When Hollywood runs out of ideas, they remake older films. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it fails miserably.
There are so many remakes around and yet for the majority of them I prefer the ones I saw first. This doesn’t necessarily mean the original. For example:
King Kong:
This was originally made in 1933 and again in 1976. I saw the 2005 version first and prefer it over the others, even over the 1933 version which was an amazing feat of animation for its time. Truly ground-breaking.The Italian Job: I saw the 1969 version before I saw the 2003 version. The 1969 movie was hands down the best. Perhaps it was the humour, the cute boxy minis, or the way the original ended.
The Thing:
This would have to be my favourite remake of them all. I’m talking about the 1982 film directed by John Carpenter and with Kurt Russel in the lead. It’s a remake of a 1951 film, The Thing from Another World. Unfortunately the film was remade again in 2011 and it lacked the same scary spark. Conan the Barbarian:
This would have to be my least favourite remake. I enjoyed the 1982 B-grade quality of the original. They didn’t take themselves too seriously but they did a good job. I think they tried too hard in the 2011 remake. Or maybe, as I hinted above, it was simply a sense of loyalty for the first one I saw.Which are your favourite and least favourite remakes?
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75 comments:
I don't hate the 2011 Conan but the 1982 one was way more colourful. Great list, I only saw the 2005 King Kong but it's a great film.
Great minds think alike!! The Thing was my top pick.
The most recent King Kong has my vote. Makes the 1976 version look like a laughable mess.
Thanks for participating in our blogfest!
LOVE the 2005 King Kong, hard to believe so much time has passed. I think I'm due to sit down to it again! I did like the 1939 version, and I saw them all in order, but have to say the 76 version left me feeling a little uncomfortable with all the giant gorilla/topless girl sexuality. I do, to this day, have one major peeve with the King Kong story though. A bunch of explorers turn up on an island with freakin' dinosaurs and they decide to take back the oversized gorilla - 'cause that's what will amaze people? There are DINOSAURS!!!
Beware of the Blob and The Fly were my fav sci-fi/horror flicks and I think they should NEVER have been remade.
I prefer the original The Italian Job
Yvonne.
I'm not too clued up when it comes to movies.
I'm hopping over to Kristi's place...
Writer In Transit
Such a good point about which we see first. I really think time and technology take their toll on what we like. If the original film is too caught up in the drama music, it can make it seem so cheesy now.
I liked the remake of the Amityville Horror. It was way more scarier and real than the first.
Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly
I do love the originals of a lot of the movies , the black and whites, but I also enjoy a lot of the remakes, and hate a few of them too. It amazes me the way they change them, go deeper, more dramatic, and of course the special effects. It's fun all the way around, but there will always be a few that just aren't the film printed on.
I do find it interesting when they make a re-make of a not so old movie -- that just seems odd.
I just want to be entertained, and usually am, I'm easy! :)
I didn't like the 2005 version of King Kong- I found it WAY too long, too needlessly gorey and that it took itself too seriously.
And I did like the 2003 Italian Job- but then again I've never seen the original so I certainly believe that could be better.
I liked both versions of the Thing, in different ways.
I never actually say the new Conan, partially because the original was so great I couldn't imagine anything else coming close.
I don't particularly like the genre of movies like Conan so I tend not to watch them. I liked both versions of The Italian Job--that one's a toss up for me.
Newer versions of The Thing and King Kong are more watchable for me.
Lee
A Faraway View
An A to Z Co-host blog
CONAN remake really was bad, even though I'm always and advocate for epic movies, and it had lovely Rachel Nichols in the cast!
'There are so many remakes around and yet for the majority of them I prefer the ones I saw first.'
Hey, that's a really good point!
I never saw the original The Thing, but I love the 1982 version. It was so freaky!
Conan...ugh. Don't get me started on the remake. Yuck.
Hmm, I had a comment going and then it disappeared...weird.
Anyway, I really liked the remake of The Italian Job. I've watched both and liked both, but the new one moved a little faster for me. :)
I haven't seen the new Conan yet though I have it on my netflix cue. Agree about The Thing. Of course, I love Kurt Russell
I've seen only parts of the original The Thing, and it was a bad old flick, but the 82 Thing is supposed to be so good I really have to catch it.
