Summary
Some classic movies can never be remadedue to the specific circumstances in which they were produced being impossible to recreate — and possible copyright issues. Manyfamous movies should never be remade, but this might technically still be possible if the studio is determined enough to make it happen. Others are so associated with certain actors, directors, or the time in which they were made that a reboot is impossible, and if some ill-advised attempt came to pass anyway, it wouldn’t really be that movie.
More likely in cases like this is that studios will attempt to produce tie-in properties as part of the constant barrage ofupcoming unwanted sequels and remakes. Thebest legacy sequels of all timeconvince studios and filmmakers that they can be the exception to bad continuations of classic movies. However,the idea of remaking certain classics just doesn’t work due to legal or narrative reasons,if not something else.
8 Movie Franchises That Deserved A Better Legacy
Often the legacy of a great movie franchise can be tarnished over the years, with substandard sequels diminishing the overall impact of the series.
102001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey’s Slow Pacing Was Elevated By Its Innovation
Today,2001: A Space Odysseyis actually an awkward movie that moves at an excruciatingly slow pace;it can’t compare to the engaging, fast-paced sci-fi movies that it inspired, such asStar WarsandInterstellar.2001: A Space Odysseyestablished most of the most common tropes of the sci-fi space adventure genre and made waves in the industry with its groundbreaking effects. It is also inextricably linked with the late director Stanley Kubrick, while the rights to the material are still with Warner Bros.
2001: A Space Odysseyhas some tie-in novels and comics, as well as the movie sequel2010: The Year We Make Contact. The sequel achieved decent reviews (67% on Rotten Tomatoes) but is nowhere near as famous. Its under-the-radar status shows how important new technology is to making2001: A Space Odysseywork.2001: A Space Odysseycan’t be reproduced for entertainment alone;it would be lacking what made the original movie a hit.
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is one of Stanley Kubrick’s most well-known films. A science-fiction epic, the film tells the story of the journey of Discovery One, a spacecraft operated by a group of scientists, astronauts, and a sentient computer, on a mission to Jupiter to investigate a mysterious monolith. Considered one of the greatest films ever made, Kubrick combines sparse dialogue with the heavy use of scoring and ambiguous imagery to create something that eschews conventional filmmaking.
9Casablanca (1943)
Casablanca Is A WWII Movie Made During WWII
Casablancaaccomplished the impressive feat of delivering a movie during World War II that tastefully handled current events within the plot and was well received, becoming considered one of the best movies of all time.Casablancaprimarily focuses on the romance that would never last between the main characters,but part of Rick’s decision to let Ilsa go is because of what her husband will do for the war effort. The famous ending implies that Rick and Louis will do more things like this, but doesn’t feel the need to detail what that might be.
There are multipleunmadeCasablancasequels and remakes; shockingly, Warner Bros. discussed remaking it in 1973. Director François Truffaut possibly made an impression when he turned down the job because he couldn’t imagine replacing Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman because Warner Bros. never revisited the idea.Now, there has only been more time forCasablancato ferment as an iconic classic that cannot be touched,and remaking it is even more ludicrous.
Casablanca
Casablanca is a classic film set in December 1941, starring Humphrey Bogart as a cynical American expatriate in Morocco. When he encounters a former lover, portrayed by Ingrid Bergman, complicated personal and political tensions arise amidst the backdrop of World War II.
8The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Tim Burton Won’t Let A Nightmare Before Christmas Remake Happen
The possibility of a sequel toThe Nightmare Before Christmashas come up over the yearssince the first movie became a cult classic. Tim Burton (who created the idea for the movie but did not direct it) toldEmpirethat he is not interested in making any kind of sequel or reboot:“I feel like that old guy who owns a little piece of property and won’t sell to the big power-plant that wants to take my land.”This comment implies that Burton still has some legal sway over the rights toThe Nightmare Before Christmas.
However, remakingThe Nightmare Before Christmasas a live-action movie is laughablebecause the aesthetics created through stop-motion is part of its appeal. Remaking the movie in stop-motion (if anyone would think this worthwhile) would be a very long and tedious process that would ultimately accomplish nothing new. If Burton or Henry Selick felt like they had a valid story idea and wanted to put in the time to animate a sequel, it could work, but Burton is vehemently uninterested in this.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Henry Selick directs The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion fairytale from the mind of Tim Burton. Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween and one of Halloweentown’s most beloved citizens, but he longs for something more. When he stumbles across a magical door that leads him to discover Christmas, he makes it his mission to replace Santa Claus and bring festive cheer to his perpetually spooky hamlet.
