Always great to see something new from MikeJ! And I agree wholeheartedly.
Top 5 Movies They Should Never Remake
Written by MikeJ Sunday, 20 March 2011 01:36
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Comments (101)
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03.20.2011 - 02:25 | SpaceGirlSpiff
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03.20.2011 - 02:26 | JesuOtaku
So who wants to be the first to tell Mike J that Metropolis WAS kind of remade, into an anime film, by Rintaro?
Well, that said, the film is actually based on Osamu Tezuka's manga adaptation of the film, which is sort of a loose adaptation, really...still, while not a straight-up remake? A looooot of commonalities! It's worth watching as its own movie, certainly, and I suggest looking it up. ^_^ (It's linked to, in italics, in the first line on the wiki page for the original Metropolis film.)
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03.20.2011 - 02:42 | pap64
Darn it, JO beat me to it. :p
But yeah, the anime movie was pretty good and had very beautiful visuals.
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03.20.2011 - 03:05 | stargate12
Thanks, JesuOtaku, I spent the last half of that video thinking of how to mention the anime in a comment, glad you did it first. It's a little awkward and I suppose he could say loose animated remakes don't count, but then any modern translation would have as much to do with the original as Rintaro's, Planet of the Apes and Godzilla certainly didn't follow the original's plots.
Great video, especially the points on the potential themes of a gory Groundhog Day remake, I really hope Rob Zombie doesn't see this and get ideas...
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03.20.2011 - 03:16 | PLAIt's a nice movie. Rock being mostly an asshole with daddy issues was sort of interesting.
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03.20.2011 - 03:33 | Taufiq91
You're right, JO. I loved the Metropolis anime film, and i think any movie can be remake if you put lots and lots of effort into it.
For example, the 1983 remake of The Thing from outer Space was well done and perfectly made, particularly because John Carpenter put lots of effort into the production.
If Hollywood tries it's best at putting an effort, the remake of that film would be good. Especially Let Me In, which to me was a fine remake of Let The Right One In.
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03.20.2011 - 03:44 | MikeJ
My research has failed me!
It's still not a 'proper' remake though. Live action et al
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03.21.2011 - 00:01 | RedRedI should probably mention that Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis isn't an adaptation at all not even in the looses sense. While its shares some similarities the writer has said that he based his version on the movie poster he saw of the German film, so its based on the original about as much as Bioshock's Rapture and that other Metropolis from DC, aesthetically similar but that's about it.
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03.20.2011 - 03:55 | David2
You read my mind, JO.
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03.20.2011 - 09:37 | NostalgiaKid1
You realize that the author of the manga didn't know anything about the movie when it came out, right? So, it's not really a remake as much as just a film that coincidentally has the same title and a few similar plot points.
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03.20.2011 - 10:51 | saint23thomas
Huh, "a film that coincidentally has the same title and a few similar plot points"... Actually, that sounds like the general Hollywood formula for a remake.
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I seriously doubt he didn't know anything about the movie. I haven't read the manga, but if the film version is based on it, they are far too similar to be coincidence. Perhaps the manga person had seen scenes from the original and based his ideas on that, but to have no idea is hard to believe.
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03.20.2011 - 17:42 | TragicGuineaPig
According to my reading, the anime was inspired by the manga, but it drew its plot heavily from the film. So, in essence, it really is more of a remake of the film rather than an adaptation of the manga.
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03.20.2011 - 10:56 | saint23thomasCongratulations, JO, Mike J is huddled in a corner somewhere, now, free-associating excuses why that movie doesn't count.
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03.20.2011 - 22:16 | Snukastyle
I was unaware that Tezuka was adapting the original film as a manga. All I knew was Rintaro had never seen the original movie to base it off of. Interesting.
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03.20.2011 - 02:30 | ShMikeSoooo many reasons why BTTF should never be remade...
Not so much the incest...but the unexplained relationship between a teenaged boy and an old man...Herbert, anyone?
Not to mention the slight terrorist interaction which provokes the accidental voyage in the first place.
We don't need to see the end having Doc wind up in Gitmo.