Both King Kongs were very good, and the one made with Jessica Lange wasn't too bad either probably because the story itself is so solid.
The thing was great, 1982 one, the new one sucked.Forgot about the italian job, that was one of the best remakes.
I feel the same way about movies...usually the one I see first is the better of the two. Don't know if it's loyalty or just bad remakes. Well...most are bad remakes.
You had great choices and insights.
M.L. Swift, Writer
Interesting how sometimes newer versions can outshine the older ones, and yet at other times the spark is missing! I've actually never seen most of these. Except the newer Italian Job and King Kong.
Other remakes? I actually liked the newer version of The Parent Trap (1998) better, with Lindsay Lohan playing the twins. :) Adorable. The 1971 The Omega Man with Charlton Heston always fascinated me in a creepy way--but yikes, the 2007 remake is even scarier: I Am Legend with Will Smith. I still kinda prefer The Omega Man. Maybe because I saw it first as a teen, but also because I didn't like the ending on I Am Legend!
I didn't know they remade Conan the Barbarian! I loved the 1982 version. It was campy and like you said, they didn't take themselves seriously.
I only get to see two or three movies a year because movie tickets (and my love of movie theater popcorn) are so expensive. So I'm not too familiar with remakes. But I'm interested in seeing the Great Gatsby film with Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio; I've heard mixed things about it, so I'm curious.
Yes! Yes! "The Thing" with Kurt Russell! *dances around the room* Best remake ever - I love that one!
Great post, Lynda. :-)
One of my instructors at UCLA had us watch Adaptation as part of a lesson on the process of moving from page to screen.
I'm really looking forward to watching Ender's Game this fall.
Conan was terrible - the new one, I mean.
I actually liked the new Italian Job - but I've never seen the old one.
Everybody seems to hate Conan! I loved the Italian Job, though I never knew it was a remake.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
I thought that the 1982 Conan was the BEST of it's genre!
Arnold was a perfect barbarian, the story worked-that bronze-age Universal gym wheel even explains his physique!
It's cheesy, and low-brow, but considering the wave of similar films in the early 80's, it stood out from the pack.
I haven't seen the Italian Job in a long time. That was a fun movie to watch. I'll have to rent that one again.
I'm surprised to see quite a few people that like the remake of The Thing. I think I'll have to add it to my Netflix list now. I liked the original and I'm always wary of remakes, especially in the horror genre. Have a great weekend!
I need to see The Thing! I've been wanting to see it for quite awhile now, but never found the time to see it.
I liked the remake of The Thing, too. Way more scary then the original, no doubt :)
I'm still a fan of the original King Kong, though...just something about it, I guess.
King Kong has never been my hit, in any version. Just doesn't appeal me. I did like Conan, Arnold's version. Didn't see the new one. I'm curious now. Thanks for participating, Lynda! :)
The latest KONG definitely had the best effects -- but wasn't there a really weird ice-skating scene or something? I remember busting a gut laughing at it.
You make a good point. Sometimes it's not which movie is better but which one feels right, based on which we saw first. Although, in the case of my Best pick, Ocean's 11, I did see the Rat Pack version many times and enjoyed it but I still like the remake more.
Of these movies, I actually have not seen any. Either originals or remakes. ha.
I think the only remakes I would experience are games, but I tend to avoid them because most turn out awful.
Good call on 'The Thing', excellent remake.
mood
Of the movies on your list I have only seen the original King Kong and the remake of The Italian Job. There is none where I have seen the old and the new. No remade movie comes to mind at this point but I would like to see a remake of 'The Princess Bride'
Plus you've never seen any originals being a spring chicken at all. :p
My favorite remake is Carpenter's The Thing, which freaked me out back then when I was twelve. It should have never been remade.
My least favorite remake? I wouldn't know where to start. I'm not a fan of remakes, Lynda. I want to see new stories in the same way I want to read new stories. Let's see...
Halloween (see boring)
The Pink Panther (Amburger!)
Total Recall (pfffft)
The Invasion (I love Kidman but this was boring.)
