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Top 10 Remakes

By Conor Walsh · May 14, 2014

Some are considered great installments that revamp franchises. Others are seen as stories that should have never been retold. These are the top ten film remakes – the ones that have made the cut and show that remakes deserve love too. One of your picks not listed? Let us know and comment below.

“You know you’ve been around when they start to remake your own movies when you’re still alive.” -Sylvester Stallone

Read More: Top 10 Best and Worst Movie Remakes

 

10. A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)

At first an unofficial remake of Akira Kurasawa’s Yojimbo (1961), Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western was the first of its kind to really set the trend in motion. Clint Eastwood plays Joe, a drifter who shows up in a small town run by two feuding families and decides to play both of them against each other by fuelling their greed and lust for power.

Sure the original is great, but the short cigar, the poncho, everything about this film started one of the most unbelievably successful and iconic movements in cinema. Not to mention, it created somewhat of a cult hero in Clint Eastwood. A true classic.

9. The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Based on another Akira Kurasawa’s Japanese classic, Seven Samurai (1954), this Western adaptation is truly a joy to watch. It’s got pretty much all the big stars of the time and boy is it a treat to see them all together in this action packed crowd pleaser.

A poor Mexican village is drained of all it’s resources and harassed by bandits led by Calvera (Eli Wallach). The elders of the village decide enough is enough and hire seven gunfighters, led by Chris Larabee Adams (Yul Brynner), to help them protect their livelihood and kill the bandits once and for all.

Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn and Yul Brynner. I’m convinced after the first name let alone all of them. It’s a must see.

8. The Birdcage (1996)

Probably one of my favorite comedies ever; and that’s saying something considering La Cage Aux Folles (1978) was a favorite of mine before I laid eyes on Mike Nichols’ South Beach remake.

The Birdcage is a drag club owned by Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) and headlined by his partner, Albert (Nathan Lane). Armand’s son, Val, from a previous marriage with a woman, shows up from college and announces that he is to be married. The girl? Only the daughter of an extremely important Republican politician (Gene Hackman). Her family wishes to meet Val’s parents before they give their consent to the union, so Armand and Albert must transform their home and themselves in order to impress Val’s conservative in-laws to be.

It truly is laugh out loud funny film. Nathan Lane puts in one of the best performances you’ll ever see in an American comedy as the flamboyant and bitchy Albert Goldman, the bane and the love of Robin Williams’ life. He too lights up the screen with his performance, but like the French original, the source of some brilliant laughs comes from Agador (Hank Azaria), the Goldman’s Hispanic gay housekeeper (although he is called Jacob in the original).

Great remake, but do watch the original as there’s even two sequels to enjoy.

7. 13 Assassins (2010)

The only film on this list not to have been made by Hollywood is a Japanese remake of a Japanese film of the same name. 13 Assassins is a mind blowing Samurai flick that sees thirteen of the best Samurai occupy a town and transform it into a death trap. Why? They have been assigned a task to kill an out of control nobleman who spreads death and chaos across the country in the era of peace. Two hundred guards accompany this nobleman through the town, and thirteen but kill them all to get to their target.

The Thirteen Assassins (1963) truly is a wonderful original. However, the action in Takashi Miike’s 2010 remake is out of this world. Glorious sword fight upon glorious swordfight, all brilliantly shot with some great characterization that helps us really connect with every one of these Samurai. You’ve gotta love the Ronin, Kujuro; he’s one bad motherfucker.

6. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Clooney, Pitt; Cheadle, Damon, Roberts and the late great Bernie Mac. If you’re gunna remake a classic starring the Rat Pack, i.e. the coolest people on earth in 1960, then you’ve gotta do it right, i.e. with the coolest people on earth in 2001. Soderbergh certainly delivered on that front.

Danny Ocean, fresh from his release out of jail, recruits a team of professionals to pull of an impossible heist: rob three Las Vegas casinos in one night. Sure, it makes it easier that the money from all three casinos ends up in one vault, but try getting into the most heavily securitized vault in the city; and if you manage that, try getting out of it.

Slick, quickly paced and cool as fuck (at least when it came out), Ocean’s Eleven certainly manages to entertain on all levels. With laughs, suspense, cheers and jeers, Soderbergh’s clever heist movie certainly keeps you involved and on the edge of your seat.

But what in the world is Don Cheadle doing with that accent. Don’t worry Don, we know it can’t have been your fault.

5. Cape Fear (1991)

Max Cody (Robert De Niro) is released after a 14-year stint behind bars for rape and battery and immediately harasses the man who defended him in court all those years ago. Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), the aforementioned attorney, has a somewhat peaceful life with his wife and 16-year old daughter. That is until Max Cody shows up and reminds him of a serious crime against justice he committed during his case: Bowden hid a report from the courts that would have set Cody free.

