|
Puzo's Godfather? Eh...If I were a reconstructive surgeon obsessed with the inner geometry of the female reproductive cavity, I would have enjoyed about a third of the book a whole lot more than I did. (That, and my imagination could never have given Sonny's character half of what James Caan brought to the role).
You've seen James Caan naked?
|
Sure, but when has any movie been better than the book it was based on?Fight Club
I love the book and Palahniuk's writing, but the movie was just that good.
Another one I've never read the book for. Gotta say the movie was fantastic. The first time I'd never picked the ending of a movie for a looooong time.
|
|
Another one I've never read the book for. Gotta say the movie was fantastic. The first time I'd never picked the ending of a movie for a looooong time.Sure, but when has any movie been better than the book it was based on?Fight Club
I love the book and Palahniuk's writing, but the movie was just that good.
Heh, I didn't know there was a book for that one.
Dawn of the Dead. Original scared me to death when it first came out but the remake was just fab!
Contributor
|
Mr. and Mrs. Smith. There I said it. Highly entertaining, but the original is nowhere near Hitchcock's best work.
The Quick and the Dead, one of the of the few westerns I can stomach. Also, I love sam Raimi.
I'll bite on the Mummy. Brendan Fraser is such a great tongue-in-cheek action hero...
Ocean's 11 (and it's sequels) are also highly entertaining. Not neccesarily better, but still good.
On the subject of books made into movies, I vastly prefer the movie version of Children of Men to the P.D. James novel.
The ThingBoth are based on a the same short story by John Campbell called "Who Goes There?" John Carpenter's version, though updated from the source material, is damn near spot on the short story.
I did not know that. Awesome piece of trivia.
I did not know that. Awesome piece of trivia.The ThingBoth are based on a the same short story by John Campbell called "Who Goes There?" John Carpenter's version, though updated from the source material, is damn near spot on the short story.
d20 Modern has stats for the thing as well (under "Star Vampire"). But be warned; they've got TWK (Total World Kill) written all over them.
Evil dead 2 is a remake of evil dead and a better movie.
|
Evil dead 2 is a remake of evil dead and a better movie.
Actually it is considered a sequel, not a remake.
Often considered to be a remake of The Evil Dead (1981), however this is not accurate. The rights to show scenes from the original could not be obtained to re-cap what happened, so they recreated the beginning to explain how Ash got to the cabin, a headless Linda, etc.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Evil dead 2 is a remake of evil dead and a better movie.Actually it is considered a sequel, not a remake.
Often considered to be a remake of The Evil Dead (1981), however this is not accurate. The rights to show scenes from the original could not be obtained to re-cap what happened, so they recreated the beginning to explain how Ash got to the cabin, a headless Linda, etc.
Are you going to listen to a movie librarian or Sam Rami.
It's a remake.
At the risk of getting amazingly toasted by flaming here, but I'd have to say Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings movies did far more for me than the books ever did, and I read them 4 or five times. I found his vision of them far more compelling and indeed had a more bleak outlook than Tolkiens books.
Wow, another person who thinks this. Personally, I thought the books were TERRIBLE. So bad in fact, that I never bothered to start RotK after finishing tTT. I liked the movies, just avoid watching all three extended editions in a single sitting (my friends and I were yelling at the TV, "JUST GET IN THE G-D BOAT ALREADY!!!1!" by the end of RotK).
I just watched the Bay remake of Friday the 13th--absolutely better than the original, however, I'm not sure what I would think if it were the original...
Technically, I think it's a re-imagining of all the sequels.
I really enjoyed certain aspects of FriBay the 13th, specifically the attributes of the actresses given prominent display. Those were nice.
I thought it wasn't as atmospheric as the original, and the kills were less "OMGWTF!*scare*" and more "Dude!*laugh*"
|
|
At the risk of getting amazingly toasted by flaming here, but I'd have to say Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings movies did far more for me than the books ever did, and I read them 4 or five times. I found his vision of them far more compelling and indeed had a more bleak outlook than Tolkiens books.Wow, another person who thinks this. Personally, I thought the books were TERRIBLE. So bad in fact, that I never bothered to start RotK after finishing tTT. I liked the movies, just avoid watching all three extended editions in a single sitting (my friends and I were yelling at the TV, "JUST GET IN THE G-D BOAT ALREADY!!!1!" by the end of RotK).
