Remakes that are actually better than the original?

[Toke_Stanley]

I just caught the trailer for the 'new' (or should I say remade/re-envisaged/rebooted) Nightmare on Elm Street.  Normally, I wouldn't get that excited, but after Jackie Earle Haley's performance in Watchman, I thought it stands a better than most chance of at least living up to Robert Englung's effort.

I just wondered which other remakes people actually rated?

I have to say Dawn of the Dead (2004) was pretty good, if very different to George's original version. 

Maybe John Carpenter's The Thing or David Cronenber's The Fly may be in there.

What does everyone think?

[Richmond Clements]

The Dawn of the Dead remake surprised me by being a lot better than it had any right to be, but better than the original... maybe not.

The Thing- yes.

[JOE SOAP]

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufmann 1978)


better than


Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel 1956)

[Jim_Campbell]

I don't consider Carpenter's "The Thing" to be a remake of "The Thing From Another World", to be honest. They're both adaptations of "Who Goes There", by John W Campbell, and Carpenter's actually has considerably more points of contact with the original novella than it does with the previous movie.

Cheers!

Jim

[mygrimmbrother]

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufmann 1978)


better than


Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel 1956)

Beat me to it.

[Kev Levell]

Um,
Battlestar Galactica
My good lady watched and enjoyed this with me, the only thing it was missing was a robot dog, daggit!

[zombemybabynow]

The Dawn of the Dead remake

definately, blew me away.  Ving and Jake weber were fantastic,

"the most important thing in any relationship is trust"

http://theresafarrell.org/Richard%20Cheese%20-%20Down%20With%20The%20Sickness%20%28Disturbed%29.mp3

[Goaty]

Agree with Dawn of the Dead remake,

best character for me on it is CJ,

he was jerk at start, and what a kick-ass at end!

[uncle fester]

Have to agree with the Body Snatchers and Fly remakes. Donald Sutherland still creeps me out at the end of the Body Snatchers...

The list starts to get a bit thin after that.

[James Stacey]

Brewsters Millions

[Richmond Clements]

Have to agree with the Body Snatchers and Fly remakes. Donald Sutherland still creeps me out at the end of the Body Snatchers...

The list starts to get a bit thin after that.

Boysnatchers is a good call.

I don't think it's better though- merely different. It's one of these brilliant ideas that can be dusted off every generation and done again with a slightly different 'menace'. Communists, government or the military (as in Abel Ferrara's rather good too version).

[Tiplodocus]

I think Michael Mann's version of LAST OF THE MOHICANS is considerably better than the old thirties version of which it is a remake (they even credit the thirties version in the script).  And a lot better than the book.

Jackson's LORD OF TEH RINGS is better than Ralph Bakshi's (and importantly, it ends.  Several times right enough but it does end).

I prefer HEAT to LA TAKEDOWN.

I prefer A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS to Yojimbo (or was it the other one - I can't remember the name of).

There are plenty of versions of the Arthurian legend made before Boorman's EXCALIBUR but it rocks the mostest (especially Merlin).

(Two more thumbs up for Thing and Fly)

[Toke_Stanley]

Dare I say I actually thought Rob Zombie's Halloween was better than John Carpenter's?    Although don't get me started on Zombie's sequel! 

[Noisybast]

Boysnatchers is a good call.

You're not considering joining the clergy are you, Rich?

[Richmond Clements]

Boysnatchers is a good call.

You're not considering joining the clergy are you, Rich?

Ha!
Damn... rumbled. I am, in fact, Gary Glitter.