Since I begun blogging on/off about movies, I’ve become interested in movie reboots, reimaginings and movie remakes.
There’s been loads of movie reboots, reimaginings and movie remakes in the last couple of years and there’s load more coming; lets see what’s what and why.
Movie Remakes
Definition of a Movie Remake
A remake is a movie which references another movie as it’s primary source of material.
List of movie remakes:
- Ocean’s Eleven 2001 is a remake of Ocean’s Eleven 1960.
- Scarface 1983 is a remake of Scarface 1932.
- 3:10 to Yuma 2007 is a remake of 3:10 to Yuma 1957.
- Dawn of the Dead 2004 is a remake of Dawn of the Dead 1978.
- The Grudge 2004 is a remake of The Grudge 2003.
- House Of Wax 2005 is a remake of House Of Wax 1953 which is a remake of House Of Wax 1933.
- The Mummy 1999 is a remake of The Mummy 1932.
- The Omen 2006 is a remake of The Omen 1976.
- True Lies 1994 is a remake of La Totale 1991.
- Village of the Damned 1995 is a remake of Village of the Damned 1960.
- War of the Worlds 2005 is a remake of War of the Worlds 1953.
Alot of remakes are simply appauling and should never have been allowed. The Omen 2006 was almost a scene-for-scene remake, even the set designs and movement of extras in the background was almost identical to the 1976 original.
I happen to think that the original Village of The Damned 1960 is far superior to the appalling 1995 remake.
I watched the original Village of The Damned 1960 again recently and despite being black and white and incredibly hard to get on DVD it’s really eerie and quite deep.
The Grudge was remade for the English speaking market only one year after the Japanese original, which in retrospect, is considered superior.
But remakes are not all bad, True Lies is one of my favourite films and that was remake of a French film made three years prior. Dawn of the Dead 2004 was an amazing remake and Scarface 1982 has gained such a cult status that it is widely thought of as an original.
Movie Reimaginings
The meaning of the word reimagine is hotly contested. Wikipedia treats it as a marketing buzzword and considers all the films below to be movie remakes.
I consider a movie reimagining to be different from a movie remake but it’s hard to explain quite how they differ.
I’d say that a movie is a reimagining if it is like the original movie…
- …but contains a significant prequel element.
- …but the plot has been heavily expanded and elaborated upon.
- …but the plot has been significantly updated for the modern-age.
- …but the plot has been heavily ret-conned.
List of reimagined movies:
- Halloween 2007 is a reimagining of Halloween 1978.
- Planet of the Apes 2001 is a reimagining of Planet of the Apes 1968.
- The Day The Earth Stood Still 2008 is a reimagining of The Day The Earth Stood Still 1951.
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003 is a reimagining of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974.
Keanu Reeves considers The Day The Earth Stood Still 2008 to be a reimagining. But that could just because Keanu Reeves doesn’t want to be associated with remakes.
Movie Reboots
Definition of a Movie Reboot
[The] discarding of much or even all previous continuity in the series, to start anew.
Effectively, all previously-known fictive history is declared by the writer(s) to be null and void, or at least irrelevant, and the series starts over.
List of movie reboots:
- Batman Begins 2005 is a reboot of the Batman franchise.
- Casino Royale 2006 is a reboot of the James Bond franchise.
- Friday The 13th 2009 is a reboot of the franchise.
- Star Trek 2009 is a reboot of the Star Trek franchise.
- Robocop 2010 will be a reboot of the Robocop franchise.
- Mortal Kombat: Devastation 2010 will be a reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise.
A movie reboot is the original concept (but not necessarily the plot) presented however the writer, producer and/or director sees fit; omitting, adding or retaining whatever they want.
Batman Begins and Casino Royale are reboots because they occur ret-con the main character’s history, portraying them in a darker light while containing prequel elements.
The Star Trek franchise has such a long and well documented history, it’s better to reboot it than massively ret-con it.
Reboots are a good way of restarting a franchise that’s already been milked to death and over-extended, like, Friday The 13th 2009 and Robocop 2010. I’d prefer to see both of these movies rebooted rather than suffer ridiculous sequels.
