Remakes

Red, I'm not a big remake guy but you won't be disappointed. The original Taking of Pelham 123 was on AMc last weekend.

 

I remember it as a come-from-behind, feel-good story.

 

Scarface

 

Grace Park is a little more my speed, but whatever makes you smile.

That reminds me. They actually took three male characters from the original and remade them as women -- Starbuck, Boomer and Admiral Cain. Between that and Mary McDonnell as the president of the colonies, it was certainly interesting how many strong and complex female characters they had, especially in comparison with the original. I wonder if that would have been accepted at all by audiences in the late '70s. I wonder the same about the darker themes and the more realistic violence in the remake.

Obviously, due to improvements in special effects, the shows looked very different, but the changes went beyond that. I wonder if that is a reason for change in many remakes -- the ability to do things that weren't possible when the original is made.

 

Was John Carpenter's "The Thing" (one of my faves) considered a remake?

Saw it in the theater and it was awesome.

 

The Italian Job.

The first one was brilliant, if including some silly moments (Thanks Benny Hill). The remake went in a different direction completely, and just didn't compare.

 

That's the one I was going to mention. Very different flick (and I'd say it's one of the few where the remake is better than the original).

 

Yes. The Thing From Another World was released in 1951 and is a classic. Carpenter's version is pretty damn good too. I like them both about equally.

 

Bubs: Thanks, I thought so.

Like you, I enjoyed the original pretty damn much, too.

Amazing part about the remake was all the special effects, which were incredible considering they were done before the days of CGI.

 

Good call.

I'll also include another classic Michael Caine movie of the same era - "Get Carter."

Carter dies at the end of the first movie (suddenly and shockingly) but not the second.

In a real kick in the ass for Caine, who came back for the remake and played one of the villains, he dies at the end of both films.

 

The 1998 Les Miserables ended with Valjean alive.
Another Carpenter movie, Assault on Precinct 13, was much different.
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory ends much differently from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Miracle on 34th Street
The Shining

 

How much differently did the movie of The Fugitive end than the TV series ended?