Scorsese does a very good job of this remake of the 1962 thriller starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. Incidentally, Marty included both original stars in the casting, which is always a nice touch, as well as keeping some of the same shooting techniques and musical scores from the original to feed off of the sinister edge it has.

De Niro gives an unbelievable performance as the menacing and impossible to kill stalker, Max Cody, while Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis all contribute wonderfully with some acting chops that’ll blow you away. I’m not saying it’s better than the original, though the script is more pleasing for today’s readers, but Scorsese is a master of cinema. That cannot be denied.

4. Scarface (1983)

A Cuban refugee makes his home in Miami, Florida, where he goes from flipping burgers to becoming the most ruthless and powerful Drug lords in the city. The money and the lifestyle catches up with him however, as his ego grows and grows until he feels he can’t be touched. Of course, he finds out that even with all the power in the world one will always remain human.

A tour de force from Al Pacino as the cult figure, Tony Montana. From the suits he wears to the way he talks and the way he walks, Pacino steals this film and enhances every aspect of it with his presence.

The original Scarface (1932) is extremely of it’s time, based in the prohibition era and starring Paul Muni as a power hungry Gangster in the liquor business. De Palma’s remake is extremely of its time as well, whilst also being a little before its time judging by the reception in the 80’s compared to the high regard it’s held in today. Both are classics in their genre and in cinema overall. From script to screen, both films are blueprints for any screenwriter and filmmaker wanting to tackle the Gangster genre.

If you’ve not seen either, you better get to it.

3. Scent Of A Woman (1992)

Another tour de force from Pacino, this beautiful film sees the master take on a role as the blind Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade. A lonely and bitter old man, Slade plans to have himself a weekend in New York while his daughter and her family go away for thanksgiving. Due to his impairment, Slade is to be joined by Prep School student, Charlie Simms; a quiet and less privileged young boy compared to his fellow students who takes the job of baby sitting the Lieutenant Colonel to make a bit of extra money for the plane ticket home. The relationship is rocky at first but throughout the course of the weekend a friendship blossoms in which both men end up learning a little something about themselves and their lives.

Martin Brest really does an excellent job of remaking the beautiful Italian classic, Profumo Di Donna (1974). The Italians don’t “half make” stunning and heartfelt films, and Brest manages to keep that essence of beauty alive. But of course, it always helps when you’ve got Bo Goldman writing the Academy Award winning screenplay and Pacino putting in an Academy Award winning performance as the lead.

2. True Grit (2010)

The Coen Brothers really turned John Wayne’s Western into something special. The original isn’t entirely for me, I have to say, but being a huge fan of the Coens I absolutely loved this remake. From the hilarious and inch perfect Western script, to the final product itself, the level of professionalism is exactly what we always expect from a Coen feature.

Starring Jeff Bridges as the drunken U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn, the film takes us on he and young Mattie Ross’ journey to find the bandit Tom Chaney who killed her father. Played brilliantly by Hailee Steinfeld, Mattie Ross is a tough young girl intent on growing up quick.

Steinfeld was robbed! In all the films I’ve seen with young leads I have never come across a performance as confident and to the point as Hailee Steinfeld’s in True Grit; and in her debut feature no less. The only one that comes to mind is Di Caprio’s performance in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), another Academy Award nominated turn. Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon do well in assisting her with their constant bickering and gloating, and Josh Brolin contributes some great laughs as the horrible bandit, Chaney.

1. The Departed (2006)

The source of Scorsese’s only Academy Award, The Departed takes us into the Police department and the gritty Underworld of Boston. Billy Costigan (Leonardo Di Caprio), the son of a notorious criminal, wants to join the Police but is instead given a confidential task: to go undercover and use his name to get close to Irish Mobster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) in order to find the rat inside the force.

Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), the rat, has known Costello since he was a kid, and joining the force was all part of the plan. Just like Costigan, he is tasked with finding a rat, but for the Mob. Set on finding out each other’s identities, the path to this information is dark and bloody.

A remake of an absolute gem of Hong Kong cinema, Infernal Affairs (2002), Scorsese’s may not be better but it is in no way worse. It stands on it’s own, being more of an adaptation that his remake of Cape Fear, say. Of course, it is in no way right that this is his only Oscar win, as it is by no means his best achievement in film.

But that does not take away from its brilliance, from the clever, complex cat-and-mouse script to the truly remarkable performances from all involved. The fact that only Mark Wahlberg received a nomination for his performance is truly baffling. But William Monahan’s script and Scorsese’s Directing are extremely deserving of the awards.