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Good list man, there are alot of things that just don't need to be remade and you nailed alot of them. But Uh dude Metropolis was kinda remade......as an anime movie. Okay it's not really the same movie but it certainly borrows in the look and themes of the original movie. But it's also an adaptation of another movie......so take of that what you will :P
If I had to choose 5 movies I never wanted to be remade the list would include at lest 2 or 3 from your list so I'll try to stay away from that.
1.Who framed Rodger Rabbit
2.Enter The Dragon
3.The Man with No Name Trilogy
4.Die Hard
5.The Wizard of Oz
Hope these are good picks :P Again good list man!
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03.20.2011 - 06:15 | navvyshanekar
Man With No Name trilogy has already partially been remade, Last Man Standing is a remake of a Fistful Of Dollars (though to be fair, that was a remake of Yojimbo to begin with) and The Good, The Bad & The Weird is sort of a remake of The Good The Bad & the Ugly.
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03.20.2011 - 10:49 | Drake666
Yeah, and, to be frank, Last Man Standing is more a "Guilty pleasure" than a "Guilty remake" (I'm probably the only person on Earth who found that movie remarkably fun ! Bruce Willis being an asshole like never before and a great "Ugly" at the end ;) ... who's "good" ?)
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I agree with all of these. I didn't even think about Roger Rabbit. The Wizard of Oz, either.
They should not touch any of the following for me:
Any Miyazaki movie
Any Coen Brothers movie
Any Animated Disney classics (and this would include Toy Story and a few others of the modern or Disney Renaissance).
The Secret of Nimh (which they sequelized to death).
The Brave Little Toaster
Little Shop of Horrors (the Rick Moranis version).
Twice Upon a Time (which I don't think anyone would anyway).
Silence of the Lambs (though a redo of the ending of Hannibal wouldn't be bad).
Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
Harry Potter (I just don't know how they could cast that movie any better).
Pretty much anything with Charlie Chaplin in it.
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03.20.2011 - 18:01 | TragicGuineaPigWasn't Little Shop of Horrors itself a remake of a reboot of a reimagining already?
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03.20.2011 - 18:01 | TragicGuineaPig*ahem*
The Wiz.
Look it up.
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08.11.2011 - 18:47 | JDB15
There were many incarnations (versions) of The Wizard of Oz, before and after the version we all know and the one your referring to (the classic 1939 version), that it's technically a "re imagining" but whatever, I know what you mean. I hope they don't remake "Return to Oz."
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03.20.2011 - 03:12 | Zydrate
I would call the anime Metropolis more of a re- imaging than a remake, if that makes any sense. Good list, and one movie I think should never be remade is The Godfather.
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03.20.2011 - 18:00 | TragicGuineaPigWhat exactly is the difference between a remake and a re-imagining? As best I can tell, "re-imagining" usually means making it darker and edgier (see The Xeriouxly Forxe).
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03.21.2011 - 06:36 | FileDeletedI don't know if it's the best comparison but, the first Silent Hill video game and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories would be an example of "re-imagining". The latter is a retelling of the former and takes liberties but keeps core content including the main characters and the town. While a remake would be along the lines of Psycho and Psycho (1998) where just about everything is identical with minor tweaks. Unless I'm missing something I believe that should sum up the matter.
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08.11.2011 - 18:56 | JDB15"I don't know if it's the best comparison but, the first Silent Hill video game and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories would be an example of "re-imagining". The latter is a retelling of the former and takes liberties but keeps core content including the main characters and the town. While a remake would be along the lines of Psycho and Psycho (1998) where just about everything is identical with minor tweaks. Unless I'm missing something I believe that should sum up the matter."
Something like that. I see as in, for example, the different versions of Alice in Wonderland (even the newer one) and The Wizard of Oz are re imaginings (Heck, I would say that Rob Zombie's Halloween is more of an re imagining than a remake) and the King Kong in 2005 and 70s are remakes of the 1933 version.
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03.20.2011 - 03:16 | whatever42
A good list indeed. I would have to agree with all of your picks, as there aren't any among them that I would ever want to see remade. Among the ones you listed, Jaws seems like the most likely remake to happen and I'm sure we can all imagine how that would turn out.
Even though there have been good remakes, I really think that the only movies that should be viable for a remake are those that had good concepts but were executed poorly. Making a good concept into a good movie just seems like a logical and good idea.
