The Best Movie Remakes of All Time

Introduction

Remakes are a fact of life in Hollywood, and sometimes they are better than the original.

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. It's based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, who also wrote The Thin Man series.

The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture (Robert Rossen), Best Director (John Huston) and Best Screenplay Adaptation (Samuel Taylor).

Planet of the Apes

• 1968: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans star in the first film adaptation of Pierre Boulle's novel.

• The movie tells the story of a group of humans who discover an advanced civilization on Earth but they are then captured and forced to live in an ape-like society.

• It was followed by five sequels: Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest Of Space (1972), Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973) and Escape From New York (1981).

Ocean's Eleven

The remake of Ocean's Eleven is a clever, fun film that has been loved by fans since its release. It was directed by Steven Soderbergh, who also directed Traffic and Erin Brockovich. The original 1960 Rat Pack movie was released in 1960 and stars Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean (Dalton), Dean Martin as Rusty Ryan (Bryan), Sammy Davis Jr., Angie Dickinson, George Kennedy, Peter Falk and Joey Bishop.

The remake stars Brad Pitt as Linus Caldwell—he plays his character very differently from how he did so in the original film but still manages to capture the spirit of a man who does whatever it takes to get what he wants at all costs; Matt Damon plays George Clooney's brother Andy—he plays this role quite differently from how he did so in George Clooney's previous film Syriana; Julia Roberts plays Catherine Zeta Jones' wife Sandra Bullock plays Lou Boyd (played by Don Cheadle) while Bernie Mac plays John Travolta's old partner Charlie Bartlett; Carl Reiner played Al Pacino's father Albert Einstein...

Ben-Hur

The original movie was released in 1925, and it's a remake that starred Charlton Heston. It was directed by William Wyler, who won 11 Oscars for the film. The director's cut of Ben-Hur won four additional awards: two BAFTAs, one Golden Globe and one Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Walter Lantz).

The remake was a box office success, grossing over $100 million at theaters worldwide—the highest-grossing live-action film at that time—and earning back more than double its budget after seven weeks of release (it made back about $123 million).

War of the Worlds (2005)

The 2005 version, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, is a remake of the 1953 film of the same name. It's set in modern times and more action-packed than its predecessor. The story follows an alien invasion that starts with some Martians landing on Earth (that's right—they're not from Venus or Mars). The invaders begin their plan to take over our planet by using humans as hosts for their parasites called "Icarus" who can then be used to control other humans and make them do whatever they want us do.

In this version we see how mankind fights back against their oppressors by building a giant robot called "Mecha-Godzilla" that battles against all kinds of baddies including giant spiders!

The Thing (1982)

The Thing is the story of a group of scientists and soldiers who are trapped in Antarctica after an experiment goes wrong. They must band together to survive against an alien attack, but will they be able to surivive long enough?

The original film was released in 1982 and starred Kurt Russell as Dr. David Lasser, Wilford Brimley as Dr. MacReady (who would later go on to play Dr Derek Jameson in Halloween), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Kate Lloyd (who would later go on to play Annie Brackett in Halloween), Richard Dysart as Captain Lassiter, although he was replaced by Jack Burton for this role due mainly because his salary had not been paid yet! Despite being meant for children aged 8-12 years old at least according to IMDB reviews - my brother loved it when we watched together so it must have been pretty good right?

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Zack Snyder's remake of George Romero's 1978 classic, Dawn of the Dead, is a spectacularly faithful adaptation that also manages to stand as its own unique entity. While some may argue that it's not as sophisticated or well-made as Romero's original—and I'm sure there are fans who think otherwise—this movie has been widely praised for its directorial talents and strong performances by Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames. If you like zombie movies but haven't seen this one yet, then now is your chance!

Scarface (1983)

This is the remake of Scarface, starring Al Pacino and directed by Brian De Palma. The original film was based on a 1932 play called Scarface: The Shame of the Nation by Howard Hawks, who also directed the movie.

The new version of this classic crime drama does not include any major changes from its predecessor; however, it does have some differences in terms of plot and characters (for example: Tony Montana's name changed from Tony Amonte to Anthony).

True Grit (2010)

True Grit is the Coen brothers' remake of the 1969 film, starring Jeff Bridges as LaBoeuf and Matt Damon as Cogburn. The story follows Ulysses S Grant's deputy Rooster Cogburn, who teams up with fourteen-year-old girl named Mattie Ross to hunt down Tom Chaney (played by Barry Pepper), a career criminal who murdered her father. The movie was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture (the first time this award has been presented since 2002) and won four: Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges), Editing - Stunt Coordination; Original Score – Hans Zimmer; Art Direction/Set Decoration - Production Design & Cinematography

The Ladykillers (2004)

The Ladykillers (2004)

This 2004 remake of the 1955 British comedy film The Ladykillers is possibly one of the most well-known remakes in history. It stars Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans and J.K. Simmons playing the same roles as their counterparts in the original film. Joel and Ethan Coen directed this adaptation; they also wrote it along with Noah Baumbach and Charles Randolph.

The story follows a group of criminals who plan to kill someone while they spend time together on holidays at an old mansion owned by Professor Marcus (Wayans). Their plans go awry when they discover that there are other people living inside the building—including a blind woman named Mrs Wilberforce (Rachel McAdams)—who just so happen to be staying there too!

Remakes are a fact of life in Hollywood, and sometimes they are better than the original.

Remakes are a fact of life in Hollywood, and sometimes they are better than the original.

The best way to introduce young fans to classic films is by re-envisioning them for modern audiences. It's not an easy task, but it can be done successfully if you have the right cast and director working on your movie. Some remakes don't really count as remakes at all; these include films that were originally made years ago but now come out all over again with updated special effects, casting changes (or even the same actors playing different characters), etcetera—these may seem like adaptations at first glance but actually aren't true retellings since nobody has changed anything about their storylines besides adding some new elements (like more action scenes). On other hand there are certain classics which could benefit greatly from being brought back into production with newer technology available today: think back fifteen years ago when Disney released Beauty & The Beast live action remake starring Emma Watson as Belle!

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you some insight into what makes a good remake and why some are better than others. While I’m not saying that there aren’t any remakes that are worth your time, I do think it is important to have an open mind when watching these movies so that you know what to expect. So if you liked our list of the best movie remakes of all time—or even if you didn't like any of them—remember to keep an open mind when watching anything with a new plot!