Top 10 Film Remakes That Outshine Their Originals
10. A Tale of Two Cities (1986)
Classic filmmaker Roger Corman helmed 1960’s The Little Shop of Horrors. An off-Broadway musical based on it opened in 1982, but it didn’t remain for long. Due to its overwhelming success, it was transferred to Broadway and ran for five years.Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Frank Oz and starring Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, and Vincent Gardenia, was released in 1986. The film Oz was itself an adaptation, as it was based on the musical, which in turn was based on the original film. The plot stays mostly the same, nevertheless, as the Broadway show.Although few fans of Oz’s film have probably seen the 1960 picture, the majority of Little Shop of Horrors aficionados consider the ’86 film to be the greatest of the three. The original film is just as dark and hilarious as the remake, even though the latter takes all the glory. The paid shills of the mainstream media on RottenTomatoes give it a 2% higher rating than Oz’s film, but the audience gives it a whopping 24% worse rating! Jack Nicholson makes an early appearance in it.
Curiously, the 1986 picture marks the one and only instance in cinematic history that Bill Murray and Steve Martin appeared together. They shared fewer than five minutes of screen time in the film, but the two comic icons certainly made an impression.
9. You’re Dead 2 (1987)
Sam Raimi’s 1981 short film The Evil Dead was a modest success. Evidently, not a lot of money went into making the picture; he only received $90,000 from investors. With the support of a rare Stephen King review, he was able to secure extensive distribution after screening it at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.With his career taking off by 1987, Raimi was offered the chance to direct a sequel, this time with a budget of $3.5 million. At first, he had planned to film a faithful sequel taking place in the Middle Ages (via time travel), but the producer wanted it to stay truer to the original.Because of the striking similarities between the two films’ plots, Raimi created what many have dubbed a sequel/remake, Evil Dead II. To a large extent, it is a remake, however there are some new scenes and significant edits. The film’s actor, Bruce Campbell, would undoubtedly call it a “requel.”Basically, Evil Dead 2 is the result of handing a director a budget that is approximately forty times larger than their original and letting them loose. In the process of expanding and improving his original film, Raimi also established a long-running cinematic series.
8.The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1986)
The original title is usually carried over into the remake, though this is not always the case. For example, the 1964 film Bedtime Story, which starred David Niven and Marlon Brando, was remade in 1986 as filthy Rotten Scoundrels.Playing con artists who target ladies in a Mediterranean hotspot, the two actors are great in Bedtime Story. They wager on who can be the more skilled con artist, with one thinking they’re more refined than the other. Frank Oz developed the story for the 1986 film, which featured Steve Martin and Michael Caine, from the same source.When comparing the two films, critics unanimously agree that Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is significantly better. Not that the original is terrible in and of itself; it simply can’t compete with the remake, which is widely regarded as a masterpiece. This is true of all the films included in this roster.Remakes of all kinds are nothing new; in 2019, the same plot was given a different name. Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson played males in The Hustle, a sex-swapped rendition that was so unsuccessful compared to the others.
7. “The Thing” from 1982
Critics were harsh with John Carpenter’s 1982 horror picture The Thing, and the movie bombed at the box office. The studio lost money on it because it only made $19.6 million on a budget of $15 million. These days, many consider it a cult classic and a top science fiction film of all time.This isn’t the first film adaptation of John W. Campbell Jr.’s works; the 1938 novella Who Goes There? served as the inspiration for the film. Adapted from Campbell’s novella for the first time in 1951, The Thing from Another World was a commercial success.Like many others, it has since become a classic. Regardless of the success or failure of its successor, Carpenter’s The Thing is generally regarded as the superior adaption. Rob Bottin, with Stan Winston’s assistance, created the horrific body horror special effects that were utilised in Carpenter’s film.”One of the most influential horror films of the 1980s” is the verdict after a recent critical reevaluation of the film. Since Carpenter’s film has mostly eclipsed the original, modern viewers hardly bother to watch it.
6. A 1992 film called The Last of the Mohicans
Remakes and adaptations of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757, first published in 1826, are hardly surprising. Hollywood almost always manages to adapt works of literature that are regarded as classics in the industry.From its inception in 1909 until its last release in 1992, eleven film adaptations have been produced. For many years, the 1936 picture The Last of the Mohicans was considered the pinnacle of cinematic excellence. Randolph Scott was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in that picture.After a while, in 1992, Hollywood ceased adapting the book. Famous actor Daniel Day-Lewis is the one and only cause of that. Day-Lewis gives an outstanding performance in Michael Mann’s classic cinematic adaptation of Cooper’s book.The picture earned Day-Lewis a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the British Academy Film Awards, his second such nomination. Compared to its predecessors, The Last of the Mohicans has a far higher RottenTomatoes score of 88%.