The books were written with lot of detail and were intended to mimic the epic style of the Middle Ages and the Renaisance. It isvey draggy in places, and I di enjoy the movies better than the books, but as Medievil scholar, I have great appreciation for what Tolkien was doing.
Two movies I'm torn upon as I also like the books even if they do diverge in different directions.
I am a fan of Exorcist III, but I also enjoy the novel Legion. Ironically, Blatty not only wrote the novel, but directed the movie.
The Last Temptation of Christ. Enjoy both the movie and the book. A very underrated movie and I prefer it much more than Mel's take... (don't get me started there...)
Batman
I’d argue that the new set of Batman movies isn’t the same timeline being based on “The Dark Knight” storyline. Much like “X-Men”(post-apocalyptic) isn’t the same as “Uncanny X-Men”, so not really a remake.
Speaking of superheroes I didn’t see this one mentioned yet (shockingly)...
The Incredible Hulk(2008) - which whoops the (2003) movie badly. Though personally I’ll stick with the original TV series (1970-80s) and Bill Bixby, over both of them. :)
The Blob(1988) - the original(1958) just had way too much dead space and dialogue for me, example being the 10-15 minute drag race/cop pull-over scene. I liked the (1988) version quite a bit, Shawnee Smith always helps.
War of the Worlds(2005) - I enjoyed this one more than the (1953) version, but I think that might be assisted (in my mind) by how awesome the Scary Movie 4 parody was... "Like men riding dragons, fighting maggots!"
Disagree...
Body Snatchers(1956) - The original was best IMO. The (1978) and (2007) remakes were both pretty awesome in their own right, but not better. The (1993) attempt was crap and probably Forrest Witaker’s worst movie ever, even with Tilly/Anwair nudity this movie was a Fail.
Cape Fear, maybe
Cape Fear, maybeWinner! I agree. I like the original with Peck and Mitchum, but I'll second the remake as a better movie.
But is it really a remake of the original, or just a different adaptation of the classic John D. MacDonald novel? I vote the latter.
Much like the Coen brothers' forthcoming True Grit will supposedly be nothing like the John Wayne movie, but rather will follow the novel a lot more closely. That's a MUCH different situation from Michael Mann's 1992 Last of the Mohicans, which is explicitly based more on the previous movie than on James Fennimore Cooper's book.
Films better than the original books: LA Confidential.
On the remake front....how about :
Excaliber > all the previous (& subsequent) King Arthur adaptations.
Not a perfect movie, but far better than anything else Arthurian I've seen.
Stargate SG1 > Stargate movie.
Star Wars > The Hidden Fortress.
Films better than the original books: LA Confidential.
Loved, loved, LOVED the movie, which I saw first.
But when I finally read the book it just flat out, hands-down blew the movie away.
|
|
War of the Worlds(2005) - I enjoyed this one more than the (1953) version,Yeah, the actor may be more (in)famous for his personal beliefs, but he did some good work in that movie.
+1. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Dakota Fanning finds the river and see all the bodies floating in it. Perhaps the best scene to illustrate the adaptable nature of humans though is the scene where the stop to let the flaming train roar down the tracks, nd nobody bats an eye.
I particularly enjoyed the scene where Dakota Fanning finds the river and see all the bodies floating in it. Perhaps the best scene to illustrate the adaptable nature of humans though is the scene where the stop to let the flaming train roar down the tracks, nd nobody bats an eye.
It had a few good, eerie "human nature" scenes in it. Those mentioned above. The fight scene in the rain over the van, the daughter and then the gun. The attempt to board the ferry that get interrupted by that hideous horn. When the people try to save Tom Cruise and the soldier realizes he has a bandolier worth of grenade pins. All good stuff IMO.
------------------------------------------
Side Topic: Those of you who are/were interested in The Incredible Hulk series (1970s-80s) with Bill Bixby... How awesome would Willem Dafoe have been as reporter Jack McGee? I think they seriously dropped the ball on that particular character since the (2008) movie was suppose to be more reminiscent of the TV series.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Found this thread while searching for something, and I'm reviving it to add a movie that fits.