Of course, Hollywood just keeps making remakes for things that don't need it and the results are plain to see. Let's all hope that they just really think through anything they decide to remake, despite that not being very likely.
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03.20.2011 - 10:51 | Drake666The problem with your point (and I would prefer that Hollywood worked that way too) is that not a producer in the world will put money on a movie that bombed once before :|
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03.20.2011 - 12:15 | Shadowflame66
So what you're saying is, someone needs to remake Michael Bay's Transformers movies.
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03.20.2011 - 03:35 | TheFourLights
Unfortenately they are busy doing a remake of Robocop. Really hate that :(
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I could see a remake of Robocop, if they got the whole attitude and flavor of the 80's right. Big corporations misusing technology (with overtly good intentions) to inflict an agenda on others, etc. But I don't know. Of course, they could remake the sequels all they want. If it's good enough on theme, it will suffer from the same problems Idiocracy had: the poking fun at big corporations will make them want to pull their money. If it doesn't step on any toes, there's no point in remaking it.
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03.20.2011 - 03:48 | LikaLaruku
Heheh, I can think of 50, & they're all ones I'd rather not hear pop or rap remakes of the soundtracks or see CG effects in. Plus, the art of script writing for movies seems to have lowered it's standards immensely, which is probably why every director thinks reimagining a script would be less stupid.
Osamu Tezuka made an anime called Metropolis, based on a book inspired by the 1929 movie, so it's kind of been remade.
I love watching Groundhogs Day back-to-back with Scrooged.
We need lobbiests who will fight for nerds' rights to prevent movies & songs from being remade.
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03.20.2011 - 12:54 | axlryder
Osamu Tezuka never touched the anime, he was dead at the time. It was simply based off of his manga.
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Big agreement on all of these (though perhaps not the same reasons), but in addition to what JO and others have mentioned about the anime adaptation (and the manga adaptation on which that's based), "In December 2007, producer Thomas Schuehly (Alexander, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) gained the remake rights to Metropolis." (From Wikipedia's article on Metropolis, under the "Adaptations" heading.) That doesn't necessarily mean it'll get remade, but... the possibility unfortunately exists.
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03.20.2011 - 04:19 | jutuominI am hoping that Schuehly only gained the remake rights so that anyone wouldn't remake it..
Metropolis is one of my all time favourite film and do agree. It is a beautiful film and one cannot argue that the movie wouldn't work on today's audience. It works just fine.
It actually quite impressive to look what could be done in 1927 when compared to today's "impressive" computer efects.
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Metropolis was so important because people were amazed at the production values. A remake would have to have the next great effects or above the top of the line; otherwise, people will just watch it and go 'okay, another sci-fi flick with big special effects, big deal.' Metropolis is a movie to inspire wonder and amazement, not 'meh.'
And I agree with whoever said it up there: we need more scriptwriters who will write better scripts.
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03.20.2011 - 12:47 | polygonalchemist
Isn't Metropolis old enough to be in the public domain now? If so, I wonder who exactly sold him the rights, and if they're laughing all the way to the bank, now.
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03.20.2011 - 04:28 | FunkyM
0:00 - MONEY! That is a BRILLIANT way to start a video. Declare your intentions immediately.
Great vid Mr J. And yes, these movies are great as they are. At most, if some dumb Hollywood exec wanted to "upgrade" the effects, they could pull a "Star Wars" and put out some Special Edition/"Remastered" version.
Even then, most sane/smart people wouldn't like it.
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03.20.2011 - 04:39 | theFederation
i thought you were going to include some more classic films like Mary poppins, wizard of oz, or even Casablanca. though now i think about it, studios wouldn't dare remake those because they'd be too afraid of all the hate mail they'd get.
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Casablanca has been remade, with David Soul (The blond guy from the original TV Starskey & Hutch) as Rick. What's more, I've seen some claim this remake was actually intended as the pilot of a proposed TV series.
...Actually, that doesn't sound all that implausible when you think about it. Take a look at the ending of the original movie again, with Rick & the cop heading off together to have further adventures in Nazi-occupied Northern Africa, secretly helping the resistance. That actually sounds like pretty fertile ground for a TV series, were it not for the fact that every second of it would be held up against a nearly perfect Classic Movie that it could not hope to hold a candle to (not even if they brought in Huggy Bear as Sam).
