8 Movies That Should Never Be Remade

Movie remakes have become a staple of Hollywood in recent years, but there are some films that should just never be remade.

The question of whether or not a studio should remake a movie just because it can was reignited in December when it was revealed that Netflix was planning to produce a remake of the Jimmy Stewart classic Harvey.

There are many who feel that the iconic film’s story is good enough as it is and doesn’t need to be updated to be enjoyed.

Below, we have compiled a list of other films that meet this same criteria of standing on their own without the need for a modernized version.

Scroll down to check out the list and let us know in the comments what movies you don’t want to see remade!

The Godfather

Released: 1972

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton.

The Godfather films are one of the greatest movie trilogies ever made, with the first two films of the franchise being considered genuine classics.

While a good mafia flick is fun to watch, there is no need to ever try and recreate the brilliance of this legendary series.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Released: 1966

Director: Sergio Leone

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè, Antonio Casas, Rada Rassimov, Aldo Sambrel, Enzo Petito, Luigi Pistilli, Livio Lorenzon, Al Mulloch, Sergio Mendizábal, Molino Rojo, Lorenzo Robledo, and Mario Brega.

A number of vintage Westerns have been remade with great success, such as 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, however, is not a film that needs that treatment and should be left alone.

It’s a Wonderful Life

Released: 1946

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Frank Faylen, and Gloria Grahame.

It’s a Wonderful Life is a not just a classic holiday film, it is a classic film in the most pure sense of the term.

Many have tried to recreate the heart-warming story of a man who feels like he has hit rock bottom at Christmas but is (quite literally) pulled back from the ledge by a gentle reminder of how valuable his existence is.

Sure, an updated version of the story could be told, but does it really have to be?

Back to the Future Franchise

Released: 1985, 1989, 1990

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Elisabeth Shue, Mary Steenburgen, and Billy Zane.

The Back to the Future films stand-out as a shinning example of retro sci-fi comedy.

There have been rumors over the years that Hollywood was interested in remaking the series, but fans and critics have been adamant that these movies are perfect as is.

Casablanca

 

Released: 1942

Director: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre.

Casablanca is quite likely the most recognizable film that Bogart ever starred in, with The African Queen and The Maltese Falcon being a close second and third.

There are number of Bogart pictures that could potentially be ripe for the remake treatment, but Casablanca is not on that list.

Citizen Kane

Released: 1941

Director: Orson Welles

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane, Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Agnes Moorehead, Paul Stewart, Ruth Warrick, Erskine Sanford, and William Alland.

For many years, Citizen Kane has widely been considered by many filmmakers and cinema historians to be the greatest film of all time.

That fact alone is enough to land it a spot on our list.

Scarface

Released: 1983

Director: Brian De Palma

Starring: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham, Gregg Henry, and Richard Belzer.

Full disclosure: Yes, the 1983 Scarface is a remake of a 1932 film by the same name, but this one shut down the need for the story to be retold.

Arguably Pacino’s greatest role of all time, Scarface is a flawless film that cannot be imitated (though that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from trying).

Taxi Driver

Released: 1976

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, and Cybill Shepherd.

Taxi Driver is generally considered by filmmaker, movie critics, and fans to be among the greatest films of all-time.

Featuring one of the most quoted lines in all of cinema — “You talkin’ to me?” — Taxi Driver is film that has established itself as a unique piece of movie-making that doen’t need to be redone.