Being known as a remake is always an uneasy way for a film to start off, since right out of the gate people already have something to compare it to, and when the new version fails to deliver the same way the original did, it is usually written off as a flop. This has been the case with such film like Total Recall, and more recently, last year’s Point Break, which deviated so much from the original that it might as well of not even shared the same title. A good remake must have two things going for it, and that is that it cannot be too iconic in the sense of films like Pulp Fiction or Saving Private Ryan, as well as having an appeal to today’s current audience. These ten films are films that are still remembered today as classics, yet have the ability to make a bigger impact on audiences today if they could just be rebranded and remade to fit the standards of this day and age.
The Warriors
Even after gaining a massive cult following since its 1979 release, The Warriors is still a little known film with both great action sequences and a premise that was truly ahead of its time. Focusing on Coney Island street gang The Warriors, the film follows their dangerous journey from upstate New York back to their home turf after they are framed for killing the most powerful gang leader in New York. With the police closing in and every gang in New York hot on their heels, The Warriors have no choice but to fight their way home, or go out swinging. Even in a modern setting The Warriors could still have relevance to today’s audiences. The gangs could carry modern weapons, their outfits could get a 21st Century update, since what fan hasn’t wondered what a 2016 Baseball Fury would look like, and the action sequences would pack a far better punch with today’s filmmaking. The fact that The Warriors has become a hallmark of Hollywood history could also lead to some serious star power being drafted for a remake. A good director could plant some of the biggest names in Hollywood as the leaders of the street gangs The Warriors encounter, as well as Cyrus and the famed anonymous DJ, while allowing five of the next big names in Hollywood to star as The Warriors themselves. The star power alone could propel the remake to greatness, while establishing a brand new audience within the younger generation and resonating with moviegoers yet to see the original. Without changing the story, and giving the film a modern setting, The Warriors would be a hit with audiences young and old, a trend that is seen less and less today, with the younger audience enjoying it as a dangerous and high stakes gang thriller, while the older reliving the glory of the original film.
The Bodyguard
The Bodyguard is remembered by most for starring Kevin Costner at the height of his acting career alongside worldwide R&B sensation Whitney Houston, and still too many more for its award winning soundtrack, containing the tear jerker “I Will Always Love You”. The film centers on Rachel, an Academy Award nominated pop-diva, and her renowned, but reluctant bodyguard Frank, who is hired to her detail after a stalker and death threats toward the superstar begin to surface. As the pairs personal and professional lives begin to intertwine, they form a relationship that could cost them everything in the end. In a world where celebrities are at the forefront of scandals on a constant basis, there would be no better time to remake The Bodyguard, especially since the world of celebereality has become increasingly dangerous through the use of social media. A remake of The Bodyguard could feature anyone from Taylor Swift to Jenifer Hudson to a number of other leading ladies in the music industry to fill the big shoes of Mrs. Houston’s original performance, while also allowing the artist to create a brand new soundtrack for their adaptation of Rachel. With a strikingly famous leading lady as the headliner, a reinvention of the famed soundtrack, and a story that relies on gripping tension just as much as it does on a star-crossed love story, The Bodyguard has got everything going for it that, especially in this day and age.
The Wild Bunch
With iconic Westerns like John Wayne’s True Grit, Glen Ford’s 3:10 To Yuma, and Steve McQueen’s The Magnificent Seven all being pushed through the Hollywood remake machine, one has to wonder why no one has decided to give the gritty 1969 western The Wild Bunch a remake as well. Possibly one of the bloodiest films of its time, The Wild Bunch follows outlaw Bishop Pike and his gang of bank robbers as they plan for an early retirement with one final job. Ripe with violence and double cross, Pike and his gang soon find themselves on the run from both bounty hunters and the Mexican military under the command of a sadistic general. Much like this year’s remake of The Magnificent Seven, The Wild Bunch could feature five current A-list actors who have already stared in similar films, and allow them to act their hearts out against a back drop of gritty western action and intelligent pacing parallel to that of the original film. Even though the spaghetti western has been on a steady decline in Hollywood since the debut of The Wild Bunch, there would be no better time to remake such a masterful work of cinema, especially while Quentin Tarantino’s western films are breathing new life back into the genre. The return of The Wild Bunch could be the film that reminds us of how grand the western genre was, and that the heroes of western lore are just as fascinating as those who wear a cape and a mask.
