A remake is a
film,
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
,
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
,
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...
or similar form of
entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same story as the original but uses a different
cast
Cast may refer to:
Music
* Cast (band), an English alternative rock band
* Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band
* The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis
* ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William
...
, and may alter the theme or change the story's
setting. A similar but not synonymous term is reimagining, which indicates a greater discrepancy between, for example, a movie and the movie it is based on.
Film
A
film remake
A film remake is a film based on a previous production.
The concept is popular with film studios and production companies because it reduces the financial risks, as fans of the original work are likely to want to see something similar to the film ...
uses an earlier movie as its main source material, rather than returning to the earlier movie's source material.
2001's ''
Ocean's Eleven
''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The ...
'' is a remake of 1960's ''
Ocean's 11
''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. The film stars five of the Rat Pack ...
'', while 1989's ''
Batman'' is a re-interpretation of the comic book source material which also inspired 1966's ''
Batman''. In 1998,
Gus Van Sant produced an
almost shot-for-shot remake of
Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film ''
Psycho''.
With the exception of
shot-for-shot
Shot-for-shot (or shot-for-shot adaptation, shot-for-shot remake) is a way to describe a visual work that is transferred almost completely identically from the original work without much interpretation.
Production uses
In the film industry, most ...
remakes, most remakes make significant changes in character, plot, genre, and theme. For example, the 1968 film ''
The Thomas Crown Affair'' is centered on a bank robbery, while its
1999 remake involves the theft of a valuable painting. The 1999 remake of ''
The Mummy'' was viewed primarily as a "reimagining" in a different genre (adventure).
Similarly, when the 1969 film ''
The Italian Job
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...
'' was
remade in 2003, few aspects were carried over. Another example is the 1932 film ''
Scarface'' which was
remade in 1983 starring
Al Pacino; the 1932 version is about the illegal alcohol trade, while the characters in the 1983 version are cocaine smugglers.
Sometimes a remake is made by the same director. For example,
Yasujirō Ozu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...
's black-and-white ''
A Story of Floating Weeds'' was remade into the color ''
Floating Weeds
is a 1959 Japanese drama directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Nakamura Ganjirō II and Machiko Kyō. It is a remake of Ozu's own black-and-white silent film ''A Story of Floating Weeds'' (1934) and considered one of the greatest films ever made. ...
''. Alfred Hitchcock remade his 1934 black-and-white ''
The Man Who Knew Too Much'' in color
in 1956. ''
Tick Tock Tuckered'', released in 1944, was a color remake of ''
Porky's Badtime Story'', released in 1937 with
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
in Gabby Goat's role.
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
managed the same thing with his
1956 remake of his silent 1923 film ''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
''. In 2008,
Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...
made ''
Funny Games U.S.'', his
English-language remake of his original ''
Funny Games'' (this is also an example of a shot-for-shot remake), while
Martin Campbell
Martin Campbell (born 24 October 1943) is a New Zealand film and television director based in the United Kingdom. He is known for having directed '' The Mask of Zorro'' as well as the James Bond films '' GoldenEye'' and '' Casino Royale''. He ...
, director of the miniseries ''
Edge of Darkness
''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...
'', directed the
2010 film adaptation.
Not all remakes use the same title as the previously released version; the 1966 film ''
Walk, Don't Run
''Walk, Don't Run'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton. The film, which was Grant's last film role, is set during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It is a remake ...
'', for example, is a remake of the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
comedy ''
The More the Merrier
''The More the Merrier'' is a 1943 American comedy film by Columbia Pictures starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn, and directed by George Stevens. The film script — from "Two's a Crowd", an original screenplay by Garson Kan ...
''. This is particularly true for films that are remade from films produced in another language such as ''
Point of No Return
The point of no return (PNR or PONR) is the point beyond which one must continue on one's current course of action because turning back is dangerous, physically impossible or difficult, or prohibitively expensive. The point of no return can be a ...
'' (from the French ''
La Femme Nikita''), ''
Vanilla Sky
''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was written by Amenábar ...
'' (from the Spanish ''
Abre los ojos
''Open Your Eyes'' ( es, Abre los ojos, links=no) is a 1997 Spanish film co-written, co-scored and directed by Alejandro Amenábar and co-written by Mateo Gil. It stars Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez and Najwa Nim ...
''), ''
The Magnificent Seven
''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film ''Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...
'' (from the Japanese ''
Seven Samurai''), ''
A Fistful of Dollars
''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, ...
'' (from the Japanese ''
Yojimbo
is a 1961 Japanese Samurai cinema, samurai film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Ats ...
''), ''
The Departed
''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film '' Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Win ...
