Remakes that are better than original | The Boneyard

Remakes that are better than original

nelsonmuntz

nelsonmuntz

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Thomas Crown Affair - finally saw Steve McQueen version. Solid movie, and Faye Dunaway is better than Rene Russo, but Steve McQueen does not pull off the refined millionaire doing heists for fun nearly as well as Pierce Brosnan. In fact, I think McQueen is really mediocre overall in the movie, which is weird because it accelerated his career and helped solidify him as an A list actor. If the Crown character is not believable, then the rest of the movie doesn’t hold together nearly as well. I also think the detective in the original sucks.

Any others?
 
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8893 said:
True Grit

3:10 to Yuma
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The remake of 3:10 to Yuma is a good movie. However, I think the original is a great movie. One of those instances where the more compact and spare film is the better one, in my opinion.
 
Really enjoy the Pierce Brosnan version of TCA... I should watch the original some time.

First thing that came to mind is Westworld. The HBO show is just miles better in every way than the original movie.
 
storrsroars said:
Definitely 3:10 to Yuma. Good call there.

I couldn't understand half of Jeff Bridges dialog in True Grit.

I'll throw in Heaven Can Wait.
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Good call, and kind of a forgotten movie I think. I still get a little sad at the end when they are celebrating and Jack Warden realizes that Warren Beatty doesn't remember anything that happened anymore.
 
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nelsonmuntz said:
Thomas Crown Affair - finally saw Steve McQueen version. Solid movie, and Faye Dunaway is better than Rene Russo, but Steve McQueen does not pull off the refined millionaire doing heists for fun nearly as well as Pierce Brosnan. In fact, I think McQueen is really mediocre overall in the movie, which is weird because it accelerated his career and helped solidify him as an A list actor. If the Crown character is not believable, then the rest of the movie doesn’t hold together nearly as well. I also think the detective in the original sucks.

Any others?
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Are you sure it isn't just the Rene Russo nudity that tips the scales? I agree with you the Brosnan was good in it. Not sure which I like better, haven't seen the old one in ages.
 
storrsroars said:
Definitely 3:10 to Yuma. Good call there.

I couldn't understand half of Jeff Bridges dialog in True Grit.

I'll throw in Heaven Can Wait.
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CL82 said:
Not for me. The remake really made me appreciate the great job the original actors did.
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meyers7 said:
The remake of True Grit was exceptionally good.

A couple others;
Cape Fear
Scarface
Freaky Friday

a couple more
I Am Legend
Ladykillers
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HuskyHawk said:
3:10 to Yuma, yes. True Grit, no.
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Admittedly, it's been a long time since I watched the original of True Grit, and I don't supplant the Duke lightly, but I thought the girl was exceptionally good in the remake. Perhaps having daughters made me credit that more than I should, because I remember making a point of watching it with my oldest and thinking that it was a good character for her to see.
 
8893 said:
Admittedly, it's been a long time since I watched the original of True Grit, and I don't supplant the Duke lightly, but I thought the girl was exceptionally good in the remake. Perhaps having daughters made me credit that more than I should, because I remember making a point of watching it with my oldest and thinking that it was a good character for her to see.
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Yes Hailee Steinfeld was very, very good. Got a Oscar nomination for it. She also got a Golden Globe nomination this year for Edge of 17, another good performance.
 
I know I really like the original Walking Tall but can't remember just how good it was. I did enjoy The Rock in the remake.
 
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meyers7 said:
Yes Hailee Steinfeld was very, very good. Got a Oscar nomination for it. She also got a Golden Globe nomination this year for Edge of 17, another good performance.
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She was good (and went on to become pretty hot). But Bridges was no John Wayne. The original Mattie was probably not someone who translates well to our modern ere. I'm a big fan of the Cohen Brothers and they did a good job, I just give an edge to the original, which also featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper. And yes, Glen Campbell was better than Matt Damon too.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Are you sure it isn't just the Rene Russo nudity that tips the scales? I agree with you the Brosnan was good in it. Not sure which I like better, haven't seen the old one in ages.
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Rene Russo is gorgeous.
 
