What classic film just can't be remade?

[terrya]

"Citizen Kane" is Orson Welles' masterpiece. It is solely identified with him. I just can't imagine anyone remaking it.

[blackmoonlillith]

1. Pyscho...

Gone with the Wind...

[Servo300]

55. Unfortunately, "Psycho" _was_ remade...

[maxpower]

2. You took my answer

That movie is the best. Citizen Kane

[Hell Hath No Fury]

3. Casablanca...

Don't. Even. bother.

Can't be done.

[Kid_A]

9. There was a joke about just that on SNL once...

On Weekend Update once the lovely Ms. Tina Fey said:

"Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez might star in a remake of Casablanca. This movie would be perfect for people who like the original version, but wish it was terrible."

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

30. LOL!

Funniest and Sexiest Woman Alive!

Actually David Soul did do a remake of Casablanca back in his "Starsky & Hutch" days and it was roundly panned.

[LynneSin]

4. The original Star Wars Trilogy

I don't think anyone would bother with the latest trilogy

[Loonman]

5. Clockwork Orange

2001, too.

2010 sucked ass.

[Imalittleteapot]

6. To Kill a Mockingbird.

No one can play Atticus. Period.

[geniph]

61. I'll second that.

Gregory Peck WAS Atticus Finch. Even in his day-to-day life, the man was like that.

[sniffa]

7. goonies

[freetobegay]

8. Torch Song Trilogy!

[Burma Jones]

10. Wizard of Oz

It's way too ingrained in our collective psyche

[CO Liberal]

13. They Tried

It was called "The Wiz". and it sucked, mainly because they had a thirty-something Diana Ross playing the part of Dorothy......

[sniffa]

14. i Love that movie

i think it better.

how bout the "wizard of oz" cartoon - i remember being kinda frightened watching that.

[terrya]

16. Sidney Lumet directed it. Not one of his finest moments.

And let's not forget a pre-plastic surgery Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. :-)

[Burma Jones]

22. See????

I remember the Wiz, Ease on Down the Road was a catchy tune.

[callous taoboy]

17. Wizard of Oz, yes!

One of the most brilliant movies of all time. I get choked up repeatedly throughout. I would love to visit the sound stage where it was filmed. Any info on that?

[callous taoboy]

37. Harold and Maude.

[On the Road]

11. Birth of a Nation

[Kid_A]

12. The Godfather. Nuff said.

The Godfather is the Best Movie Ever. To even consider remaking it would be sacrelige. As for remaking Psycho, Gus Van Sant proved that you can't remake that one in 1998.

And what if someone tried to remake Lord of the Rings in about 50 years? What if those movies became dated and people wanted new ones? Would my generation (I'm 23) get out of our wheelchairs and say "Hell No!"?

[Burma Jones]

23. Well, if they have holographic movies by then

I'd say, go ahead.

[Beware the Beast Man]

15. Plan 9 from Outer Space

No matter how bad the remake could be, it still wouldn't top the original in terms of badness.

[PATRICK]

26. But that and "Citizen Kane"

were remade partially, second hand, included in biopics about their directors.

So it was dared in a way.

But classics implies a recognized great movie. "Gone with the Wind" too was sequelled, another timid way of "remaking" a classic.

I can't think of one that Hollywood wouldn't dare in some way to resurrect, to borrow some of the shine.

No sequels, mno spinoffs, no revisions, enlargements, updatings, no "makings of" or biopics... This would take some time to think of any good film not already revisited...or capable of being revisited.

[tigereye]

28. you got that right!

well maybe is could be worse, but not in so "highbrow" a way. He-he

[kcwayne]

18. Birth of a Nation, hopefully

[Burma Jones]

24. Not Exactly a Remake, but how about

Afterbirth of a Nation?

Pretty gory I suppose.......

[gpandas]

19. freaks

20. Solaris & Wings of Desire

damn Hollywood, they already remade them.

ok --

8 1/2 by Fellini, hell anything by Fellini
anything by Chaplin
anything by the Marx Brothers

[PeaceProgProsp]

21. Gilda.

[wryter2000]

25. Harvey

No one will ever be Elwood P. Dowd other than Jimmy Stewart. He even did it on Broadway.

[PATRICK]

32. Broadway plays are constantly being

redone and there have been a lot of spinoffs on this.

Slowly developing criteria: either so bad or so good that a revisiting is sure poison despite name recognition and hype, simply can't be imitated or modernized, impossible to match the artistic elements.

Yes, stuff like Fellini because not only some of that, but also because it is so avant garde European that there is both no remake value or ability to translate anything. Just like Europeans wouldn't touch American musicals for the most part.

"Little Big Man" has been shrinking on the horizon ever since it came out big. Sort of ironic. Similar declining classics(losing appeal) would not be remade simply because the advantages are going negative.

[ronnykmarshall]

27. Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

A timeless classic.

[terrya]

29. Let's not speak of Roland Emmerich's "Godzilla".

Ick. :-)

[ronnykmarshall]

33. HATED IT!!

We went opening night in SF and I fell asleep in part of it. The show was sold out and there were people lined up down the street for the next show.

When we were walking out people were asking "How was it?" ...... "IT SUCKED!" I said.

