Movies that should Never be Remade

Fueled by the recent release of "The Karate Kid" the folks at our local NBC station are suggesting that these movies should never be remade:
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Godfather
- Casablanca
- Caddyshack
- Ghost Busters
- The Princess Bride
- Arthur
- Goodfellas
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
- E.T.
- The Exorcist
- Coming to America
If memory serves me right Oz was remade starring Michael Jackson and was called "The Wiz". And in a sense "The Godfather", "Ghostbusters" and "The Exorcist" was remade in sequels. But I digress.. the TV folks wanted to know what movies we would add to the list. Here are just a few off the top of my head that I would not remake:
  • Chariots of Fire: Why mess with perfection. How could anyone match the score and the story.. of course this is a story that needs to be retold many times.
  • The Sound of Music: Better to keep this one on the stage. Not sure what one could do to improve the cinematography and singing.. even Christopher Plummer was okay.
  • Star Wars Trilogy: The prequel trilogy is evidence that you cannot remake a movie series as iconic as the original.
  • The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Eastwood was good but it would just be too hard to replace Eli Wallach's great performance as the rascally Tuco.
It is difficult to really know how good or bad a remake of any movie would be. There have been some good remakes. "Heaven Can Wait" was a great remake of "Heaven Knows Mr Allison". I did not like "The Day the Earth Stood Still" remake but I thought last years "Star Trek" was a very good prequel. I think that one of my favorite remakes was 2005's "King Kong" - Peter Jackson did a great job bring the big ape back to the big screen.

I know that I have missed a bunch. Let me know what ones you would not want remade. Also let me know of any great remakes that you can remember.
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8 comments:

  1. Gregg MetcalfJune 11, 2010 at 6:01:00 PM CDT

    The 2002 remake with Matt Damon was an excellent remake of the 1988 film by the same name.

    Gone with the Wind should never be remade.

    The 1998 remake of Meet Joe Black of the 1934 Death Takes a Holiday was a good movie

    The Father of the Birde I was agreat remake of the orignal one in 1950

    2001 Oceans 11 was better than the 1960 one, I didn't finish watching the original.

    I did not see the 1956 Ransom, but the 1996 Ransom was outstanding. It is in my top 3 movies of all times. I need to see the 56 version.

    I do not think I would want to see a remake ever of Goodfellas or Casino.

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  2. crownringJune 11, 2010 at 7:56:00 PM CDT

    The African Queen should never be remade. Boggie and Hepburn were just magical together.

    Paint Your Wagon should never be remade. Not that it was a great musical movie, but Clint Eastwood singing is......is......ummm, very interesting? LOL!

    2001: a Space Oddity.......erm....Odyssey... because it is the only movie I've seen that actually put me to sleep. I have no idea what they could change that might keep me awake!

    Inga, the one and only porn movie I've ever seen. Granted porn movies are generally not intended to stimulate one's intellect, but that one is actually notorious for stupidity.

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  3. WandaJune 11, 2010 at 11:12:00 PM CDT

    I would agree with crowning....the remake of African Queen...bad. No one can do it like Boggie and Hepburn.

    I liked you list Bob....no remakes on those.

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  4. Vilhelm manJune 12, 2010 at 2:18:00 AM CDT

    Much of the movies I watched ... I hope you watch the other.
    A wonderful weekend full of relaxation you want!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Scott RocheJune 13, 2010 at 8:16:00 AM CDT

    Only problem I have with your post is that sequels aren't really remakes.

    And as good as some of those originals are they could all be improved on in various ways (except maybe The Princess Bride).

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  6. jrchaardJune 18, 2010 at 5:21:00 PM CDT

    I would like to see There will be blood made longer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. kc bobJune 18, 2010 at 6:10:00 PM CDT

    @jrchaard - I too would like to see "There Will Be Blood" made no longer .

    ReplyDelete
  8. DaniMeli208October 24, 2010 at 12:47:00 AM CDT

    I will seriously never watch another movie ever again if they remake The Goonies and Back to the Future.

    I died a little when they remade The Karate Kid.

    ReplyDelete

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