Play It Again Sam

A colleague and I had a recent discussion about movie remakes.  Coming to theaters earlier this year, was a remake of Tomb Raider, originally released in 2001. A Star is Born, originally made in 1937 (and subsequently remade in 1954 and 1976), starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is coming out in theaters on October 5th.  Additionally, there are a slew of other remakes rumored to make it to theaters in the next year or two (e.g., The Crow, Mulan, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, etc.).

Often, when people hear a movie is being remade, they start ranting how Hollywood is out of original ideas.  When discussing the “remake phenomenon” however, my colleague and I talked about how sometimes the remake is better than the original.  I first thought of Cape Fear. I can appreciate J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 production, especially the boldness of the subject matter for a mainstream film of that time.  In my opinion, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 version is a better overall production. My co-worker finds The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), starring Pierce Bronson and Rene Russo, to have a more appealing overall aesthetic than the 1968 original with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.

Below is a list of ten films that have been remade.  The Mercer County Library System has the original, as well as the remake.  Whether they have been remade with a culturally relevant twist or with technological advances that were state-of-the-art at the time of the remake, check out the following and let us know which you think is better!

Carrie (1976)
Director: Brian De Palma
Catalog description: The riveting story of a father's effort to rescue his son from the government agency which is using him in their secret mind-control experiments. During his search, he encounters a young girl whose frightening psychic powers help precipitate the final confrontation between pursued and pursuers.

Carrie (2013)
Catalog description: After merciless taunting from classmates and abuse at the hand of her mother, Carrie's anger - and her telekinetic powers - are unleashed. And when a prom prank goes horribly wrong, events spiral out of control until the terrifying conclusion of this powerful, pulse-quickening horror story.

The Fly (1958)
Director: Kurt Neumann
Catalog description: When a scientist attempts to transfer matter through space, things go horrifically wrong and two grotesque man-fly hybrids are created. Now, with the head of a fly and a wing in place of one of his arms, the scientist desperately hopes that he, his wife and his brother can capture the other mutant and reverse the experiment.

The Fly (1986)
Director: David Cronenberg
Catalog description: Seth Brundle is a brilliant but eccentric scientist who attempts to woo investigative journalist Veronica Quaife by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation, which against all the expectations of the scientific establishment have proved successful. Up to a point. Brundle thinks he has ironed out the last problem when he successfully transports a living creature, but when he attempts to teleport himself a fly enters one of the transmission booths, and Brundle finds he is a changed man.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Director: Don Siegel
Catalog description: Plant-like extraterrestrials have invaded Santa Mira, a small town in California, replicating the villagers in giant seed "pods" and taking possession of their souls while they sleep. Dr. Bennell finds that his patients are becoming hysterical and accusing their loved ones of being mindless imposters. Realizing a strange alien invasion is quickly becoming out of control, the doctor tries to escape to warn others before it's too late.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Catalog description: Filmy spores fall from space over San Francisco, and the city blossoms with beautiful new flora. People take the flowers home and as they sleep, the plants creep over them, devouring their bodies and stealing their identities--including their emotions, their uniqueness and their souls.

Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Director: Roger Corman
Catalog description: A flower shop assistant develops a curious, bloodthirsty hybrid, for which he must keep finding new victims to keep the prized plant alive in this classic dark comedy.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Director: Frank Oz
Catalog description: In this musical, Mushnik's Flower Shop houses an exotic potted plant called Audrey II. People are rushing in to see it but if they knew the truth, they would rush right out.

The Maltese Falcon (1931)
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Catalog description: Sam Spade is a partner in a private-eye firm who finds himself hounded by police when his partner is killed while tailing a man. The woman who asked his partner to follow the man turns out to be someone who is not what she says she is, and is really involved in something to do with the 'Maltese Falcon', a gold-encrusted life-sized statue of a falcon, the only one of its kind.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Director: John Huston
Catalog description: A gallery of high-living lowlifes will stop at nothing to get their sweaty hands on a jewel-encrusted falcon. Detective Sam Spade wants to find out why, and who'll take the fall for his partner's murder.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Catalog description: An ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock [Yes! He directed the remake!]
Catalog description: Ben and Jo McKenna, are an innocent American couple vacationing in Morocco with their young son. But their simple plans turn into a nightmare after a French spy dies in Ben's arms at a Marrakesh market, and their son is kidnapped and taken to another country. A thrilling tale of international espionage, assassinations and terror.

Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
Director: Lewis Milestone
Catalog description: The place is Las Vegas. The time: Midnight, New Year's Eve. Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) and ten of his ex-commando buddies get ready to rob the vaults of five casinos simultaneously!

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Catalog description: Danny Ocean like his chances. All he asks is that his handpicked squad of 10 grifters and cons play the game like they have nothing to lose. If all goes right, the payoff will be a fat $150 million. All the gang of associates needs to do is stage heists at three major Las Vegas casinos - Bellagio, The Mirage, and the MGM Grand - simultaneously during a popular boxing event. The payoff, divided by 11, you do the math.

Scarface (1932)
Directors: Howard Hawks & Richard Rosson
Catalog description: "An exciting story of organized crime's brutal control over Chicago during the prohibition era. This compelling tale of ambition, betrayal and revenge is a groundbreaking masterpiece that influenced all gangster films to follow."-- Container.

Scarface (1983)
Director: Brian De Palma
Catalog description: The rags-to-riches story of Cuban immigrant Tony 'Scarface' Montana, who finds wealth, power, and passion beyond his wildest dreams at a price he never imagined.

The Thing from Another World (1960)
Director: Christian Nyby
A team of scientists, investigating a magnetic disturbance near the North Pole, discovers a disc-shaped object and some sort of man-like creature frozen beneath the ice.

The Thing (1982)
Director: John Carpenter
Catalog description: Set in the winter of 1982 at a research station in Antarctica, a twelve man research team finds an alien being that has fallen from the sky and has remained buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Unfrozen and unleashed, the THING creates havoc and terror as it changes forms and becomes one of them.

True Grit (1969)
Director: Henry Hathaway
Catalog description: U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn helps a headstrong young girl find the man who murdered her father in Native American territory and fled with the family savings. When Rooster's employer insists on accompanying the old gunfighter, sparks fly. The situation goes from troubled to disastrous when an inexperienced Texas Ranger joins the party.

True Grit (2010)
Directors: Ethan Coen &  Joel Coen
Catalog description: Mattie Ross is determined to avenge her father's blood by capturing Tom Chaney, the man who shot and killed him for two pieces of gold. Just fourteen, she enlists the help of Rooster Cogburn, a one-eyed, trigger-happy U.S. Marshal with an affinity for drinking, and hardened Texas Ranger LaBoeuf to track the fleeing Chaney. Despite their differences, their ruthless determination leads them on a perilous adventure that can only have one outcome: retribution.

- Anna, Hopewell Branch

Photo courtesy of Fouquier