'' (from Hong Kong's ''
Infernal Affairs
''Infernal Affairs'' is a 2002 Hong Kong action thriller film co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Jointly written by Mak and Felix Chong, it stars Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. The film fo ...
''), ''
Secret in Their Eyes
''Secret in Their Eyes'' is a 2015 American thriller film written and directed by Billy Ray and a remake of the 2009 Argentine film of the same name, both based on the novel ''La pregunta de sus ojos'' by Eduardo Sacheri. The film stars Chiwete ...
'' (from the Argentine ''
El secreto de sus ojos''), ''
Let Me In'' (from the Swedish film ''
Let the Right One In'' or ''Låt den rätte komma in''), and ''
The Ring'' (from Japanese film ''
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
)''.
Remakes are rarely
sequels
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to the original film. In this situation, essentially the remake repeats the same basic story of the original film and may even use the same title, but also contains notable plot and storyline elements indicating the two films are set in "the same universe". An example of this type of remake is the 2000 film version of ''
Shaft,'' which was the second film adaptation of the original novel but was also a canon storyline sequel to the original 1971 film adaptation. The 2013 remake of ''
Evil Dead'' was also a storyline sequel, featuring a post-credits cameo from
Ash.
The Italian film ''
Perfect Strangers'' (''Perfetti sconosciuti''; 2016) was included in the
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as it became the most remade film in cinema history, with a total of 18 versions of the film.
Television
Remakes occur less often on television than in film, but have happened from time to time, especially in the early 21st century. Examples include ''
Battlestar Galactica'' (2003), ''
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anim ...
'' (2002), ''
La Femme Nikita'' (2010), ''
V'' (2009), ''
Hawaii 5-0'' (2010), and ''
Charlie's Angels'' (2011).
One area where television remakes are particularly common is remaking
British shows for the US market or, less frequently,
American shows for the UK. For example, ''
Three's Company
''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''.
The story revolves around three single room ...
'' is an American remake of the British ''
Man About the House
''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer that starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV from 15 August 1973 to 7 A ...
'': not only was the original show re-created (with very few characters or situation changes initially), but both series had
spin-offs
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...
based on the Ropers (in the UK, ''
George And Mildred
''George and Mildred'' is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from '' Man About the House'', and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple ...
'', in the US, ''
The Ropers
''The Ropers'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 22, 1980. It is a spin-off of ''Three's Company'' and loosely based on the British sitcom ''George and Mildred'', which was itself a spin-off of ...
''), and both series were eventually re-tooled into series based on the male lead (in the UK, ''
Robin's Nest'', in the US, ''
Three's a Crowd
''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from September 25 ...
''). The British sitcom ''
Till Death Us Do Part
''Till Death Us Do Part'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. The show was first broadcast in 1965 as a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot, then as seven series between 1966 and 1975. In 1981, ITV continued the sitcom ...
'' inspired the American ''
All in the Family
''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...
,'' while ''All in the Family''
's spin-off ''
Maude'' was remade in the UK as ''Nobody's Perfect.''
Another example is the long-running US sitcom ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series o ...
'' (2005-2013), which was a remake of the 2001 BBC sitcom
of the same name. The American version's
pilot episode followed its British counterpart "nearly verbatim," though later episodes had their own unique plot. The American television show ''
The Killing'' is an
investigative crime drama based on the Danish series ''
Forbrydelsen
''The Killing'' ( da, Forbrydelsen, lit=The Crime) is a Danish police procedural drama television series created by Søren Sveistrup and produced by DR in co-production with ZDF Enterprises. It premiered on the Danish national television chann ...
''.
Video games
A video game remake is a game that's built from the ground up. In some cases only models and environments are remade, while retaining the game's original code. Remakes are produced for the purpose of modernizing a game for newer hardware and new audiences. Typically, a remake of such game software shares its title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and core story elements with the original. With the advent of such notable video game remakes such as ''
Resident Evil 2
''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. The player controls Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon City after its citizens a ...
'' in 2019 (followed by ''
Resident Evil 3
''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' is a 1999 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It is the third game in the ''Resident Evil'' series and takes place almost concurrently ...
'' in 2020) and ''
Final Fantasy VII Remake
is a 2020 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. It is the first in a planned trilogy of games remaking the 1997 PlayStation game '' Final Fantasy VII''. Set in the dystopian cyberpunk metropolis of Midgar, playe ...
'' in 2020, these strict notions are being called into question and brought into a more broader perspective. This can even be seen as early as 2004 with the release of ''
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes'' as that title features newer gameplay additions and voice acting.
Remakes are often made by the original developer or copyright holder, although some are made by the fan community. If created by the community, video game remakes are sometimes also called fan games and can be seen as part of the retrogaming phenomenon.
See also
*
*
*
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of songs
References
{{Authority control
Film and video terminology
Television terminology