Old movies vs. remakes

@cjgrooms (4456)
United States
April 27, 2008 11:50am CST
Do you think that the remakes of old movies are better or is the original the best?
2 people like this
16 responses
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
28 Apr 08
It depends a lot on the movie. I've seen many remakes that were far better then the originals but then I've seen others where it's the opposite. One movie that was an excellent remake was "Mighty Joe Young". They were able to make the gorilla look far more realistic which made the movie superior to the original. Let alone the other elements of the movie. So many remakes are able to do better effects which can be a big element to it. One remake I did not like was "Yours, Mine and Ours". The original was far superior. The humor and storyline was more realistic then the remake. It just didn't work well in my opinion.
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
28 Apr 08
Most remakes I have found are better then the originals. It's only a few where I was disappointed. Now I admit I haven't seen them all but just going on the ones I have seen.
2 people like this
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
Sometimes it works and most times it doesn't.
2 people like this
• United States
28 Apr 08
movies - love watching movies
I seem to enjoy the remakes more:)
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
SIGH,of course you do but that is only because you aren't old enough to have seen any of the real ones.
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
27 Apr 08
It all depends on the movie. Some movies a remake can never live up to the original in my eyes..and other movies the new version is much better. I've seen some movies and then found out they were remakes of old movies and i'd never heard of them. Some movies like its a wonderful life and Casablanca are worth watching n black and white.
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@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
28 Apr 08
Me too...and white christmas.
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
I love White Christmas and will watch it every time it comes on t.v. and sometimes i will actually watch it on my vcr when no one else is around (don't tell).
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
I watch It's a wonderful life every year.
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@jer31558 (3683)
• United States
28 Apr 08
Thats just according. With some of them I saw the originals first and so I thought they were better, with others, I saw the remake first and thought the originals were outdated. For me, its according to which I see first.
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
Thanks!
1 person likes this
@shaara (77)
• China
27 Apr 08
Usually people will prefer the original one because it took his mind up first. It would be hard for remake to beat the original one, but if it does, it could be a really great remake :D
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
Thats true!
1 person likes this
@lagrooms (119)
28 Apr 08
a lot of times its the original for me.
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
For me too.
1 person likes this
@MissGia (955)
• United States
12 May 08
Ugh!! NO. I hate how hollywood butches good movies. If i see one more cheesy remake of the texas chainsaw massacre...im gonna flip out..and the remake of the Omen, was disgusting and they changed too much stuff. the only recent remake of a movie i saw that was good was Rob Zombies remake of Halloween.
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
12 May 08
An original idea would not be amiss for a movie once in a while.
@nowment (1757)
• United States
27 Apr 08
It depends on the movie, and how it is done, also I think it depends on personal tastes. At times both are good, for different reasons. At other times the original is wonderful and ruined by the remake. At other times a remake is not a remake at all, but merely a title, used over again. Perfect example of this is Yours, Mine, and Ours, the original with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda, was based on a real family, and the modern Yours Mine and Ours with Renee Russo was just a very poor attempt at making a family comedy, I think that perhaps someone was trying to capitolize on the success of Cheaper By the Dozen, and failed miserablly. Cheaper By the Dozen with Myrna Loy was originally based on the book by same name based on real family. The modern one was very different, extremely different. Yet both were great movies. The original and the modern one. In those to cases I say modern one, because to me they were not remakes they changed the story to much. On the other hand there was a movie called Back Street it has been remade more than once. 1961, 1941, and the original in 1932 While I am a Maureen Sullivan fan of old movies, I do feel that the original made in 1932 was better than the one in 1941. However enough changes were made in the 1961 to make it the best of all the three versions, and yet the changes were not so great that it changed the story completely as say in the modern Cheaper By the Dozen. A movie like Bundle of Joy the remake was in 1956 with Debbie Reynolds was just as good as the original made in 1939 though the original title was called Bachelor Mother. A movie for Titanic has been made 5 times and some are good some are not. So I suppose it depends on the movie, what is done with it, and who is doing what. Sabrina, the original with Audrey Hepburn is a classic for a reason. while the newer version is fine, it is ok, it is not something that would fall into classic category. DOA from 1950 is the best version though it has been remade twice. The original Dial M for Murder is best yet even though the original Fly is a classic, I do think that the remake is better. So it varies on personal tastes as well as on what films are being remade and how they were remade.
1 person likes this
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
27 Apr 08
I agree. even though "you've got mail" is based on an original Jimmy Stewart movie i like both versions becaus there was so much difference that you're not constantly comparing the two.
• United States
8 Jun 08
Most times, I like the original. For instance, the Planet of the apes, original was the best. The remake was not so hot. When I find that a movie is a remake, I don't like watching it. They should have gotten it right the first time. That's how I feel.
1 person likes this
• United States
8 Jun 08
That's true! I do see the occasional movie that bears watching the second time around. I liked City of Angels and that was a remake. I did not see the original
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
8 Jun 08
Occasionally they will come up with a remake that is worth watching but for the most part the original is best.
@mollyrose (414)
• United States
27 Apr 08
the orginals in my opinion are always better and shouldn't be messed with. In my opinion remaking movies is a lazy move for writers and producers and they should write up their own movies instead of remaking someone eles.
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
In most cases i agree.
• United States
27 Apr 08
i prefer the original movie
1 person likes this
@jer31558 (3683)
• United States
28 Apr 08
Thanks for the answer.
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
28 Apr 08
Got that from you didn't she!
• United States
28 Apr 08
lol r u trying to say that im like my daddy?
1 person likes this
28 Apr 08
There are exceptions, but generally speaking I don't think remakes are a good idea. Look at that abysmal version of "The Manchurian Candidate" that was made a while ago - not a patch on the original. And the 70s remake of "King Kong" was a mistake. Having said that, there have been some decent remakes, like the 70s/early 80s versions of "The Thing" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". An I saw a fairly good TV remake of "Seven Days in May" called "Conspiracy" a while ago. So it can be done. The trick with remakes is to keep them in the spirit of the originals while at the same time making them different enough to be worth doing.
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
29 Apr 08
I can relate to that because they have RUINED more movies than not with remakes. But ever once in awhile they get it right.
@obidan (367)
• Romania
30 Apr 08
Sometimes there are some improvements in the remakes, but I think remakes are generally cheap ways to make money off fans. So the originals are most of the time, the best!
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
1 May 08
usually if i like a remake it's because they took the idea and presented in a different way."You've got mail" was a remake of an old Jimmy Stewart movie but was so different that if you weren't a Jimmy Stewart fan and had seen the original movie you would never have connected the two.
@SusanLee (1920)
• United States
12 May 08
I like the originals, like 'The Blue Lagoon' They never play the old one, only the one with Brook Shields in it. That movie was okay. But I want to see the old one. Can you imagine them trying to remake 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' or 'It's a Wonderful Life'?
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
12 May 08
I thought the brooke shields one was the only one (i've never seen it though). Surely even the morons in hollywood knows they couldn't pull off messing about with those movies.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
27 Apr 08
Obviously this will depend on the quality of the original and the quality of the remake. There have been a lot of old films that have been ruined by a total rstructure during a remake, but there have also been a lot of improvements.
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@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
27 Apr 08
There are some movies that no matter much better the technology is they will never measure up to the original for me.
@tmsmith (85)
29 Apr 08
According to the way they do the remake, they can either ruin it or take care to make it come out worth seeing
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