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03.20.2011 - 05:18 | Ben_from_G-town
Everyone here has said pretty much how I feel about Metropolis, and the idea of movies being remade very nicely, so I don't have much more to add other than to say I've enjoyed this video, and I hope to see more from you soon, MikeJ!
But yes, the Anime movie is really more of a re-imagining than anything. Not a straight up remake.
It would be cool if that director bought the rights so that no one could do it, but I don't know much about the guy so I can't speak to his motivations. Hope that is the case though, but I'm not gonna' hold my breath, heh.
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03.20.2011 - 05:21 | DestroyTrust a British person to say "wonga". That word is taking over...
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03.20.2011 - 05:37 | Shinigami
I agree with MikeJ in this 100%.
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03.20.2011 - 06:05 | TTPunisherIn the swedish comedy "Naken" they use the Groundhog Day thing. And there he murders and rape and other fuck up things. The movie's bad, but you kan still watch it
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03.20.2011 - 11:00 | Drake666Seriously, I like gory movie, you know, old style slasher films, but I never understood where the fun was watching freaking torture porn :|...
Because, even if you root for the killer at the beginning of any slasher movie (you don't know anybody in the cast and the first to be killed are almost always assholes), we generally root for the last girl at the end. So there's a sense of attachment. And if that doesn't happen they are still the cheap laugh.
In a torture porn (sorry, I stole that expression from Brad Jones), what's the point ? I don't find the death funny, the characters are badly written (even compare to slasher movie), the killer is unlikable (ex.: I find Freddy funny, I've got some sympathy for Jason and I'm not even sure if the fisherman in "I know what you did last summer" is not the real hero) and too much gore make the movie even less realistic.
Sorry about the rant. :)
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03.20.2011 - 06:18 | deadgeneration420
I would find it more likely that we'd get a remastered version of Metropolis then a remake, but either way, that's not a good thing.
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03.20.2011 - 07:00 | quizzabella
Great video Mike J, although I'm reserving judgement for "The Thing" 2011 as it's a prequel rather than a remake and its got some decent indie actors in it.
How about a video about when British - American tv shows go wrong? I've just watched the first few episodes of the US version of "Being Human" "Life On Mars" and oh dear... There's a veritable mine of comedy gold there.
(Not dissing US TV at all - there are lots of shows that I enjoy very much, but when it comes to re-working British programmes for the US audience it tends to go tits up (aside from The Office).
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03.20.2011 - 09:26 | ybrevo
Like everyone else, I agree as well. I generally hate remakes anyway, specifically for the reasons Mike and everyone else have said. The only other movie I would have rather seen on the list is Casablanca.
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03.20.2011 - 09:26 | CoffeeWithTheCynic
That was a really good list, MikeJ! Well done! I'll admit, I sadly have not seen Metropolis or Groundhog Day (although I have seen the episode of Supernatural where Sam Winchester gets stuck in a similar situation), but I had a huge grin with the first two entries. My Personal 5 Movies That Shouldn't Be Remade Are:
1. Predator
2. Ghostbusters
3. Lethal Weapon
4. The Blues Brothers
5. Animal House
Honorable Mention: The Evil Dead
I would have included Jurassic Park on there because its my all time favorite but if they followed the novel closer than the original film did, then I guess there's potential. I'd be weary as all Hell, but I'd probably go see it.
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03.20.2011 - 09:43 | starry66I never saw "Metropolis", but I agree with everything else. "Ghostbusters" is my all-time favorite film, and a remake would be a pure insult. I won't mind a third film, if they do it right. As for "Back to the Future" a remake starring Justin Bieber was rumored at one point, but Bob Gale denied any such claims. Thank God!!
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03.20.2011 - 10:10 | georgiahoosier
Agreed on all points.
I think one of the things that saves "Metropolis" from the remake assault is the constant updating of the original with newly discovered footage.
Although now that the most complete version is being restored perhaps the safety net is starting to fray.
The only actor I could think of that could come close to Bill Murray's characterization in "Groundhog Day" is the late Walter Matthau.