5. From 1986’s The Fly
The Fly, directed by Kurt Neumann and starring David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, and Herbert Marshall, was a terrifying film that came out in 1958. George Langelaan released the short tale that served as the basis for the film the previous year. An immediate hit, The Fly (1958) went on to have two sequels.Finally, a 1986 remake featuring Jeff Goldblum was released. This new version took the original’s scarier parts and amplified them. Naturally, this was because of David Cronenberg, the renowned master of body horror.In the original, a scientist creates a hybrid of human and fly DNA during an experiment. The theory is the same in both versions, except this time around the scientist uses a teleportation device to merge the DNA of a fly with his own. The end effect is a man who gradually turns into a gigantic, hideous fly.Only one of Cronenburg’s films—this one from 1986—ever won an Oscar for Best Makeup. Compared to the original, the film is light years superior. Jeff Goldblum became a household celebrity thanks to it, which helped begin his career.
4. The Face (1983)
Scarface, starring Al Pacino and released in 1983, isn’t actually a new picture. It was adapted from Armitage Trail’s 1929 book for the big screen in 1932. The story of the 1932 film is around a mobster named Antonio “Tony” Carmonte, who climbs the ladders of Chicago’s criminal underworld; the book was based on the life of Al Capone.With an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the picture from 1932 is widely regarded as a timeless classic. Not many people around you have watched it (or even heard of it), even though it’s one of the best crime films of all time. It’s because, among Pacino’s best performances, his work in the 1983 crime drama ranks high (93%).The two films may have the same title and a similar premise, but the events shown in them couldn’t be more different. While one focuses on a violent ascent up the ranks in Chicago, the other covers a wide range of topics, including immigration, narcotics, extreme violence, and Miami.The original Scarface and the 1983 version are unmistakably homages, despite their changes. Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht, the original screenwriters, were honoured by director Brian DePalma in his film.
3. Moses’ Ten Commandments (1956)
Cleopatra and The Ten Commandments are two of Cecil B. DeMille’s most famous epic films. Still, it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of today’s viewers are unaware that Moses actually released The Ten Commandments twice! In 1923, he released the silent version of his original film.He remade it in 1956 with full-color and sound effects, and it is still considered a classic. He narrated both the Book of Exodus and a contemporary family story in the first film. Although entertaining, the picture was very much of its period.The Ten Commandments, adapted by Cecil B. DeMille and released in 1956, is generally regarded as a masterpiece. Seven Oscars were up for grabs, with Best Picture being one of them. It was named Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards, while DeMille was named Best Director by the Foreign Language Press Film Critics Circle.The Ten Commandments ranks as the number two highest-grossing biblical film of all time when inflation is taken into account. (It was surpassed at the top of the box office by The Passion of the Christ in 2021, with a total of $845.5 million). Since 1973, it has been broadcast on network television over the Easter season.
2. Raising the Maltese Falcon (1941)
Among the all-time great private dicks in film is Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of Sam Spade in the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon. Nonetheless, he wasn’t the pioneer in portraying the role. Warner Bros. did not waste any time after acquiring the rights to the 1930 book in order to adapt it into a big-budget film.Ricardo Cortez played Spade in the 1931 film The Maltese Falcon. Despite its classic status, few people can actually recall the name of the film. Since the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon is so much better, most people probably won’t remember the original from 1931 if you ask them about it.The main reason for this is that the original 1931 film was heavily altered to remove any “lewd” content. Until the film was restored to its former state in 1966, what little was left was practically unwatchable. The world had already fallen head over heels with Bogart’s performance at that point.Although both films are remarkable in their own right, only one of them is often ranked among the all-time greats, and that one wasn’t released in 31. Both have good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, however Cortez’s is at 48% while Bogart’s is at 91%.
1. Oz the Great and Powerful (1939)
If you can believe it, the 1925 film The Wizard of Oz was actually adapted into the 1939 film. Given that the majority of moviegoers have never seen the original and hold the remake in high esteem, it would be reasonable to claim that Judy Garland’s film is superior.The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was based on a book by L. Frank Baum, but the silent film version made some key alterations from the original. There aren’t any of the sequel’s famously spectacular musical sequences without sound. Almost anyone recalls it except for the fact that it featured a youthful Oliver Hardy—the future Lauren & Hardy star—playing the role of the Tin Man.On the flip side, the 1939 version boasts an A-list ensemble and some of cinema’s most iconic visuals and soundtracks. Everyone loves the 1939 picture and thinks it’s one of the greatest films of all time.The 1925 picture wasn’t the first to adapt the book to the big screen, either. In 1910, it was first adapted. The 1939 film was the best of five film adaptations of Baum’s books that were released between 1910 and 1925.
SEE ALSO:
Top 10 Mythical Deaths From Around The World
