I actually found this better than the original. What are some other remakes that were actually good? A quick reference for me is:
Let Me In
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Equally as good
The Uninvited - Less than the original but still enjoyable
"What are some other remakes that were actually good?" - seth-shaw23
Good list, I'd also like to add True Grit to the list as well.
http://flickr.com/photos/55196522@N05/sets/72157625135851207/detail/
I don't think this qualifies since it was made by a British studio. Perhaps you mean "English language remakes"?
I never did check out the remake of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They aren't doing the entire trilogy, are they? That's one reason I didn't watch it yet. (that and I'm probably still biased toward the original)
Definitely recommend seeing the remake if you liked the original Dragon Tattoo. It's very similar but they had a 90 million budget compared to 13 so everything is more stylish and bigger. Daniel Craig is in full Bond mode so that's pretty cool also.
shareDefinitely recommend seeing the remake if you liked the original Dragon Tattoo. It's very similar but they had a 90 million budget compared to 13 so everything is more stylish and bigger. Daniel Craig is in full Bond mode so that's pretty cool also.I need to see it soon. share
The Blob (1988) is another great remake.
shareActually for those who think that this version is a remake of the original Swedish adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel of the same name. For me its not really a remake and it is more of a new adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel just like Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but unlike the new adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo where they only changed the language from Swedish to English but remains in the same setting as the Swedish film, the new adaptation of Let The Right One In has several changes but kept a few scenes from the novel and the original film. And yes it may have several scenes from the original movie but were completely changed since this version of Let The Right One In is not only focused heavily on the same style as the Swedish film but also has a completely different execution. The Swedish film is more on suspense and tension with a few killings and is more on practical effects, this version is not only on suspense and tension but it also relies heavily on gore, blood and tons of special effects and CGI since the Swedish film has less CGI and more on practical effects and the body count in this version is higher than in the original check out the swimming pool scene in both versions. In the Swedish adaptation only three of the bullies were brutally murdered in the pool scene and one was spared while in this version Abby did not spare any of the bullies and she killed all four bullies along with the jogger in the tunnel scene, Virginia and the police officer. So for me this version is more of a new adaptation than a remake because when you say remake it means everything has to be changed from style to the age of the main characters.
shareI know the word "remake" has become a dirty word in recent years, but I don't think of it that way. The human race retells stories...it's what we do. No sin in that.
While I don't have a problem calling LMI a remake, I do agree there were some really substantial changes that might not apparent if you only look at it on a superficial level. Each of the four main characters is very different....that's a pretty big change.
"For me its not really a remake and it is more of a new adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel" - kyleluna
I sometimes wonder if the people who say stuff like that have even read the novel. I've run into a few people who argue that it's just a different adaptation and when asked on it they usually say something like "Oh, I haven't actually read it I'm just going off of what the director said."
There is no all encompassing answer. LMI takes elements from both the book and from Lindqvist's screenplay (note that both are credited at the end of the movie)....and of course adds a lot of things unique to itself.
I would say it's more JAL's screenplay than the direction itself because even LTROI fans certainly don't believe the two movies are directed the same. Hand two directors the same script and you get similar but different movies....which is what happened.
Like I said, none of the four main characters are anything like their counterparts in LTROI. That's not a minor change. The Cop character of course is inspired by the novel. That hospital interrogation scene comes right out of the book. Owen's candy obsession, thievery and incontinence are from the novel. I would say the bullies in LMI are more like the book. They are given a motive for it at least and are more threatening. I would argue Abby's look is more like the novel as is her mental age. Of course her gender is unique to LMI. Thomas only exists in LMI as well.
Since almost everything in LTROI comes from the novel, LMI using it means it comes from the novel as well. Naming a few things LMI got from the film exclusively but then not mentioning the things LMI got from the novel exclusively or invented entirely doesn't paint an accurate picture.
"There is no all encompassing answer" - Harpo
"Since almost everything in LTROI comes from the novel, LMI using it means it comes from the novel as well." - Harpo
Yes there is.
Let Me In is an adaptation of Tomas Alfredson's film. Matt Reeve's starting point was a translation of the screenplay written by John Ajvide Lindqvist under the direction of Tomas Alfredson. Lindqvist himself has said, on many occasions, that without Tomas he could not have written his first screenplay. Tomas held his hand throughout the entire process whittling down the original four hour screenplay to just two hours. For you to claim that Lindqvist's screenplay exists independently of Tomas is disingenuous at best and plain dishonest at worst when you are more than aware of the reality of the situation.
Things were changed, obviously. I acknowledged enough in my post. But changing things, and adding things from the novel, doesn't suddenly mean that the source material miraculously changes from the original film to the book the original film was based upon.
Let Me In is an adaptation of the film Let The Right One In, that also makes use of extra material from the novel, and original content. None of the extra material stops Let Me In from being an adaptation of the film Let The Right One In.
"Notice I did not claim it's an adaptation of the book?" - Harpo
"I said it's a bit of both...PLUS additional original ideas contained only in LMI." - Harpo
"You seem to be arguing that LMI is only based upon the screenplay" - Harpo
"Note that both the book and the screenplay are cited in the credits for LMI. There is a reason for that." - Harpo
"I'm not about to give Alfredson the bulk of the credit for the screenplay that JAL wrote." - Harpo
"So dismissing JAL's contribution with a "held his hand" insult isn't really accurate at all" - Harpo
"I've never understood how so many LTROI fans try to diminish JAL's contribution to the film he wrote." - Harpo
I point you to kyleluna's post that I replied to, as their post is what sparked this discussion in which the claim is made that "For me its not really a remake and it is more of a new adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel". I'm so glad you agree that it isn't, as claimed by kyleluna, a new adaptation of the novel. Please stick to the topic at hand.