The Great Escape
A heroes harrowing escape from prison in any film is always the tensest, and yet stills the most deeply satisfying part of any film, and no film has ever been able to create such an atmosphere of suspense and tension like the 1963 McQueen classic, The Great Escape. Set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the film centers on a group of escaped prisoners of war, who have been re-captured and sent to the most secure prison camp ever built. As famously stated though, “it’s every great escape artist in Germany all in one building,” and the Allied captives instantly begin to plan the most daring escape ever attempted. Not only is the escape itself one of the most exhilarating climaxes in film history, but the intensive planning and detailed arraignments leading up to the finale are as equally mesmerizing. By today’s standards, an escape from a Nazi German P.O.W. camp might prove to be a little less heart-stopping than it was in 1963, but then again we have see no shortage of war in the last decade, and a newly constructed prison could be outfitted with the most advanced technology, making it impossible to escape especially by today’s standards. A remake could easily feature an ensemble cast of international prisoners, all with escape records, being held in an inescapable Middle Eastern prison. Taking an old school and near impossible escape, and outfitting it with the latest technology, already has all the makings of next Summer’s major blockbuster.
The Towering Inferno
With disaster films giving less and less focus to real world disasters, and instead choosing to center on an Earth shattering Apocalypse, it is easy to see why the genre has become a joke that is more often associated with Sci-Fi Channel B-movies than more quality works like The Poseidon Adventure or the famed 1974 burning building flick The Towering Inferno. Known as one of the godfathers of the disaster film, The Towering Inferno takes place on 138 floors inside the world’s most architecturally advanced building. No sooner does the building begin to thrive with high end guests and their families all preparing for the dedication, does an electrical fire break out, thus turning the architectural phenomenon into 138 floors of Hell. The difference between the new age apocalypse disaster films and the classics like The Towering Inferno is that there is never a time for the titular characters to rest, thus never leading to a dull moment. A remake could allow for producers and designers to craft an immaculate building from scratch, while using this centuries superior special effects to set the building ablaze, and create the same original breathtaking moments like the helicopter crash and the falling elevator. The Towering Inferno was and still is an inspiring story of resilience and heroics in the face of a catastrophic situation, and there is no reason that this story hasn’t been retold to the next generation of film lovers.
Blue Velvet
Consistently ranked by critics and publications as one of the best American films of all time, one might wonder what is keeping a film like Blue Velvet from returning to the big screen, especially with all the ill-fated attempts to reintroduce so many lesser known films to this generation’s audiences. The answer might be more simple then you think though, and it could very well be that most films do not dare to explore the dark level of sexuality and violence that was so prominently displayed in 1986’s Blue Velvet. Set against the backdrop of rural North Carolina, Blue Velvet finds college student Jeffery alongside the small town detective’s daughter Sandy as the two open their own investigation into a severed ear found in a nearby parking lot. What the two don’t know is that the world they will be walking into is a place where the boundaries of depravity are pushed to the very limits that break even the toughest who dare to face it. One might say that a film like Blue Velvet would turn more people away than it would invite to the theatre, but taking a look back, it almost seems that the dark the mystery, the more acclaim it receives; looking back to 2011s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and 2014s Gone Girl. A remake of Blue Velvet would undoubtedly attract Academy Award winning talent, which could be used for the more sinister adult roles of the film, while Jeffery and Sandy could be portrayed by two younger actors who have just begun branching into more adult roles, a la Elle Fanning in The Neon Demon. After being considered as one of the greatest mystery films it’s apparent that Blue Velvet is a story that needs to be retold to movie lovers for generations to come.