Dredd
The first Judge Dredd movie was awful (Rob Schneider... enough said), but the remake/reboot is surprisingly decent. One of the best parts of Dredd is that (unlike Stallone in the first one), Karl Urban is playing Dredd, not himself. He actually keeps the helmet on for most of the movie, something most comics hero actors can't do.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Found this thread while searching for something, and I'm reviving it to add a movie that fits.
Dredd
The first Judge Dredd movie was awful (Rob Schneider... enough said), but the remake/reboot is surprisingly decent. One of the best parts of Dredd is that (unlike Stallone in the first one), Karl Urban is playing Dredd, not himself. He actually keeps the helmet on for most of the movie, something most comics hero actors can't do.
Now thats how you necro a thread in style!
Found this thread while searching for something, and I'm reviving it to add a movie that fits.
Dredd
The first Judge Dredd movie was awful (Rob Schneider... enough said), but the remake/reboot is surprisingly decent. One of the best parts of Dredd is that (unlike Stallone in the first one), Karl Urban is playing Dredd, not himself. He actually keeps the helmet on for most of the movie, something most comics hero actors can't do.
I enjoyed the original Dredd as a terrible not adaptation of Judge Dredd at all, but I would agree that the more modern movie definitely stuck closer to the source material. Top notch, and makes me quite sad we aren't likely to see another.
Normally I am against necromancy... but since the deed is done I might as well say it.
Red Dragon was better than Manhunter.
*ducks behind the curtain*
EDIT: I'm already in the deep end, so why stop here? The Clockwork Orange was a vastly superior movie versus the book.
I actually liked the Carrie remake better then the original.
I also like Oceans 11, The Blob(1980's), The Thing(1980's), Let Me In, and The Mummy better then the originals.
There might be more, can't remember every remake I have seen, and there are some movies I might not even know are actually remakes.
True Grit... The remake with... uh... the big Lebowsky... is far more interesting than the original John Wayne movie.
I also like Rob Zombie's Friday the 13th better than the second movie of the original franchise.
on the "movie better than a book", front, Jaws absolutely.
on the remake better than the original, and including movies based on other material:
The 80's Blob
Carrie remake
Buffy the Vampire Slayer show was way way way better than the movie
I feel I would also give the edge to the recent remakes of Piranha and The Hills Have Eyes
The MCU Captain America and Incredible Hulk were way better than the earlier big screen attempts at those properties
I will also throw in the Nolan Batmans over the Tim Burtons
The Island was a remake...and a lot better than the original.
The Departed (remake of Infernal Affairs)
If you haven't seen Infernal Affairs, I still recommend it. If you watch the two soon enough to remember specific scenes, you will see shot for re-shot of certain scenes. The Departed just has better actors (for an American audience at least). The ending to Infernal Affairs is better though.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Perhaps its the fact that BTVS (series) often was drowning in its own waaangst. It had some really good moments, but remains, in my opinion, Whedon's weakest show. And yeah, 7 times out of 10, I'd choose to watch the film rather than a couple of episodes of the show.
The original Thing was a pretty decent movie, especially considering the amount of money spent on it and the fact that it was made in 1951.John Carpenter's version was indeed radically different version. But perhaps because of that, it's a fantastic "reimagining" (to coin a Hollyweird term) of the original movie.
The original Thing move was a very poor adaptation of Campbell's chilling short story "Who Goes There?" and the second version was a much better adaptation. And a much better movie all around IMO. It suffers from the "extraterrestrials are unbeatable demons or gods" meme that ruins a lot of science fiction movies, though.
I think there are versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers better than the 1956 version. The 1978 version, for example.
Very different movies, but I liked them both.
Ok, guess I'd better add one. I liked the Shining Miniseries over the original movie.
Ditto.
And if we're counting TV series, then the recent Battlestar Galactica is much better than then the original.
I consider movies based on books to essentially be re-makes, and should be included in this type of discussion. Even if the latter one isn't a remake of a previous movie, they still go up against each other when compared critically, sucessfully, or which ever.Sure, but when has any movie been better than the book it was based on?
Bladerunner was better than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Carrie the movie was better than Carrie the novel.