The Russell Brand remake of Arthur is in theaters Friday, finally cementing his place in Hollywood as the new Dudley Moore. It doesn't end there, though; there are over 50 remakes currently in development, because if something ain't broke let's try super hard to break it. Here are 25 non-horror remakes (in no order) that are good. Not better than the original (except sometimes). Just good taken on their own.
1. True Grit (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2010)
2. Ocean's Eleven (Steven Soderbergh, 2001)
3. Meet Joe Black (Martin Brest, 1998)
4. Last Man Standing (Walter Hill, 1996)
5. Breathless (Jim McBride, 1983)
6. The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
7. Insomnia (Christopher Nolan, 2002)
8. A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone, 1963)
9. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
10. 12 Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995)
11. Point of No Return (John Badham, 1993)
12. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
13. Solaris (Steven Soderbergh, 2002)
14. Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe, 2001)
15. Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983)
16. Payback (Brian Helgeland, 1999)
17. Cape Fear (Martin Scorsese, 1991)
18. The Mechanic (Simon West, 2011)
19. Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)
20. The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006)
21. The Magnificent Seven (John Sturges, 1960)
22. 3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold, 2007)
23. The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)
24. War of the Worlds (Steven Spielberg, 2005)
25. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1941)
Where is #25? I would like to add Jonathan Demme's "The Manchurian Candidate" (2005)
ReplyDeleteAh! Got cut off for some reason. Should be fixed now. And I did like Demme's Manchurian Candidate much more than his OTHER remake, The Truth About Charlie (though I don't even hate that movie as much as some people). Thanks for playing!
ReplyDeleteKind of surprised to see War of the Worlds on that list.
ReplyDeleteI think it's two-thirds of a really good movie. And by that I don't mean that the last third is bad -- I mean it doesn't have a last third.
ReplyDeleteI'd move His Girl Friday into the top 10 (it's easily the best of the Front Page versions, and I think one of the best comedies ever made), and probably drop Meet Joe Black entirely.
ReplyDeleteRemember that the movies aren't in order. If they were, you and I would be in agreement that His Girl Friday would be much higher. And I won't argue with you on Meet Joe Black, as I can't really explain nor defend my affection for that movie.
ReplyDeleteWhat about "A Bug's Life"? Pretty good remake of "Three Amigos" and "Three Amigos" ain't bad. Well, it's not terrible.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the original Bourne Identity? I may have to seek it out.
ReplyDelete