It seems unlike that anyone would consider remakingDead Poets Society, simply out of respect for Robin Williams' legacy.Williams' performance as John Keating is already perfect,and there is no need to have another actor fail to live up to him. Some young stars, including Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard, are also forever associated with the movie, making it hard to recast their characters.Dead Poets Societywould also be very thematically complicated to remake today.
Many people consider Dead Poets Society a timeless classic, therefore remaking it would be a pointless endeavor.
Many have comparedDead Poets SocietytoThe Holdovers,which only shows that much ofDead Poets Societystill holds up today and doesn’t need to be rehashed in another movie. On the other hand,Dead Poets Societyshould also never be remadefor the contrasting reason that its approach is sometimes too idealized. Many people considerDead Poets Societya timeless classic, therefore remaking it would be a pointless endeavor.
Dead Poets Society
Set in an all-boys prep school in the 1950s, Dead Poets Society follows John Keating (Robin Williams), an English who inspires his students to appreciate poetry, think critically, and see life from a new perspective. The cast also includes Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Josh Charles.
6Apocalypse Now (1979)
Apocalypse Now’s Controversy & Success Is Precarious Ground To Retread
Apocalypse Nowis also a feat of scale and effects,rendering any remake redundant when it will just be replicating what was impressive because of novelty. Its skillful adaptation of the basicHeart of Darknessstory is impressive screenwriting, which may tempt filmmakers to try and accomplish something similar with the same or another classic novel (i.e., translating it into a completely different historical context). It is also attached to iconic actors including Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, and Harrison Ford, and is considered one of Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpieces.
Timing is also important to the movie’s effect, as it came out a few years after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.Apocalypse Nowwould be incredibly precarious to remake due to the many controversies surrounding its production,including real warfare happening at the same time (viaMovieWeb). An accurate summation would be that Coppola was lucky in many regards withApocalypse Now, and trying to recreate what made the movie a hit is a pipe dream.
Apocalypse Now
In Francis Ford Coppola’s classic Vietnam War film, loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, an army Captain is tasked with assassinating a rogue Colonel who has created a cult-like compound in the Cambodian jungle and is currently waging his own war outside the army’s purview. Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando star as Captain Willard and Colonel Kurtz respectively, with an ensemble cast that includes Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, and Dennis Hopper.
20 Great War Movies That Were Hugely Controversial
War movies can often be a heady mix of inspiring selflessness and brutal violence; it’s no wonder why they can often be controversial too.
5The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Would Not Be Complete Without The Original Cast & Director
In 2012,the estate of author Mario Puzo challenged Paramount Pictures for the rights toThe Godfatherto prevent the studio from making any more movies,but eventually lost the case (viaThe Hollywood Reporter). However, Paramount still seems to be treatingThe Godfatheras untouchable, while what legal sway Coppola has over the matter (or with any of his movies) is unclear. However, it is safe to say that there are manyreasonsThe Godfathercouldn’t be remade today.
The Godfatherwill forever be the product of the legendary actors and director who made itthe first time around, and any contemporary artists and performers would be fools to try to mimic them. It is still one of the most lauded movies ever made, and there is no point in giving people another movie when they can just watch the original. Additionally,The Godfatheris a very lengthy movie that might not capture people the same way today as it is just retelling a story they’ve already seen.
The Godfather
The Godfather chronicles the Italian-American Corleone crime family from 1945 to 1955. Following an assassination attempt on family patriarch Vito Corleone, his youngest son Michael emerges to orchestrate a brutal campaign of retribution, cementing his role in the family’s illicit empire.
4The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Remakes & Retellings Of The Wizard Of Oz Demand Something New
Admittedly,there are multipleWizard of Ozremakes in development,but they tend toward revamping the story and setting. Thenovels are in the public domain and probably will continue to spawn retellings likeTin ManorEmerald City. Warner Bros. has historically been very protective of the elements that originated with the movie (viaThe Hollywood Reporter). Kenya Barris is working on aWizard of Ozremakeat Warner Bros. and may have permission to utilize elements like the movie’s songs. However, the director has stressed that this will be a new take onThe Wizard of Oz.
The novels are in the public domain and probably will continue to spawn retellings like Tin Man or Emerald City.
