Better adaptions and remakes

[Dazzle1]

There is very little originality lately but there have been some adaptions and remakes better than the original for movies and TV.

Here are mine

TV adaptions
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, failed movie but sucessful show
Highlander- Adrian Paul a better swordsman and the stories were better

Movies
Hnnry the V -Branghas is far better than Oliviers
The Thomas Crown affair Brosnan did a much better job than mcQueen

[helstar]

About new productions:

Haven't seen it yet, but it seems that the Percy Jackson tv-series is better than the (hideous) two movies. The producers already confirmed a 2nd season.

I am gonna guess that the incoming Avatar The Last Airbender will be the same. Though the terrible single movie was not the original production (there was a cartoon series before that), if we just consider the live action adaptions, then yes ...

[VegaTaxeca]

I'd add Westworld. Not that the movies (Westworld and Futureworld) were bad. They were more than okay for their time, but the tv series was brilliant, thought-provoking television. (And it gave us some great girl-fight scenes. )

[Femina]

Kick-Ass was a far better film than it was a comic book.

[Dogfish]

The Boys is a much better TV show than a comic book. The recent Punisher series was better than a lot of the comics too.

[cannonfodder]

Dredd (2012) > Judge Dredd (1995)

[joejanus]

There is very little originality lately but there have been some adaptions and remakes better than the original for movies and TV.

Here are mine

TV adaptions
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, failed movie but sucessful show
Highlander- Adrian Paul a better swordsman and the stories were better

Movies
Hnnry the V -Branghas is far better than Oliviers
The Thomas Crown affair Brosnan did a much better job than mcQueen

I can't speak to Highlander or Henry V because I haven't seen the remakes, but both Buffy and The Thomas Crown Affair were like entirely different things despite keeping the basic premise. The Buffy case is strange because Whedon did both. Maybe there was corporate meddling in the movie?

As for Thomas Crown, I wouldn't quarrel with the acting on either movie, just the second movie was better written, better production values, better soundtrack (I'm a sucker for Sinnerman in any action scene it seems). It was a gracious touch to have Faye Dunaway come back and do a small but significant part in the remake as a tribute to the first.

[Dazzle1]

There is very little originality lately but there have been some adaptions and remakes better than the original for movies and TV.

Here are mine

TV adaptions
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, failed movie but sucessful show
Highlander- Adrian Paul a better swordsman and the stories were better

Movies
Hnnry the V -Branghas is far better than Oliviers
The Thomas Crown affair Brosnan did a much better job than mcQueen

I can't speak to Highlander or Henry V because I haven't seen the remakes, but both Buffy and The Thomas Crown Affair were like entirely different things despite keeping the basic premise. The Buffy case is strange because Whedon did both. Maybe there was corporate meddling in the movie?

As for Thomas Crown, I wouldn't quarrel with the acting on either movie, just the second movie was better written, better production values, better soundtrack (I'm a sucker for Sinnerman in any action scene it seems). It was a gracious touch to have Faye Dunaway come back and do a small but significant part in the remake as a tribute to the first.

With you on Sinnerman in the final scene

[bushwackerbob]

Villeneuve's Dune was tons better than David Lynch's version. I saw Lynch's version not too long ago, it looked cartoonish, the special effects looked rather primitive for 1984.

[Dazzle1]

Villeneuve's Dune was tons better than David Lynch's version. I saw Lynch's version not too long ago, it looked cartoonish, the special effects looked rather primitive for 1984.

Have to disagree

We may have had this disagreement before, so apologies for rehashing

Lynch's version is closer to the book, the acting is far better.

[Dogfish]

Lynch's is definitely more interesting visually, and it's weirder. But I think once the pair of Dune movies are out it won't be much of a contest, the new ones have a lot more to them.

[Dazzle1]

Lynch's is definitely more interesting visually, and it's weirder. But I think once the pair of Dune movies are out it won't be much of a contest, the new ones have a lot more to them.

For me, the question is how close is to the book?

Problem with the new Dune

Paul's character- Paul was never that unsure of himself which is why I say Kyle McCalahan did a far better job
Jason Momoa's Duncan is gregarious in the book Duncan is very a solemn ridgid man, Gurney is the gregarious one
Beast Rabban is a very minor character in the book
There was no meeting with the Rev Mother and the Baron

[Heroine Addict]

Justified was a much better adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Raylan Givens books than the original TV Movie Pronto.

[Freon]

This probably goes without saying but Peter Jackson's LotR movies > Rankin/Bass and Ralph Bakshi animated movies.

I actually kind of dig the Rankin/Bass specials, but they're just not on the same level as the live action movies. Not a fan of how awkward the rotoscoping is for Bakshi's movie, though.

[Heroine Addict]

I always preferred Hammer's Dracula and Frankenstein films over Universal's.

[Dazzle1]

Lynch's is definitely more interesting visually, and it's weirder. But I think once the pair of Dune movies are out it won't be much of a contest, the new ones have a lot more to them.

