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I guess I have an instinctive aversion to re-making old movies. Who would even dare to re-make classics like Casablanca, It's A Wonderful Life, The Wizard Of Oz, Duck Soup etc.

However, I think that there are some lesser known classics which should be remade - not because there was anything wrong with the originals, but because they have a message as relevant today as it was years ago.

One such film, which I'm now watching, is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It's a tale of a young idealist who is appointed as a senator to Washington after the sitting senator dies. He's expected to be a stooge - sit still and not ask questions, but when he begins to do so, he's blasted mercilessly by the corrupt political machine in the state, led by an unscrupulous newspaper boss, Jim Taylor. So strong is the onslaught that he feels like giving up, but his secretary, a hard-bitten cynic, challenges him to stand up and fight the good fight, leading to a filibuster. It's a magnificent classic and one which I think has relevance today - and not only in the US.

Are there any films you'd like to see re-made?

King Kong
Pygmalion
The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Thing
Thomas Crown Affair

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 1): King Kong The Day The Earth Stood Still Thomas Crown Affair

These have already been done.

Quoting Kaitak (Thread starter): Are there any films you'd like to see re-made?

There is a problem in remaking the films...most of the time the original vision is lost with new substitutions/direction/etc. Look what happened to "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" for example. Some films have remained true classics just because they have not been remade.

Remastering...yes...but remake...probably not

But I hope to see the remake of Top Gun with new jets though :P

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 1): King Kong

Already done...albeit badly.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 1): Pygmalion

My Fair Lady (Broadway show) and She's All That (movie) are modern versions of it.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 1): The Day The Earth Stood Still

Already done. Very recently. Also badly, apparently.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 1): Thomas Crown Affair

Already done.

TIS

I have always thought that Logan's Run could be a movie that could be remade. Not sure why, but just always something I was interested to see how good of a job they could do with today's technology. Although, I could also see where they could make this stink as well.

Quoting Phoenix9 (Reply 2): These have already been done.

Quoting ANITIX87 (Reply 3): Already done.

Darn.  


How 'bout...

The Wizard of Oz - Maybe in a contemporary urban setting.
Wild Strawberries - A Woody Allen version of an Ingmar Bergman classic would be nice.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 5): The Wizard of Oz - Maybe in a contemporary urban setting.

Been done to an extent, The Wiz

I've got a bone to pick with Universal, as they've got a Slap Shot remake (not a rehashed straight to DVD sequel) penciled in for 2012.

http://www.pajiba.com/slap-shot-remake.htm
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999461.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Titanic - but without that cheesy love story attached. Remake that movie but without that little twerp DiCrapio and have Kate Winslet take off more.  
Then you'd have an excellent movie.
The special effects and reenactment were terrific.

Quoting Superfly (Reply 7): Titanic - but without that cheesy love story attached. Remake that movie but without that little twerp DiCrapio and have Kate Winslet take off more

I believe they made an adult remake called Bitannic: The Story Of Two Girls Going Down.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 1): The Thing

John Carpenter's the Thing from 1982 was far far better than the original. The first one was MST3K material.  

asturias

The "Airport" series

Nirmal   

Quoting Nirmalmakadia (Reply 10): The "Airport" series

Well in a way it already has.
The first Airport movie was dreadfully boring and I just don't understand why it gets so many raving reviews from movie critics and even aviation enthusiast.
Airport 1975 and Airport 1977 was magnificent and the best two of the series. Not sure why they're such popular punching bags.
The last one was a bit over the top but still entertaining.

Quoting Srbmod (Reply 6): Been done to an extent, The Wiz

Quoting Asturias (Reply 9): John Carpenter's the Thing from 1982 was far far better than the original.

Darn, more remakes!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Poseidon Adventure?

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 12): Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Done

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 12): The Poseidon Adventure

and done.

Where have you been for the last couple of decades? 

Quoting Superfly (Reply 11): The first Airport movie was dreadfully boring and I just don't understand why it gets so many raving reviews from movie critics and even aviation enthusiast.

Two words: Helen Hays. I love her line when she is telling her seatmate about her late husband:

"He could play Chopan's 'Minute Waltz' in 58 seconds."

Classic! She carried the movie.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 12): The Poseidon Adventure

I thought that had been remade already.

How about a remake of Leonard Part 6, Pink Flamingos, or Howard The Duck?

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 12): The Poseidon Adventure?

Yes.
That was a good movie but that crazy preacher guy has to go!
I would have liked to see more on the rescue at the very end.

Quoting Phoenix9 (Reply 13): Where have you been for the last couple of decades?

I give up. I'm gonna watch a classic mobster movie Scarface, starring Paul Muni and produced by Howard Hughes.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 16): I give up. I'm gonna watch a classic mobster movie Scarface, starring Paul Muni and produced by Howard Hughes.

I just picked up a copy of Original Gangstas on LaserDisc.
Many of the kids you taught in the Gary school are in this movie as it was shot on location in Gary, Indiana.
I'll show it to you next time you are over.

How about Cool Hand Luke? or Bless the Beasts and Children? or maybe On The Waterfront. All great movies that could be introduced to new audiences as long as hollywood keeps it's revisionist hands off and sticks with the original scripts the way they were written.

