy delivery, Rosalind Russell’s ad libbed comebacks (she felt her character wasn’t fiesty enough in the script) and Hawkes fondness for spur of the moment film making all added to the charm.

The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) - remake of The Maltese Falcon (Roy Del Ruth, 1931)

The first film version of Dashiell Hammett’s book is a very good film. Although notably lighter in tone than the Huston version which was to become such a classic, it is remarkable for all sorts of reasons. First of all, it is interesting to note that a 1931 studio film was able to contain scenes with overtly homosexual characters, a naked woman in a bathtub, and implications of strip searching. The Hays Code was not to be enforced for a further three years, and so such images would not be allowed onto Hollywood screens again for another 30 years. In some ways, Huston’s classic benefitted from forced subtlety, as much of the material from Hammett’s book would have fallen foul of the code by 1941. Huston reacted to this by making the tone darker, and the characters more edgy. The trick obviously worked, as Panorama du Film Noir Américain declared that this was the very first “Film Noir”.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956) - remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1934)

Hitchcock described the differences between the original and his remake, 22 years later, as being “the work of a talented amateur and the work of a professional”. It is also notable for the importance of songs in the film, rather than Hermann’s score. Doris Day’s version of “Que Sera Sera” would become a classic, and far more iconic than even this great film. This was despite her initial insistence that the song was “for children”. It would be her biggest ever commercial recording.

Ben Hur (William Wyler, 1959) - remake of Ben Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925)

This is a fairly obvious choice, as one of the most successful films of all time, and the joint record holder for Oscars (11). Wyler’s religious epic cost an estimated $15m in 1959, and was a last ditch gamble by MGM to stave off bankruptcy. To put that in context, Goldfinger, released five years later, only cost $3m. The first attempt at a film version of Ben Hur was equally as ambitious given the limitations of moviemaking in the mid 1920’s. It would be another two years before “talkies”, yet Niblo’s film cost $3.9 million, had a cast of 125,000, and encorporated a chariot race every bit as ambitious as the one Wyler recreated 34 years later. To make the chariot race as competitive as possible it was rumoured that Louis B. Meyer offered $100 to the winner of the race. This not only increased the competitiveness of those taking part, but made the scene far more dangerous to shoot. For all the obvious qualities of the original, Wyler’s remake had more. Admittedly that was in no small part due to the technology available to him. The real key was having a director with the scope of Wyler, a Star like Charlton Heston, Gore Vidal working on the script, and an unheard of level of funding (MGM used everything they had to back this) to realise their vision. The chariot scene is a triumph of editing and suspense.

The Three Muskateers (Richard Lester, 1973) - remake of The Three Muskateers (George Sidney, 1948)

Why? Because it has Oliver Reed in it. If ever there was someone born to play a beer swilling, swashbuckler it was Oliver Reed. Reed was known to encourage his house guests, journalists and friends to attack him with swords, so his duelling skills would stay “sharp” (sorry). And this was well before he took the role of Athos. On set, stuntmen would draw lots as to who would face Reed, and some flat out refused. Quentin Tarantino praised the film, saying “Oliver Reed is f****** God in this movie”, and commented that the sword fighting was the best ever committed to celuloid. The level of realism is obvious. As well as having stuntmen literally fighting for their lives, the legendary Christopher Lee had to make sure his swordfighting skills were up to standard to avoid Reed killing him. And that was off set.

The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) - remake of The Thing From Another World (Chris Nyby, 1951)

Carpenter’s remake of the film that (allegedly) started the career of Howard Hawks. Carpenter’s career is one of the strangest in Hollywood, as he is capable of producing genuine genre classics that deserve to be mentioned alongside anyone (Halloween, Assault on Precinct 13, Escape From New York), but equally as likely to turn out third rate work (Vampires, Escape From LA, Ghosts of Mars). This film certainly falls into the former category, and may indeed be Carpenter’s finest work. It was the first film which he did not write the score for, instead passing those duties to the able hands of Ennio Morricone. Although Carpenter’s version was initially a box office failure, it achieved a cult in the following years. This is in no small part due to the revolutionary special effects of Rob Bottin, who used every trick in the book (animatronics, makeup, smokescreens) to create The Thing. Nyby (or Hawkes) original was well ahead of it’s time, notably because of the strong female lead in a horror film- a Hawkes touch if ever there was one. It is obvious that Carpenter was a huge fan of the original. Sharp eyed viewers will note that footage of The Thing From Another World is used in Carpenter’s Halloween.

The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986) - remake of The Fly (Kurt Neumann, 1958)

By definition, the story of a man who turns into a fly is pretty disgusting. Who better to take on the story than the man responsible for more exploding heads than your average military sniper? To this day, Cronenberg’s vision of George Langelaan’s Kafkaesque nightmare remains disturbing, and is far more of a horror film than the original, which is much more of a work of science fiction. The original was certainly creepy - any film with Vince Price has that box ticked immediately- but was much more about the dangers of tampering with nature than Cronenberg’s film. It was Cronenberg who took the film is a more Metamorphasis direction, showing the transformation in all it’s gory glory. Tim Burton was initially signed up to direct the 1986 remake, and if they ever decide on a third version there can be few more interesting prospects than Burton’s take on the classic.