In all this time,no one has actually tried to remake the firstWizard of Ozmovie beat for beat.The closest anyone came is the infamousReturn to Ozsequel. Like many other classic movies with their iconic leads,The Wizard of Ozis tied up with Judy Garland. It is also a product of its time, offering a story about hopeful escapism but returning home set and released at the end of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.The Wizard of Oz’s format is also a little outdated, too chipper to be taken seriously by today’s audience.
The Wizard of Oz
Based on Frank L. Baum’s book of the same name, The Wizard of Oz follows young Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) as she’s swept away to the magical land of Oz. Upon arriving, she falls afoul of a witch, then enlists the help of a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion in order to find the Wizard and get home to her family.
3The Princess Bride (1987)
The Princess Bride’s Older Style & Tone Are Part Of Its Charm
A lot of the story elements ofThe Princess Brideare outdated, demanding more explanation for why the characters do certain things. Aside from also being associated with iconic actors who can’t be replaced, its charm is founded upon being an older movie.The Princess Brideis a classic, swashbuckling adventure with many jokes that are still genuinely funny and a story that isn’t meant to be picked apart— which if it was remade, it certainly would be.
Notably,a retinue of A-list actors produced their own kind of fan-made version ofThe Princess Brideto raise money for charity during quarantine (viaVanity Fair). Of course, the point of this was to have fun and raise money, and get some samples of how today’s actors might read certain lines. None of them imagined themselves as replacements for Robin Wright or Mandy Patinkin, whose performances are immeasurably famous in movie history.
The Princess Bride
Based on the 1973 novel by William Goldman, The Princess Bride is a comical fantasy adventure film that tells a swashbuckling tale of a hero and a princess, read to a young, sick boy in bed by his grandfather. The story itself follows farmhand Westley, who embarks on an epic journey to save his beloved princess from an evil prince as he meets strange but reliable companions along the way.
2Star Wars (1977)
Amid All The Spinoffs & Sequels, No One Is Seriously Considering Remaking A New Hope
Since Disney won the rights to the franchise,theStar Warsuniverse is ever expanding.More and more sequels, prequels, and spinoffs have come to fruition, even recasting iconic characters, as was seen inSolo: A Star Wars Story. However, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has since said (viaThe Hollywood Reporter) that recasting was a mistake, implicitly ruling out ever doing a direct remake:“Maybe I should have recognized this before. We would never make Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. […] We also can’t go do something with Luke Skywalker that isn’t Mark Hamill.”
Director Matthew Vaughn thinks differently, having said (viaThe Hollywood Reporter):“Why are the characters so hallowed that from 1977 that you can’t re-do it for a new audience?”It’s safe to say thatStar Warsfans would not be pleased with this idea.The firstStar Warsmovie has stood the test of time,serving as the foundation of a franchise that has disappointed some people in recent years but will always be beloved. It tells a very classic story that changed cinema through introducing new filmmaking techniques and the setting of a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Star Wars is a seminal science fiction film released in 1977 that follows the quest of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo to rescue Princess Leia from the oppressive Imperial forces. They are aided by the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, as they strive to restore peace to the galaxy.
The 60 Best Movies Of All Time
Screen Rant breaks down the best movies of all time, from old classics to modern masterpieces across multiple genres of cinema.
1Citizen Kane (1941)
The “Greatest Movie Of All Time” Is Untouchable
Citizen Kaneis called"the greatest movie of all time,“which inherently means it can’t be remade. In an article now almost 15 years old,John Patterson suggested the idea of aCitizen Kaneremake based around the life of Rupert Murdoch(viaThe Guardian), as Charles Foster Kane was based on William Randolph Hearst, a name that would have represented something similar in the 1940s.Citizen Kanealso broke a lot of ground in cinema and a remake would inherently not have the same novelty.
Citizen Kane’s story and format wouldn’t land as well today, the plot twists would be redundant, and a remake may even disrupt the legacy of the original. Many classic movies are object lessons against the current mindset of Hollywood, where not everything has to be remade.Filmmakers can tell some powerful stories through some updated reboots,but studios should also consider original ideas.
Citizen Kane
Directed by and starring Orson Welles in his feature film debut, Citizen Kane tells the life story of Charles Foster Kane, a self-made business tycoon partially based on William Randolph Hearst. The film tells the story of Kane’s rise and fall from power, narratively framed by the sensation caused by death at the beginning and end of the film. Besides Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, and Ruth Warrick also star.
