Remake
In
film, a
remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc.) of a previously made film.
The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source. For example,
2001's
Ocean's Eleven is a remake of the
1960 film, while
1989's
Batman is a re-interpretation of the comic book source material which also inspired
1966's
Batman. The same can be said for
Ian Fleming's novel
Casino Royale, which has been adapted three times; as a
1954 television episode, a
1967 spoof, and a
2006 adaptation. These are considered separate adaptations, not remakes, though they use similar
characters and a similar plot.
William Shakespeare's plays have inspired countless remakes, but these are considered more acceptable, given the fact that Shakespeare is considered the world's greatest playwright. Less acceptable, perhaps, are films geared to teenage audiences such as
10 Things I Hate About You and
O (film), which use the basic plot of a Shakespeare play, but change everything else to appeal to younger audiences who do not read or watch Shakespeare. On the other hand,
West Side Story is a modernized,
musical version of
Romeo and Juliet, but it is considered one of the classic musicals of all time.
With the exception of remakes such as
1998's
Psycho, which is a shot-for-shot color recreation of the
1960 film, remakes generally make significant character, plot, and theme changes. For example, the
1968 film
The Thomas Crown Affair is centered on a bank robbery, while its
1999 remake involves the theft of a valuable piece of artwork. Similarly, when the
1969 film
The Italian Job was
remade in 2003, few aspects were carried over. Another notable example is the 1932 film
Scarface which was
remade in 1983 starring
Al Pacino; whereas the 1932 is centered into bootleg alcohol, the 1983 version is based around cocaine.
With the
2006 version of The Omen, those who have seen the
1976 version will probably know what line of dialogue or piece of action is going to happen next. This is because the dialogue is similar (if not identical) to that of the 1976 version. The flow of events is almost identical to the 1976 version as well. However, there are some minor differences between the two films.
Not all remakes use the same title as the previously released version;
1983's
Never Say Never Again, for instance, is a remake of the
1965 film
Thunderball; the 1966 film
Walk Don't Run is a remake of the
World War II comedy
The More the Merrier.
In the recent
history of cinema, remakes have generally been considered inferior to earlier versions by film critics and cinema-goers alike, but there have been memorable exceptions to the generalization. See the
list of film remakes for examples.
Remaking movies has always been common practise in Hollywood, but dating from the late twentieth century, as the filmmaking business has become desiring of instant, pre-assured successes, it has become almost a craze. In earlier years, for instance, the idea of remaking
Psycho would have been considered a
sacrilege even by movie producers, but today it seems acceptable, despite the fact that the newer version received some of the most stinging reviews ever given to a film, and was a box office disaster. In earlier decades, before the rental or purchasing of video recordings for use at home or even the television broadcasting of the movie, studios purchased the rights to the source material (novel, play, musical comedy) and could reuse it quite often; the audience was expected to have forgotten the previous presentations. One studio which acts in this manner is
The Walt Disney Company, and two examples of typical remakes are those of
The Shaggy Dog and
Freaky Friday. British firms, desirous of being able to sell something to Americans in return for buying so much, also remade the films that seemed to sell, as in
The Four Feathers. You can read more about this process at
Movie Remakes with comparison of the remakes to the originals.
*
List of film remakes*
List of British TV shows remade for the American market*
List of English-language movies based on foreign-language movies*
Enhanced remake (in video games)
*
Cover versions of a song