Let me quote my words, "Let Me In is an adaptation of the film Let The Right One In, that also makes use of extra material from the novel, and original content".
"Since almost everything in LTROI comes from the novel, LMI using it means it comes from the novel as well."
Nor I. Just pointing out that it wasn't purely Lindqvist's own work. I wouldn't even like to guess at a percentage, suffice it to say that it was a collaboration. The claim that a film adapted from Lindqvist's screenplay has no input from Tomas is clearly wrong.
Yes, because it's a legal requirement to credit sources. However, sources credited do not speak to rights purchased and adaptations undertaken.
Nor I. Just pointing out that it wasn't purely Lindqvist's own work. I wouldn't even like to guess at a percentage, suffice it to say that it was a collaboration. The claim that a film adapted from Lindqvist's screenplay has no input from Tomas is clearly wrong.
Bait.
Hammer official press release.
Reeves Casts the “Right Ones”
Hammer and Overture Announce Primary Cast for “Let Me In”
(Beverly Hills, CA) October 1st, 2009 – Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz and Oscar®-nominee Richard Jenkins will headline the cast of Let Me In, Matt Reeves’ adaptation of Let the Right One In, when principal photography begins this fall in New Mexico. The announcement was made today by Hammer Films Co-CEO’s Simon Oakes and Nigel Sinclair, as well as Overture Films CEO Chris McGurk and COO Danny Rosett.
Director Reeves (Cloverfield) has cast Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Moretz ((500) Days of Summer) in the two lead adolescent roles of Owen and Abby for the eagerly awaited horror feature. Jenkins will play the lead adult character known as Hakan in the original film.
Based on the bestselling Swedish novel, Lat den Ratte Komma In, by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let Me In is a contemporary vampire tale about a young boy who befriends a girl new to his neighborhood. The film is a remake of the highly acclaimed Swedish film, Lat den Ratte Komma In, also known as, Let the Right One In.
Hammer acquired the remake rights to Let the Right One In at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival where the film took home the Founders Award® for Best Narrative Feature, and has fast-tracked the film for a November 2009 start date. The film is a Hammer Films production with a projected 2010 release in the U.S. by Overture Films. Exclusive Film Distribution is handling worldwide sales and distribution of the film.
Producing the film are Hammer’s Simon Oakes, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair and Oscar®-winner Donna Gigliotti. Hammer’s Alex Brunner and Tobin Armbrust will executive produce along with John Ptak, Philip Elway and Fredrik Malmberg. Overture’s Robert Kessel, EVP Production & Acquisitions, will oversee production for the studio. Swedish producers John Nordling and Carl Molinder, who produced the original film, are also involved as producers on this remake.
The Australian-born Smit-McPhee, 13, stars alongside Viggo Mortensen in The Road, a film festival favorite due out in November. He previously earned the AFI Young Actor’s Award® in 2007 for his role in Romulus, My Father.
Moretz, 12, will star in the much –talked-about Kick-Ass next spring and previously appeared in (500) Days of Summer and The Amityville Horror. She has been nominated each of the past three years for a Young Artist Award®.
Jenkins first worked with Overture on The Visitor, for which he earned a Best Actor Oscar® nomination last year. His recent work includes Burn After Reading, Step Brothers and television’s “Six Feet Under.” He is due to star in several upcoming projects including the much-anticipated The Cabin in the Woods, Dear John and Eat, Pray, Love.
It was announced last year that Reeves will write and direct Let Me In. In addition to the box office hit Cloverfield, Reeves’ directing credits include the comedy The Pallbearer, starring David Schwimmer and Gwyneth Paltrow, and the hit television show “Felicity,” starring Keri Russell, which he co-created and executive produced along with partner J.J. Abrams.
“Kodi, Chloe, and Richard are my absolute dream cast,” says Reeves. “I couldn’t be more excited to be working with them.”
Let Me In is the first film in a two-picture co-production, financing and distribution agreement between Overture Films and Exclusive Media Group, the parent company of Hammer Films and Spitfire Pictures.
http://www.slashfilm.com/let-the-right-one-in-remake-cast-announced/
"Based on the bestselling Swedish novel, Lat den Ratte Komma In, by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let Me In is a contemporary vampire tale about a young boy who befriends a girl new to his neighborhood. The film is a remake of the highly acclaimed Swedish film, Lat den Ratte Komma In, also known as, Let the Right One In."
The words "The film is a remake of the highly acclaimed Swedish film" from Hammer themselves, makes all other discussions on the subject moot.
"That's not what the discussion was about." - Harpo
"For me its not really a remake and it is more of a new adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel" - kyleluna
Au contraire.
I know the word "remake" has become a dirty word in recent years, but I don't think of it that way. The human race retells stories...it's what we do. No sin in that.
While I don't have a problem calling LMI a remake, I do agree there were some really substantial changes that might not apparent if you only look at it on a superficial level. Each of the four main characters is very different....that's a pretty big change.
It's an oxymoron, there are none.
shareI would put this one in the category of decent. Sometimes I felt like I was watching an outright copy, but it was still pulled off pretty well. I did like the original better though.
It was nowhere near as bad as the remakes for Oldboy or Martyrs (god those were awful). At least Let Me In treated the source material with respect.
I will say for what it's worth, The Departed was better than Infernal Affairs (and I really enjoyed IA). Jack brought something to that character that was never in the original