Well Dune 2 is out And I think Lynch is much better, This idea of making Chani a rebel to Paul never happened in the book and Jessica actually urged Paul never to take the religous mantle and not having Alia(except for the dream sequences) and Thufir in the movie is dumb.

[Dogfish]

The thing with the Lynch version is that it suggests a better movie would exist, but there's just way too little of it in the back end of the story. I will always love it, but it will always leave me wanting more and feeling like I didn't see enough.

[Dazzle1]

The thing with the Lynch version is that it suggests a better movie would exist, but there's just way too little of it in the back end of the story. I will always love it, but it will always leave me wanting more and feeling like I didn't see enough.

Did you see the 4 hour extended version

What is interesting is that both Lunch's and Denis versions leave out three important scenes

The banquet scene after the Atredies arrive

Thufir and Lady Jessica confrontation when she finds out that Thufir suspects her of being the Harkonen spy
(Denis passes over that entirely)

Gurney trying to kill Jessica

[Dogfish]

The Denis version leaves out the sonic weaponry too, but most sadly it leaves out the horniness. Like, when Paul and Jessica escape from the Harkonnens originally, Jessica gets them to fight over her, the Voice is meant to be a suggestion based on desires, not just bossing people around. There's none of that in the new one, even the seduction of Feyd is something of a non-event. I guess they are playing to the censors and wanting a PG-13 rating but it's not a PG-13 story and trying to make it one diminishes it. Dune was basically written in horny jail.

I was left very disappointed by the second part to be honest. Stripped of so much of it's weirdness, horniness and oddities the Denis Dune (I can't spell his surname and would embarrass myself to try) feels like an underwhelming sandy Avatar.

I haven't seen the extended Lynch version either. I have heard that it's a very mixed bag, possibly not the best edit. Am intrigued though because not being 'good' never stopped Lynch being interesting.

[bushwackerbob]

I know this is most probably just me, but I didn't know of Kyle MacLachlan or his work until I saw MacLachlan in Twin Peaks in the early 90's, and looking at his bio right now I am stunned to learn he was just around 30 years old when he did Twin Peaks, I always thought he looked closer to 40 when he did that show and watching MacLachlan play Paul in Lynch's Dune about 5 years ago, I still saw that 40 year old guy playing Paul Atreides when in actuality he was age appropriate for the role but in my mind I still saw him as 40, Timothy Chalamet seemed to be and look more the part of the young Paul for me. Just my take, but from reading the book, Chalamet seemed to better encapsulate Paul Atreides than MacLachlan. I think like a lot of things, liking one actor over another in the same role can be quite a subjective aspect.

[Dazzle1]

I know this is most probably just me, but I didn't know of Kyle MacLachlan or his work until I saw MacLachlan in Twin Peaks in the early 90's, and looking at his bio right now I am stunned to learn he was just around 30 years old when he did Twin Peaks, I always thought he looked closer to 40 when he did that show and watching MacLachlan play Paul in Lynch's Dune about 5 years ago, I still saw that 40 year old guy playing Paul Atreides when in actuality he was age appropriate for the role but in my mind I still saw him as 40, Timothy Chalamet seemed to be and look more the part of the young Paul for me. Just my take, but from reading the book, Chalamet seemed to better encapsulate Paul Atreides than MacLachlan. I think like a lot of things, liking one actor over another in the same role can be quite a subjective aspect.

That was Kyle MacLachlan's first major role, every other major character in the Lynch movie was fairly well known.

You are right about this being subjective, I see Kyle's potrayal closer to the book but then except for the over the top Baron in Lynch's book , I think the rest of the cast came far closer to the book.

[phopho]

There have always been incredible remakes. My favorite are Sorcerer, True Grit & Cape Fear which are better than the originals. Close behind are Little Shop of Horrors, the Thing & Scarface also. Does Airplane! count? Lockout? A Fistful of Dollars?

[Dazzle1]

There have always been incredible remakes. My favorite are Sorcerer, True Grit & Cape Fear which are better than the originals. Close behind are Little Shop of Horrors, the Thing & Scarface also. Does Airplane! count? Lockout? A Fistful of Dollars?

Don't agree with you on True Grit, but I am a long time John Wayne fan

Fistful of Dollars had a remake?

[VegaTaxeca]

It actually is a remake (though unofficially) of the Japanese movie Yojimbo.

[cannonfodder]

Seven Samurai and Magnificent Seven. Not better just different.

[phopho]

It actually is a remake (though unofficially) of the Japanese movie Yojimbo.

Yeah it's a remake of Yojimbo. Kurosawa sued and got a cut of royalties. There was an American remake too called "Last Man Standing".

[phopho]

Seven Samurai and Magnificent Seven. Not better just different.

I like Battle Beyond the Stars if we're talking 7 Samurai remakes: