Remakes need not be lousy

Bill Knight column for Sept. 24, 25 or 26, 2018

            As this is written, box office numbers are good for the remake of "Predator" but not yet reported for the new "Star is Born" (much less reaction to TV remakes of "Magnum, P.I.," "Cagney & Lacy," etc.), but for decades, Hollywood remakes could be embarrassing or inspiring.

            Film fans often ask: Are studios out of ideas? Is this done mostly for commercial reasons – to attract ready-made audiences? Is some respectful director paying homage to a predecessor while putting a fresh spin on a story? Sometimes, filmmakers might've thought they could do better than an original, or maybe movie executives couldn't think of a script better than something that already existed, so new versions of old screenplays were made.

            There have been hundreds of remakes, which can be good (like this column, a rewritten/recycled piece from my 2003 book "Video Almanac"!). A dozen come to mind besides the Top 10 below: "Bedazzled," "Cape Fear," "The Fly," "The Front Page," "Homeward Bound," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "King Kong," "Planet of the Apes," "Scarface," "The Thing," "True Grit," and "War of the Worlds."

            These 10 gems really stand out:

            "The Birdcage" (1996). Robin Williams and Nathan Lane star in director Mike Nichols' Americanized and hilarious remake of 1978's "La Cage aux Folles." Hank Azaria, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest and Christine Baranski co-star.

            "Father of the Bride" (1991). Remaking the excellent Spencer Tracy/Elizabeth Taylor romp must have been daunting, but filmmaker Charles Stryer succeeded, largely because of stars Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Martin Short.

            "Heaven Can Wait" (1978). Warren Beatty directed and starred in this modernization of an oft-made fantasy of a man persuading Paradise to let him return to Earth after a mistaken/premature death ("Here Comes Mr. Jordan" [1941], "Heaven Can Wait" [1943], "Angel on My Shoulder" [1946], "Stairway to Heaven" [1946], etc.). This version's stellar cast includes Dyan Cannon, Julie Christie, Buck Henry, James Mason and Jack Warden.

            "The King and I" (1955). The classic musical starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr was a fine remake of 1946's "Anna and the King of Siam," featuring music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein. “Hello, Young Lovers” and “Getting to Know You” are two of the great songs, and Rita Moreno co-stars.

            "The Mummy" (1999). Maybe only loosely a remake since so many films have derived from the 1932 Boris Karloff monster movie, this is close enough – and good enough -- for a new generation. Brendan Fraser stars, with Rachel Weisz, plus John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo.

            "The Nutty Professor" (1996). Eddie Murphy can be a genius showing his inventiveness and talent on the big screen, as evidenced in this side-splitting remake of Jerry Lewis’s 1963 comedy (itself a different take on the Jekyll and Hyde tale). Besides Murphy, in and out of a fat suit, it features Jada Pinckett Smith, Larry Miller and James Coburn.

            "Ocean's 11 (2001). Slicker (and possibly cooler) than the Rat Pack’s 1960 version, this heist picture stars George Clooney as a likeable gangster who recruits a group of criminal associates to rob three Las Vegas casinos. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh also cast Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Carl Reiner, Bernie Mack and more talents.

            "A Place in the Sun" (1951). Montgomery Clift, Shelley Winters and Elizabeth Taylor are a love triangle in this remake of Paramount’s 1931 "An American Tragedy," an adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s novel. A foreboding sense of tragedy and doom permeates the proceedings, produced and directed by George Stevens. Raymond Burr is featured.

            "Shaft" (2000). Technically, this update is a remake and a sequel, since Samuel L. Jackson stars as the nephew of the original Shaft (Richard Roundtree, returning here). Directed by John Singleton, it co-stars Christian Bale and Vanessa Williams, with supporting roles from Busta Rhymes and Pat Hingle.

            "The Untouchables" (1987). Filmmaker Brian De Palma controlled his knack for hyperbole in this stylish, affectionate remake/expansion of TV's version of Prohibition-era gangbuster Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner). Sean Connery, in one of his best performances, co-stars; Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith are excellent as G-Men; and Robert DeNiro has a memorable bit part as Al Capone.