Comments on: Why Do Some People Hate Remakes?

By: David

David — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:55:51 +0000

I think a remake can work if the movie is different enough from the original that it amounts to being a different movie- the 1970′s remake of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers starring Donald Sutherland is a case in point. Wasnt the remake of Psycho a disaster due to this reason, it merely forged the original?

Also, Ben Hur. Enough time and technology had elapsed since the 1920′s version, so that was OK, plus you got Cecil back at work again.

( Wasnt there an even earlier version, from the nineteen teens? I have to look that up…)

By: David

David — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:43:55 +0000

Remakes do have the strong potential to ‘ruin’ the original. They can and do sully or obscure the memory of the prior great film that came before. Today’s young consumer, on average, will view a remake and be totally oblivious that it was based upon a great film from yesteryear. These kids are dopes, mostly. People live in the moment, etc., so I guess they would never watch the original anyway, so lets stuff their heads with the inferior product- adding some more junk into a junky mind cant do that much harm…The fact that a movie exists that has stolen from the original most of its material does stink to high heaven and is a slap in the face.

Millions of people are out there walking around after having watched the stupendous second remake of King Kong yet they will NEVER go back and watch the 1933 breakthrough effort…Analogy: Would you want to make a nice painting, have two people look at it, then its taken down and put away, and next month someone rips off your composition enough to be recognizable as an inferior duplication, and then a thousand people in your community pay money to ooh and ahh over it, and only one voice is raised in dissent?? And for years afterward, that clever forgery is used as a cultural reference point, and not the original ? Ive seen this happen…I recently watched a very popular real-life cable tv, and in this show someone came across an old movie poster for the movie Cape Fear- the 90′s remake. The people on the show raved about this find, and told the audience about how neat it was to have a piece of movie history, etc….And not one word was mentioned about how that film is a remake of a truly great film from Hollywoods golden age !!!

Totally outrageous , its a crime, its a sin, lock them all up right now…So the viewer is left with a very warped impression of film……I rest my case. And guess what, the original Wicker Man did NOT suck…

By: Rodney

Rodney — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:17:14 +0000

Very few remakes are a scene by scene recreation. Yes, to some degree you know how things are going to turn out, but most films you can predict the ending (good guy always wins, sports figure wins the championship etc) but how they get there is the story, and most remakes do it differently.

Same can be said about prequels…. yeah we know where the characters end up, but seeing how they get there can be interesting too.

By: BW022

BW022 — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:08:02 +0000

I don’t like remakes for one simple reason.

I don’t normally watch any movie a second time. Part of the enjoyment of a good movie is not knowing what is coming next. A joke isn’t as funny when it is told again, a horror scene isn’t as scary when you watch it again, a mystery isn’t a mystery when you know who did it, a tear-jerker isn’t as effective when you know someone is going to die, etc.

I generally don’t like movies of books which I have read since I know the plot and outcome. I don’t generally like prequels since again, I know where this is going.

So… of course I don’t like remakes. If someone sat next to you at the theatre and kept saying things like “He is going to do this next” or “In the next scene they’ll do this” you’d want to hit the person. Well… in a remake, you are generally saying this to yourself.

By: Ray Ray

Ray Ray — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:52:56 +0000

I don’t think people get hateful about remakes in general. Some of the remakes you’re mentioning are way too old to be part of the hatred you’re writing about (Scarface for example). The gripe people have now (including myself) is endless amount of remakes being made over the last five years or so. That’s what’s got people really annoyed. A remake here and there back in the day was fine, but now it seems there’s at least one remake out in theaters every month or so over the last few years. It seems now like every thing that’s ever been made is scheduled for a remake soon. Why remake something like Jaws when it was the biggest movie of all time when it came out. You won’t re-create that same impact. Sure the shark isn’t THE most real-looking of all time but a better special effect does not mean a better story or a better film. Every now and then a remake is fine but not every damn month!

By: Rodney

Rodney — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:29:56 +0000

That’s just ignorant. For every remake or adaptation that is put out, there are hundreds if not thousands of original scripts.

LOTS of people are making up their own stories.
Every day.

To think otherwise is just plain stupid.

By: anastasia

anastasia — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:58:32 +0000

Okay, John, on the argument of creativity…there is NO creativity left in Hollywood. Yes, there are adaptations, blah blah blah, but I think the point people are trying to make here is that no one is doing anyhing from scratch, no one is making up stories on their own anymore. There are remakes because the studios like to play it safe. They already own a lot of the rights to the original, so it saves shit loads of money, they don’t have to pay anyone for the rights. Lastly, you spelled Scarface wrong. There’s no e.

By: Len

Len — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:36:57 +0000

I’m not against remakes but I think there are too many of them. About a quarter of the films that come out are remakes. Most remakes are unnessary, as the original was perfectly fine. Also, I feel Hollywood has a sensless need to do an updated version of everything.

Instead of doing remakes on timeless classics like Psycho, do a remake on films that are not so classic, but had the potential to be. Than you can actually have the opportunity to improve upon the original.

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:04:33 +0000

very true. saying it takes more creativity to make a remake is bull. its not just the move industry but most forms of entertainment. originality has gone! writers are lazy and lack the ability to make an art piece. its all about money. how these people get production is astonishing

By: todd

todd — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:06:22 +0000

kristen, i couldn’t agree more. hollywood sucks.