8893 said:
Admittedly, it's been a long time since I watched the original of True Grit, and I don't supplant the Duke lightly, but I thought the girl was exceptionally good in the remake. Perhaps having daughters made me credit that more than I should, because I remember making a point of watching it with my oldest and thinking that it was a good character for her to see.
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Kim Darby was too old for the role, but she does a great job with the quirky cadence of the dialog. After seeing Steinfeld's admittedly good performance, I came to appreciate Darby's performance.

I suggest you have your daughter the book. It was high school assigned reading prior to the original movie. It really embraces the coming age aspect of the story from the opening two lines foward:
“People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day. I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150 in cash money plus two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band.”​

Waquoit said:
Even Glen Campbell?
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Yep, Again after seeing Matt Damon's performance, I appreciate Campbell's more so.
meyers7 said:
Yes Hailee Steinfeld was very, very good. \
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Agreed
HuskyHawk said:
She was good (and went on to become pretty hot). But Bridges was no John Wayne. The original Mattie was probably not someone who translates well to our modern ere. I'm a big fan of the Cohen Brothers and they did a good job, I just give an edge to the original, which also featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper. And yes, Glen Campbell was better than Matt Damon too.
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Same. The remake wasn't bad, but the original was better.
 
CTGoonie said:
My kids have recently gotten into "The Parent Trap" movies and I gotta say the Lindsay Lohan version is so much better.
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It's very sad what happened to Lindsay Lohan. She has great comic timing, and was a pretty darned good young actress in all those Disney movies. She was even very funny on SNL as Hermione Granger. Then she utterly fell apart.
 
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HuskyHawk said:
Are you sure it isn't just the Rene Russo nudity that tips the scales? I agree with you the Brosnan was good in it. Not sure which I like better, haven't seen the old one in ages.
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Rene Russo is perfectly competent, but never moves the needle for me good or bad. Faye Dunaway was really good in the original, which was even more impressive considering how wooden and awkward McQueen is in the movie. Pierce Brosnan and Denis Leary were both so good, and the writing was a lot better in the second TCA too. Some of the 60's dialogue, particularly the overt and crude sexism, doesn't age well.
 
Here is a controversial one: Arthur

I really hate Liza Minelli. I think she is a terrible actress that mugs for the camera, and I think she is hideously ugly, which matters in this movie. Her character was really unlikable and kind of nasty and self-centered. So why is it believable that the heir to a fortune would give it all up for her, which is the central point to the whole plot. The Susan character in the original is actually very sympathetic, and seems like a victim to Minelli's gold-digging and Arthur's general recklessness. It actually isn't clear at all why he leaves Susan, other than he just happens to like Minelli better, which makes Arthur seem like a real jerk.

Another issue with the original is that Dudley Moore is way too old. He was 45 during filming. I think the character is a bad 70's sketch comedy portrayal of a drunk guy, and there is no depth or self-realization of what a loser he is. I can't believe he got nominated for an Oscar for that train wreck of a performance.

Finally, John Gielgud is just a jerk in the movie. His dripping sarcasm could be perceived as annoyance not just with the character, but with the whole stupid movie.

I won't get into the sequel too much. I thought it was an adequate, amusing movie. My issue is more with the original, which I think is one of the more overrated movies of all time.
 
CTGoonie said:
My kids have recently gotten into "The Parent Trap" movies and I gotta say the Lindsay Lohan version is so much better.
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I still liked the original better. But yes the remake was pretty cute.
 
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
A Fistful of Dollars
 
Both Red Dragons were awesome, but I like the second one a little more mostly because of the first 5 minutes. When the cellist misses the note, Hopkins wince was subtle but so freaking awesome.
 
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