Remakes better than the first

Was dimly aware of MF's predecessors, but have seen none of them.

MF was a miracle, thanks to the fortuitous convergence of the character actors who made it so great.

 

Although I never saw the original, based on the cast, I feel it safe to say that the remake of 12 Angry Men pales in comparison to the original.

 

If we start a list of remakes that pale in comparison to the original, this thread would be about 50 pages long.

 

I think the late 1950s Ben Hur was better than its predecessor.

 

Since I have no use whatsoever for Chuck Heston, I remain amused by the antics of Francis X. Bushman.
It remains one of the best silents I've ever seen. Considering when it was made, it's remarkable.

 

As great as the original 12AM is, it never should have been remade simply because of the fact that the modern audience, by in large, can't handle a movie that is largely shot on one set with no special effects, salty language and/or sexual content.

As far as the Batman movies go, I think The Dark Knight would be the closest we'll see to a remake because this goes over the initial meeting between Batman and Joker (;D). But that's where the similarities end. In Burton's version, we see the creation of the Joker while Nolan just drops him on our laps, without even a single drip of acid or skin-bleaching, hair-dying, Glasgow-smile creating chemicals.

I don't have much of a real favorite remake because nothing really jumped out and made me think: "Damn, this was much better than the first one!" The Italian Job was pretty good, and if you want to consider international films, Scorsese's version of Infernal Affairs (The Departed) was great. Aside from that, I've got nothin'.

EDIT - Make that one movie that really stands out: Bram Stoker's Dracula. No offense to Bela Lugosi, but that Drac movie was much better -- and faithful to the book -- than the old 30s Universal flick.

 

I thought Coppola's 'Dracula' was a really good-looking movie, but I wouldn't call it faithful to the original novel.

 

Well, it was a helluva lot closer than anything else I've seen.

 

I liked the Peter Jackson KK, too.

I saw the newer 12 Angry Men, and yes, your assumption was correct.

I liked the George C. Scott, and yes, muppets version of A Christmas Carol.

 

The CGI fight scenes I thought were amazing.

I mean Kong doing backhanded grabs? That was cool.

 

I liked the Coppola movie because it looked so great, but the whole element of Mina being the reincarnation of Dracula's wife bothered me.
The original 'Dracula' is great, but keep in mind that it was adapted from a stage play instead of directly from the novel.

 

The newer Italian Job was a fun movie. That was a pleasant surprise that summer.

Anyone mention "The Fly" yet? Watched it on HBO (I think) the other night. Still grosses me out.

I never saw the original "Cape Fear," but wasn't that big a fan of Scorsese's version. Never saw the Japanese version of "The Ring" either, but the American take wasn't that bad. Only saw the newer "The Thomas Crown Affair," and that it was just OK.