Evil Dead II (Sam Raimi, 1987) - remake of Evil Dead (Sam Raimi,1981)

On first glance, this would be considered a sequel, rather than a remake. If you watch both films you will note that the first half of Evil Dead II is almost a complete retelling of the first film (albeit with more slapstick). Raimi couldn’t get the rights to his first film, and so decided to retell it as a sequel. While both films are technically brilliant, and were landmarks in low budget movie making (not least for Tom Philo’s cinematography), it is the second version that created the comedy-horror genre. The first film was seen as a “video nasty”, and was accused of being misogynistic, sadistic and over violent (what else could be expected of a film that used dyed rice cream as zombie entrails?)- exactly the reason that it is so revered by the “Splat Pack” directors such as Eli Roth, Neil Marshall and Darren Lynn Bousman. Where the second version exceeds the first is in it’s subtleties. The violence is just as vibrant, the horror just as horrific (eyeball eating? decapitation? sawing off an infected arm? Check, check, check), but the humour of the film makes it much more enjoyable to watch. The first version may have been a landmark for Horror, but the second version created a genre of it’s own.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Frank Oz, 1988) - remake of Bedtime Story (Ralph Levy, 1964)

Bedtime story has everything to suggest it should be a classic. Marlon Brando and David Niven were the stars, playing two gigolos with a wager on who was the best representative of the profession. Niven was so at home with comic roles that he could have done this role at any point in his career. Without any disrespect (the man could clearly act!), comic roles were not Brando’s forte. 24 years later, Steve Martin was in the middle of his Hot Streak (Three Amigos; Little Shop of Horrors; Roxanne; Planes, Trains and Automobiles) and was cast in the Marlon Brando role as Freddy, alongside Michael Caine’s Lawrence. The pair played con-men with the same mark in their sights - the heiress Janet Colgate. It is remarkable then, to realise that the project was initially to be remade for David Bowie and Mick Jagger, who executives were desperate to have on screen together after their Dancing In the Street video. It is hard to imagine the film as being anywhere near as funny!

Desperado (Robert Rodriguez, 1995) - remake of El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 1992)

Although this might be considered a sequel (along with Once Upon A Time In Mexico, the three are sometimes considered a trilogy), Desperado is just a big budget version of El Mariachi. The first version of the film was created for the princely sum of $9000, with the remake costing around 1000 times that amount - still very cheap for a Hollywood production. Hitchcock said that his first attempt at The Man Who Knew Too Much was the work of a skilled amateur, and his second was the work of a professional. The first version of El Mariachi is clearly the work of a professional, albeit a professional hamstrung by the constraints of budget. The second version was the work of more than a professional. Rodriguez, a one man production crew, wrote both films, directed them, edited them, produced them, wrote the soundtrack (although this music is Desperado was later replaced) and worked the cameras. The fact that he was allowed a real budget meant that he could pack all the explosions and gunfighting into his second version as he wanted in the first. It also meant that he was allowed to bring in a genuine Star to play the title role - Antonio Banderas, straight off the set of Interview With A Vampire - and introduce English speaking audiences to the charms of Ms Salma Hayak.

Ocean’s 11 (Steven Soderberg, 2001) - remake of Ocean’s 11 (Lewis Milestone, 1960)

Many would claim that the original is the better film, as it had all the cool of the rat pack. The way Soderberg created his version in 2001 was far more “cool” than the original, and in many ways out rat packed the Rat Pack. While the original was obviously a vehicle for the group, the story (or certainly the scam) is the biggest star in the remake. The two sequels (12 and 13) fall into the same trap that the original did, and labour under the weight of their stars, but the remake was light and sharp. The soundtrack by David Holmes balances 60’s retro cool, with the knowledge of everything that came afterwards in the same way Tarantino’s film music manages. Everything works towards creating a film that seems to span the entire 41 years between the two versions, and something that has much more in common with classic crime capers like The Sting or The Asphalt Jungle than the original.

So, what have we learned here? You’ll notice that I haven’t got any foreign language films, remade into English. There is a good reason for that. There is a fairly good argument for directors remaking their own films - three of our list are films re-created by their original director. The good remakes also seem to have a gap of at least 20 years between original and remake. Perhaps that is enough time to make a reworking worthwhile?

If there are any budding film-makers out there, these are the exceptions. Please leave the good films alone!

Do you think Gus Van Sant’s Psycho has been cruelly left out? Are you desperate to see Tony Scott’s version of The Warriors? Have we left something off the list? Let us know.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 21st, 2008 by Thom Watt and is filed under Community, Film Texpertise, Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.