Superman Returns (You mean Superboy? And a baby?)
The Wickerman (boring)
Planet of the Apes (no comment)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (so without all the fun)
One of the best? Pffffffffffft plus one, Cat!
and plus Damian thinks most things, shows and films are awful :)
I bookmarked The Italian Job. I loved the new one and I'd like to see this original version.
Oh, wow, I remember the original "The Thing". What a creepy story, and my girlfriends and I ate popcorn and mounds candy bars all through two sittings of it. (You could do that once upon a time.) lol
I enjoyed the new Italian Job as Venice looked much better, lol. To me, it's all about the setting, lol! The best remake ever is going to be The Great Gatsby, if you're a Baz Luhrmann fan, as I am!! Can't wait.
Denise
Choc factory was terrible and would've made it to my list if I'd remembered it.
I haven't seen the remake of the Wickerman. The original was wonderfully freaky.
The Pink Panther was going to be terrible from the start. No one could replace Peter Sellers.
lol. And spring chickens can still see originals! It all depends on exposure.
I don't remember an iceskating scene. Perhaps I blocked it from my memory...
I don't think I've seen Omega Man. I did like I Am Legend though.
A lot of people either love or hate the new Italian Job. I didn't hate it, but I couldn't get past my love of the original.
but no Arnie!!!!!!!
lol, Charmaine!! Excellent point. I'd not thought of that! hahahaha Dinosaurs trump large gorillas every day!!!
that's usually a good thing, dear :)
The Italian Job remake wasn't very good, was it? Great list!
I'm going to see The Great Gatsby today. Should be an interesting remake.
The old school atmosphere of the original King Kong is great, but the Jack Black version is very fun. I was very sceptical that they could remake The Italian Job effectively, but I'm more inclined to give it a go having read some of these comments!
Hi Lynda!
The Thing is one of my all-time favorites. The suspense was amazing. Your pick for worst is also hard to argue with.
The original had a great cast.
That's right, Dezzy the dezzy (adj.) Dezzmeister. and he doesn't even know John Candy. What do you think we should do... send him to boot camp? ;)
You're right, Lynda. There's just no excuse.
Awful awful awful. The original of Wickerman was creepy. This one's as boring as the backside of a bunny. (Pardon my Swedish.) I wonder who talked Steve Martin into making that movie. I mean, really...
Oh I agree with you on The Thing. The Kurt Russel one was the best.
Steve Martin made that movie!!!!!!! Yikes. Bunny backsides are pretty boring. Their ears, however...
He doesn't know John Candy!!!!!!! GASP!!!!!!!!
The Blue Master Boot Camp is somewhat scary...
It also had the surprise factor
but, but, no Arnie!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was MADE for Conan and Terminator!
although you have to admit...jason mamosa was amazing in the new conan on looks alone :D
I don't like remakes. I rarely see them, so I didn't participate in this hop. Although, the super hero movies do keep reappearing, which is ok.
I think Planet of the Apes is the worst remake for me. It was awful.
Jai
Yeah, unfortunately Hollywood has been pretty unoriginal lately. A friend of mien works there and essentially Hollywood outsources for ideas now. Oddly enough the best way to make a new film is for it to come from a successful book:) Hope for writers yet:)
I've seen the old King Kong, but not the new one. I'd be curious to see the most recent version of King Kong. I imagine that the advances in special effects technology would make the story even more vivid and believable.
it certainly is a crazy place, I mean, imagine a place where they're trying to teach me a thing or two on naughtiness... isn't that just a silly business? And plus, watching Blue in boots is a scary thing for sure..... I prefer him in speedos....
oh, my, I leave the two of you alone for a second and look what kind of naughty inuendo you two lead :)
jumped over from alex's...ugh, remakes...we seem to be in an age when there are no new ideas...the thing was horrible...land of the lost is still my all time worst...
Personally I think there's heaps of new ideas but no one is brave enough to take the risk. Sigh!
I'm a good girl. I don't do inuendo! :P
Speedos!! Those budgee smugglers are terrible! I can't even imagine my Johnny Depp in speedos!
And yes, I believe no place could teach you anything on naughtiness ;)
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