Good films that should be remade

[wakfs]

I saw the thread on bad films that should NOT be remade, but what about the good old ones that could benefit from an update?

Here's the start of such a list:

White Heat - the original Cagney crime classic could easily be updated with a modern twist. I'd love to see this. Top o' the world, ma!!

[skjpm]

1. If it's perfect, don't touch it

The Manchurian Candidate is such a great example of a movie that doesn't need a remake. Meryl Streep is brilliant, but his movie shows the difference between brilliant and archetypal--no one can match Angela Lansbury's pure sinister evil.

Also, there is no way to improve on Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. If they want a new movie, why not do Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator?

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Tough call. I'd say "Grapes of Wrath" except for the fact I don't believe

you could match the stellar casting of Henry Fonda, John Carradine, Jane Darwell, and Charley Grapewin, and not to forget the brilliant screenplay written by Nunnally Johnson, who stayed pretty much faithful to the Steinbeck novel. (P.S. What a leap of roles for Charley Grapewin: he played Uncle Henry in Wizard of Oz in 1939 and one year later, Grandpa in Grapes of Wrath.)

The message needs to be recapitulated but I don't trust Hollywood's treatment of the material unless it was an independent film-maker. Also maybe a group of "unknown" but committed actors would bring focus on the story rather than the production.

[UrbScotty]

3. "To Kill A Mickingbird" (1962)

;-)

[mark11727]

8. I respectfully disagree.

[flamingyouth]

11. I respectfully disagree as well

No one, and I mean NO ONE, could ever top Gregory Peck at Atticus Finch. That movie is a classic...

[HEyHEY]

4. I re-made properly

Lawrence of Arabia would be pretty good

[skygazer]

5. Good films shouldn't be remade

What ever happened to imagination? Everything's either remakes or sequels or the same plot as some other dumb movie that's come out the same year. The film industry is so boring and mainstream for the most part.

[Dookus]

17. it always has been

I don't think it's any less creative today than 50 years ago.

[CanuckAmok]

6. Race with the Devil and Fareinheit 451.

Race with the Devil would make a good summer blockbuster, with lots of kick-ass CGI effects and stuff. You could do alot to add more action to it, like have one of the couples try to escape usuing a dirtbike they brought on the trip, or something.

Fareinheit 451 was a good movie, of course, but it is SO dated with it's terrible effects and laughable 'futurist' production design. It needs a complete makeover without rewriting a single word.

[Beware the Beast Man]

7. A Clockwork Orange

Though the original is a classic, I think there should be a version that is closer in tone to the novel, including the lost final chapter.

[mark11727]

9. Is that the chapter with an older and wiser Alex worrying about his son?

[edbermac]

13. Remake Clockwork?!? NO...FRICKIN...WAY!!

Clockwork is as close to a perfect movie as you can get!

Real horrorshow!

[MrScorpio]

10. Deathrace 2000

Make it Deathrace 3000 and put laser beams on flying cars

That would be grand

[JohnKleeb]

12. The Longest Day

A good D-Day epic so today's viewers can see how much everyone gave on that day.

[Endangered Specie]

14. The Producers.

[edbermac]

15. King Kong...with better animation...

I know Peter Jackson is remaking this. I'd redo it as close to the 1933 version as possible, same timeframe, storyline, shot in B&W, but use much more sophisticated stop-motion techniques...and as little CGI as possible. There was also a lost sequence when the sailors are shaken off the log and some get eaten by a huge prehistoric spider; I'd put that back in.

It'd be a killer!

[onebigbadwulf]

I don't think you can make a modern day King Kong

after all, with today's technology it'd be fairly easy to sedate or kill him.

If PJ makes the story modern, he's gonna have a hell of a time convincing us - just like the Godzilla in New York movie. Total crap.

[Dookus]

16. all of 'em

I don't understand why people get upset about remakes. It's not like the original film goes away when the new one is made.

Some great films WERE remakes. Judy Garland's "A Star is Born", Jimmy Stewart's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" being two great examples.