I know technically this and the 1946 version are based on the Hemingway short story, but I can't remember a movie and its remake being so different. Really the only similarity in the 1964 version and the 1946 version is that it starts off with someone that doesn't mind being killed. Other than that they are completely different stories and movies. Can anyone think of a remake that is so completely different than the original?
shareThe heist setup is also basically the same I think.
Having this film be from the hit guys' view point is an interesting change.
In this case, I prefer 1946, but '64 has plenty going for it.
Actually, this film was almost called "Johnny North," so its makers clearly saw it as quite different from 1946, too.
As for others, how about "Dial M for Murder" and "Perfect Murder"? Not as radically different, but there is a crucial, very innovative plot change. Love 'em both.
"The Breaking Point" is quite different from "To Have And Have Not", although both films are based on the same Hemingway story.
shareThe original short story The Killers by Ernest Hemingway was very short indeed, consisting simply of the two killers coming to town and the Swede, having been warned by a friend they they're coming for him, just awaits them. They shoot him, end of story. The reader is left to imagine the rest for himself.
That's why the movies are so different. They use Hemingway's basic setup and add a plot to it,