The Magnificent Seven
It seems to me that Hollywood has got far too caught up in remaking great old movies rather than focusing on writing some brand new stories and creating great new characters.
For some reason they feel like they have to rehash the past because they can make these already great movies better.
Was Get Carter improved by the presence of Sylvester Stallone? No. In fact, it was a movie that was so terrible I can't even believe I mentioned it.
It seems that a remake of The Magnificent Seven is in the pipeline and this has led me to ask... what movies should NEVER be remade?
- The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is one of those films as it really is a terrific piece of cinema. I know that this movie is indeed a remake itself - based on Seven Samurai - but it really is one major big screen classic.
It has been reported that Denzel Washington is aboard the project, while Antoine Fuqua is believed to be in the director's chair.
Now I am a huge fan of Washington - and there's no doubt that he and Fuqua make a great team - but there is only one Magnificent Seven: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Horst Buchholz, Brad Dexter, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, and James Coburn.
The Magnificent Seven is a Western classic and I really don't see how this movie could ever be improved upon. Sort of begs the question, 'why are they even bothering?'
- Taxi Driver
'You talkin' to me?' is one of the most famous lines in cinema history and Travis Bickle is one of the most iconic anti-heroes.
It was back in 1976 when Taxi Driver hit the big screen starring Robert De Niro as Bickle and Martin Scorsese in the director's chair.
It is the post-Vietnam backdrop that makes this movie so powerful and Bickle the way that he is - this is one of the major reasons that this film could never be remade.
This remains the defining performance in De Niro's career - in my opinion - and no one would able to be step into these mighty shoes.
- The Goonies
For me at least The Goonies is one of the all-time kid adventure movies that is a must see for everyone growing up.
This is good old-fashioned adventure movie; treasure map, bad guys and a pirate ship. However, at the movie’s heart is friendship and films focuses on the innocence of childhood and their faith in the unlikely.
It’s a warm, fun, exciting movie that makes you remember what it was like to be a kid. To see this movie given a 21st century makeover with the special effects and CGI would see all the charm of the Richard Donner directed movie just fade away.
There has been a lot of talk of a sequel floating around this year, and while some are excited about seeing the gang together again, I am not. Leave this well alone!!!
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
We have already looked at one Western, and now we are going to look at another... of course, I am talking about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
This is one of my favourite movies of all time and it is one of the classic Western that has not been sullied by an inferior remake.
It's success was largely down to the sizzling chemistry of Robert Redford and Paul Newman, with Newman was at his roguish best and Redford mixing sex appeal with danger - hard to believe that they weren’t the original pairing.
Newman & Redford are one of the greatest film duos of all time, and the magic and chemistry that they created for this movie could never be re-captured.
- E.T.
It's hard to believe but E.T. is already thirty years old and yet it remains one of the greatest children's movies of all time.
Steven Spielberg has enjoyed major success both before and after the release of this movie, and I consider E.T. to be his finest moment as a filmmaker.
The thing about alien movies now is that they are driven by special effects, explosions, and battles and so on, while Steven Spielberg went down a very different track and made a very human story.
The most interesting part of this film is the acceptance and tolerance of the children - they didn’t care E.T. was from space he was their friend.
E.T. is a story of friendship, growing up, and loss and deserves to be labelled a classic. And I believe the special effects wizardry that would dominate a remake would destroy everything that makes this movie so special to so many people.
- Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter is widely regarded as one of the most romantic movies of all time and was released back in 1945.
David Lean was in the director's chair while Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard took on the central roles of Laura Jesson and Alex Harvey: who meet at a train station and fall in love.
The heart-breaking element of Brief Encounter is that the central characters believe in the marriage vows that they took - hence the reason why this film is as heart-breaking as it is.
I just don't think that a modern day setting for this type of romance would work. It is a beautiful and haunting movie that is a real great of this genre.
Other movies that should NEVER be touched include Gone With The Wind, Some Like It Hot, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and Rebel Without A Cause.
Tagged in The Goonies E.T.