In the last couple of decades, it seems as though Hollywood has gone remake crazy, attempting to cash in on every excellent movie ever made, like Point Break, which can burn in the fiery pits of Remake-Hades for even attempting to one-up Patrick Swayze.
But what you might not know is that some of your favorite movies are actually remakes themselves. The reason you might not know this is because the mark of a solid remake generally isn’t about remaking a film that’s already great. It’s about taking something that genuinely needs updating and giving the remake something the previous version didn’t have. So leave Back the the Future ALONE, it’s perfect.
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And without further ado, here are the 10 Best Remakes!
Click the video at the top of the article to check out what made the list, or simply scroll on down to read our article!
10. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Starting off this list is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels from 1988. The comedy film starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine about a pair of rival con artists was based off of the 1964 movie Bedtime Story that starred Marlon Brando. And no offense to the late Marlon Brando, but Steve Martin and Michael Caine knocked it out of the park with this classic.
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers from 1978 starred Donald Sutherland in one of his all time best roles. While the 1954 original was praised by critics, it’s sci-fi premise benefited from the improvements in cinematic technology, and the 1978 version became one of the rare remakes that managed to improve upon it.
8. The Departed
You didn’t know this Martin Scorsese gem was a remake?? Well, it is – a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Internal Affairs to be exact. While the original film is an excellent international film in it’s own right, there’s a huge population of American audiences who would never take the time to watch a Chinese-speaking film in its entirety. Plus, adapting this story was clearly a good call since it finally earned Scorsese the Oscar for Best Director that many critics felt was long overdue.
7. A Fistful of Dollars
In the seventh spot is the classic Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, A Fistful of Dollars. While unofficial, the movie drew such strong comparisons to the Japanese samurai film Yojimba, that the producers successfully sued director Sergio Leone.
6. True Grit
While the 1969 original John Wayne western is still considered a classic to this day (it even earned John Wayne his only Academy Award for his performance as Rooster Cogburn), the Coen Brothers’ updated version stayed truer to the source material. By delivering a film that’s a much more faithful adaptation of the book, the Coens’ were able to offer notable differences that made the new version not feel fresh, and not just some updated carbon copy riding on the coattails of a great film.
5. Ocean’s Eleven
How do you make a cooler heist movie than the 1960 version starring the Rat Pack? By bringing on A-listers like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, that’s how. And let’s be honest, even though the 1960 original is a who’s who of cool performers, it was never considered a very stellar caper movie, and the remake was able to capitalize on that.
4. Scarface
Many people don’t realize the classic Al Pacino gangster film is itself loosely remade from another gangster flick of the same name released in 1932, nor should they – they are two entirely different movies. Brian De Palma’s cult classic changed nearly every aspect of the original save for the title alone.
3. 3:10 to Yuma
In the third spot is the 2007 remake 3:10 to Yuma. Directed by James Mangold and starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, 3:10 to Yuma improves on the 1957 original in almost every single way. Admittedly, the original hasn’t aged particularly well and this is an excellent example of a filmmaker taking an amazing story using contemporary methods to make it better.
2. The Thing
Based on 1951’s The Thing from Another World, John Carpenter’s version proved to be far more terrifying than the original. Utilizing state-of-the-art make up and grotesque special effects (not to mention ruggedly cool Kurt Russell in his prime), The Thing took the shape-shifting horrific tale to new heights.
1. The Fly
And finally, the best remake of all time has to go to The Fly from 1986. While the original from 1958 was a fun sci-fi movie for it’s time, David Cronenberg’s remake starring Jeff Goldblum is a horror masterpiece that won an Academy award for its’ grotesque special effects. It took a B-movie level premise and turned it on it’s head offering up what turned out to be one of the most viscerally horrifying movies of all time.