[BigMcLargehuge]

35. I saw it on the special engagement show a day before general release

and was really disappointed too. If only they'd called it "The Best from 20,000 Fathoms - 1999" I might not have hated it so very much. But it is in no way a Godzilla film.

Read my review here:

http://www.horrorview.com/Godzilla%201998.htm

[ronnykmarshall]

36. Excellent review!!

[BigMcLargehuge]

39. glad you liked it :)

:)

[Speck Tater]

42. I feel sorry for people who hate.

I found a lot of fun in the movie, so the fun I found must have been in there for the taking. So sorry you weren't able to find it.

[BigMcLargehuge]

45. are you Dean Devlin?

J/K

[ronnykmarshall]

60. Por favor!

[RossMcLochNess]

31. Halloween

n/t No Donald Pleasance = no good.

[HEyHEY]

34. Lawrence of Arabia

[Misunderestimator]

38. Rear Window....

Or any other Hitchcock film... You just can't do Hitchcock without Hitchcock.

[LastKnight]

40. citizen kane, amen. casablanca, amen. nt

[BigMcLargehuge]

41. there was an awful made for TV remake of Casablanca

in the early 80s

[LastKnight]

46. thats too bad...

why dont people start with remaking bad movies and see if they cant improve em? why ruin a classic?

-LK

[BigMcLargehuge]

48. look at the awesome cast

Complete credited cast:

David Soul....Rick Blaine

Hector Elizondo....Capt. Louis Renault

Reuven Bar-Yotam....Ferrari

Ray Liotta....Sacha

Scatman Crothers....Sam

Arthur Malet....Carl

Patrick Horgan....Major Heinrik Strasser

Kai Wulff....Lt. Heinz

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

43. Akira

And if ANYONE EVER fucks with Akira, they're gonna have my chainsaw to deal with!!!!

[BigMcLargehuge]

44. there were rumors of a live action one a few years ago

but the have since faded. Have you ever compared the old and new dubbed tracks?

The newest version is much more comprehensible.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

47. No, I haven't!

I was only able to watch the old version a couple of times on VHS, but only the subbed version, not the dubbed one. Personally, I hated subtitled versions and I think the people that prefer them are using some fucked up logic (one translation is just as good as another, just as one voice actor's rendition of the script can be just as good as another's). But alas, that's all I could get my hands on until the wonderful advent of DVDs.

On edit: Thank GOD they didn't make a live version. It'd probably star Keanu Reeves as Kaneda... :eyes:

[BigMcLargehuge]

49. actually, comparing subbed to dubbed....

I write anime reviews for www.horrorview.com and there are sometimes amazing differences between subbed and dubbed tracks. In many cases it's up to the viewer to decide which is better... but in my experience the subbed track most often helped reveal some of the characters more subtle emotions. Being able to read the words too also offers a little more detail than they can fit into some dubbed tracks.

In Akira, for example, in the old dubbed version the General does alot of "Grrrrrrrrr" ing. In the subbed versions he actually says another word or two, that amazingly, clear up some of the murk of the dubbed version. In Mao Chan, on the other hand, the dubbed version gives one character the repeated line "I must say" whereas the subbed version omits it. I appreciate the omission. In some cases the dubbed track can make or break a title. Licensed by Royalty is awful in Japanese (it's set in a country that mirrors the UK) but bearable with the English dub (they actually brought in English actors for the dub).

The new DVD of Akira featured a brand new dub and brand new subs from a brand new translation.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

50. To clear up that problem though...

I watched subbed and dubbed at the same time. Thank god for DVDs!

I see your point though, but I think we're getting beyond the point of atrocious localization dubbing. They know there's a market for anime in the U.S. now, and they're putting a lot more effort into the translations.

[BigMcLargehuge]

51. MUCH more so than in 1989 when Akira first hit the US

The Geneon titles are all really good.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

53. Oh hell yeah

I'm loving Trigun right now!


Curious though, do you have an opinion on the Neon Genesis or Rurouni Kenshin series? I've always been intrigued by those, but I've only caught fan-boy type reviews by each.

[BigMcLargehuge]

62. haven't seen them

if they are Geneon titles I probably will as they send them to me pre-release. I can make some recommendations though -

Last Exile
Someday's Dreamers (not action adventure, but beautifully put together)
Captain Herlock
Read or Die (The Series)
Gungrave

[Westegg]

52. The Song Remains the Same" (n/t)

[Unperson 309]

54. Gone With The Wind!

They would never be able to recapture that magic!

309

[Servo300]

56. Any film CAN be remade....

But there are a lot of them that SHOULDN'T be remade!

[ForrestGump]

57. "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"

[Canuckistanian]

58. Dr. Zhivago or Lawrence of Arabia

Character development just doesn't exist in movies like it used to. And any Hollywood director would just try to use far too many special effects.
When will they learn that great acting, not pretty people and explosions make great movies?

[MikeG]

59. The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh.

[BigMcLargehuge]

63. The Pittsburgh Pices...

LOL... I remember watching that everytime it aired on Network TV.

[bikebloke]

64. Casablanca

The actors that mad that film are gone, I don't think you could gather the same chemistry again. Not to mention, a remake would be constantly compared with the original. It would be a waste of time. I'll stick with Bogie and Ingrid.

[Kazak]

65. Willy Wonka

Oh, wait...