Unless a CGI version of him could be used, I hope that movie is safe from remaking for some time to come.
Speaking of Matthau, I'd encourage all filmophiles to check out Elaine May's "A New Leaf" from 1971 to see Walter M in a role very much like Murray's in "GD"
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03.20.2011 - 10:14 | alexthed
Totally agree with... Well, all of your choices. But BTTF and GB really resonated with me. I would also pick Citizen Kane and the Godfather. I'm not as worried about Groundhog Day b/c that's kind of fresh in ppl's minds.
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03.20.2011 - 10:51 | Darks63
Dammit Mike now I wanna go watch Groundhog day and I dont have it:(.
Oh and I totally agree on all points there is no need to loot these classics....sigh which is prolly why they will indeed be remade someday.
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03.20.2011 - 11:08 | Drake666Nice list Mike !
Personally, never been a big fan of Jaws, but I can understand the appeal.
I like the list of other posters. Let's see mine:
5) Die Hard
4) Predator
3) Highlander
2) Princess Bride
1) Indiana Jones
I put Die Hard in 5th because so many movie are "like Die Hard in a X" that it's almost as if their was already some remakes...
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03.20.2011 - 11:26 | loveu
Bill Murray is my favorite actor of alltime... and groundhog day is a great movie. But where were all the 2girls 1cup music? i bet you could get murray to watch houes of it in photoshop
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03.20.2011 - 11:31 | morningmooGreat list Mike. Never saw Metropolis but i agree 100 percent about the other 4.
Danny Devito is another actor that can play likable scumbags
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03.20.2011 - 11:50 | angel85
another reason we can't do a jaws remake is because the average layperson is much more educated about sharks nowadays. We know that sharks don't just attack people and relentlessly pursue them like zombies, but only do it by mistake because from certain angles we look like seals. But back when Jaws was made even biologists thought that sharks liked the taste of human flesh. All that pesky knowledge got in the way of our monster shark movie.
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03.20.2011 - 18:21 | TragicGuineaPigUm, actually, Jaws itself was inspired by a true story. A huge shark swam up a river, ate a couple of people, and was later caught and killed a few miles out at sea, with several pounds of undigested human flesh in its stomach. Great white sharks may prefer the taste of marine mammals, but are opportunistic eaters and will eat humans if they're hungry.
Now, tiger sharks, on the other hand, will eat anything, including humans. They're only slightly smaller than great whites, and are better built for efficient killing than great whites. A new Jaws could easily be done if the star monster was an excessively large tiger shark.
In fact, remember that monologue that the old captain had, where he told the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis? That really happened. And scientists doing research on the historical accounts now speculate it was tigers, not great whites or makos, that were responsible for all the deaths.
And furthermore, there are already like a bajillion Jaws rip-offs out there, anyway. Deep Blue Sea, Megalodon, Mega-Shark vs. Giant Octopus, Sharktopus. Why do a remake when you can just do a blatant rip-off and not have to pay royalties to Spielberg?
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03.20.2011 - 11:55 | php101Metropolis, now I HAVE TO go see it!
I did, of course, go see the anime one, and it's even still a semi-fresh memory (goodness was it beautiful!), but that one's been mentioned TO DEATH.
You have inspired me to go watch very old films! Not that it takes much. Have you seen 'Arsenic and Old Lace'? Where a remake might be able to be done, I don't think it'd be as effective.
Concerning other commenters on 'Wizard of Oz', I actually WOULD like to see remakes and re-imaginings. It's a good story, and if they get a good script writer and a good director, I think it would be amazing as a remake!
Now I said it was a good story, and I appreciate it, but I actually dislike the movie, and have since the first time I've seen it. I've only grown to appreciate its value over time. Like an 'aquired taste'.
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03.20.2011 - 12:01 | voodoobaby
I so agree with your list. I really cant see anyone doing remakes of these mostly because of backlash but then again remakes are the thing that bring in a lot of money. for the most part anyway. Some times it baffles me with what they decide to remake these day.
The one movie that comes to mind that should never be remade is Heathers. Not that i see theta happening anytime soon. Seriously the entire movie would have to be re-written for todays audiences.
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