Interview With The Vampire
Audiences used to associate vampires with bloody horror, but now we rarely even get to witness a vampire suck someone’s blood anymore, with vampires beginning to look less and less like Dracula, and more like The Vampire Diaries with every vampire inspired film to getting more and more glamorous. One of the most fascinating stories to ever explore the concept of vampires though is undoubtedly Ann Rice’s Interview With The Vampire, which made its premiere as a major motion picture in 1994. As told from the first person view of self-proclaimed vampire Louise, Interview With The Vampire sees Louise recounting his century’s old lie, starting with his transformation into a vampire at the hands of the infamous Lestat, and winding his way through the years alongside Lestat and his vampire daughter Claudia, as they struggle with their curse that is the gift of immortality, making for a truly thought provoking film. With an especially talented method actor like Jared Leto or Leonardo Dicaprio honing the role of Lestat, and building the cast with raw talent, Interview With The Vampire would thrive as a remake, while introducing audiences to the darker side to the monsters that has become such a cultural phenomena.
The Legend of Hell House
The 1970s were a revolutionary decade for horror, with films like The Exorcist, The Omen, and Carrie all changing the genre from campy to terrifying by delivering one bloody shock after the next. Amidst these genre defying features was the lesser known Legend of Hell House, which featured a group’s terrifying expedition into a mansion famous for being haunted by its late owner’s victims. The haunted house sub-genre of horror has never been the most sought after, but with the recent success of films like Insidious and The Conjuring, The Legend of Hell House could have a chance at a triumphant return. A remake could give the film a modern twist by taking the diverse characters and showcasing them as part of a television program that disapproves haunted locations, forcing the core group to be joined by a greater number of potential victims, while also delving into the houses dark and bloody past. By implementing a haunted house, vengeful ghosts, and a whole lot of psychological horror, The Legend of Hell House could be one of the few horror films that truly scares audiences without having to result to the usual clichés.
Dark City
With the incredible evolution the art of special effects have taken in the last decade, any sci-fi film from the last century can be made into a visually striking masterpiece. While Dark City was ahead of its time in the special effects department, it simply may have been too obscure for the regular moviegoer. Set in a mysterious world where the night never ends, and humans have no memory of their past lives, John Murdoch wakes up to find that he is wanted for a series of brutal crimes he doesn’t believe he has committed. As John strives to unravel the twisted riddle that is his life, he stumbles upon a shadowy organization known as The Strangers, who control more than everyone seems to notice. Dark City is a twisted sci-fi thriller that adopts an “anything can happen” attitude, while making sure that nothing makes sense until everything makes sense. Dark City is a film that deserves a far greater following, and reviving the project with a new age visual update could be just the thing to immortalize the riveting sci-fi “would be” blockbuster that was Dark City.
Escape From New York
Out of all the dystopian futures that were ever created for film, Escape From New York had one of the most unique concepts. In a futuristic United States where the crime rate has risen to 400%, the film imagines Manhattan as a walled-off maximum security prison for the country’s most dangerous criminals. When the President’s Air Force One crashes behind the wall though, The government turns to Snake Plissken, an ex-special forces soldier, and the one man who might just be dangerous enough to survive inside and bring the President back. Similar to The Warriors, Escape From New York is an excellent film that may seems outdated by today’s standards, which is exactly why the film needs to be revitalized for a modern setting. An actor like Tom Hardy, or even Hardy himself could reinvent Snake the same way he reinvented Max Rockatansky for the critically acclaimed Fury Road. The remake could feature very little modernization actually, and keep the Manhattan prison as dark and dreary as the original, while creating more vibrant action sequences. Snake’s adventure deserves to continue just as much as Max’s has, and there would be no better way to do it than introducing him through an adrenaline rush of a film like his first.
What film do you think really deserves a remake? Let us know in the comments below.