My only concern about remaking any classic movie would be hollywood's tendency to "politically correct" the movie. I think if they're going to do a remake it needs to stay true to the orginal. i.e. if the main character in the original smokes, so does the main character in the remake. Make it as much of a recreation of the original as possible and keep out some of today's hollywood biases.

Quoting NorthstarBoy (Reply 18): as long as hollywood keeps it's revisionist hands off and sticks with the original scripts the way they were written.

Oooohhh... You know what would be a really good one? "M." I saw the original one with Peter Lorre filmed in Germany early 1930s. Grainy black and white. No swearing, no blood shead, just very creepy, a lot of shadows, and very intense. Keep the script and the black-and-white. Or, maybe even keep every frame and word of the scripts from "Metropolis" or "All Quiet On The Western Front."

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 16): I'm gonna watch a classic mobster movie Scarface

Quoting Superfly (Reply 17): Original Gangstas

Throw in Ronin and Taxi Driver...you are set for the night.

Quoting Superfly (Reply 11): The first Airport movie was dreadfully boring and I just don't understand why it gets so many raving reviews from movie critics and even aviation enthusiast. Airport 1975 and Airport 1977 was magnificent and the best two of the series. Not sure why they're such popular punching bags. The last one was a bit over the top but still entertaining.

Does Airplane! not count as a remake ... it had elements of Airport and Airport '75 ... and just a little more to boot. Shirley, I mean surely, it can be regarded as a far superior remake!?

I have always had something for the 1954 movie "Them!" staring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon. It's a movie about giant ants the size of cars that grew that way from nuclear bomb tests in the New Mexico desert at White Sands. I've always wondered what they could do with the movie with modern day special effects and computer generation... It would be sweet!  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them!

Quoting Kaitak (Reply 21): Does Airplane! not count as a remake

No.
That movie just didn't age well.
It was funny in 1980 but not today.

Quoting Superfly (Reply 23): It was funny in 1980 but not today.

Bite your tounge!

McCrosky: Johnny! How about some coffee?
Johnny: No thanks!

The guy checking under "the hood" and washing the windows. The droan of a DC-7 when they show a 707. It is a classic!

Quoting FRAspotter (Reply 22): I have always had something for the 1954 movie "Them!" staring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon. It's a movie about giant ants the size of cars that grew that way from nuclear bomb tests in the New Mexico desert at White Sands. I've always wondered what they could do with the movie with modern day special effects and computer generation... It would be sweet!

I remember that movie. Those ants sounded like on-the-verge-of-breaking washing machines! You know those actors were pretty good. When I first saw those things, I think my initial response was, "wow, those are big ants," and then, "holy crap! Is this supposed to be scary?"

Looking back on that, those effects were insanely laughable and comical. I do wonder what kind of spectial effects could be used today to remake that movie...

Quoting Seb146 (Reply 24): Bite your tounge!

I remember seeing it at the theater when I was a kid and again a few years later on evening broadcast TV in the early 80s. I remember laughing a lot back then when I saw it.
Just 5 months ago I bought the DVD and was mad I wasted $4.
It was great when I was 7 but not funny to me today.

Quoting Seb146 (Reply 19): "M."

Quoting Seb146 (Reply 19): "Metropolis"

You know who would be the perfect director to remake those? Tim Burton. I think he could do them justice.

Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 25): "holy crap! Is this supposed to be scary?"

It was the 1950's. This was the first of the so called "nuclear monster movies" of the time. This was hot stuff back then.  

I personally love the movie. I've been watching it since I was a little kid when I would watch an old VHS copy of the movie. BTW, James Whitmore just died like a week ago.   Good actor.

Quoting Kaitak (Thread starter): One such film, which I'm now watching, is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It's a tale of a young idealist who is appointed as a senator to Washington after the sitting senator dies. He's expected to be a stooge - sit still and not ask questions, but when he begins to do so, he's blasted mercilessly by the corrupt political machine in the state, led by an unscrupulous newspaper boss, Jim Taylor. So strong is the onslaught that he feels like giving up, but his secretary, a hard-bitten cynic, challenges him to stand up and fight the good fight, leading to a filibuster. It's a magnificent classic and one which I think has relevance today - and not only in the US.

Adam Sandler did a 'remake' of it in 2002/2003 called 'Mr. Deeds'.

A few films like Casablanca, GWTW, The Wizard of Oz etc. can never be remade. People love them exactly they way they.

However, a few movies have aged terribly, 'Cleopatra' stands out (saw it again recently). These are the ones that need to be remade.

Quoting Seb146 (Reply 19): Oooohhh... You know what would be a really good one? "M." I saw the original one with Peter Lorre filmed in Germany early 1930s

Actually it was filmed in Berlin. I think Fritz Lang was the director.
The story is about a serial child rapist / killer, who gets hunted both by the official channels (police) and the local underworld (the gangsters hunt him because they hate child killers and also the increased police activity disturbs their normal "business"). In German this movie was called "M.-Eine Stadt sucht einem Mörder" (M. - A city is looking for a killer)

Jan