Movie Top Ten Someone, take over the baton

[Karin Schill]

I know what you mean Sarah. Tom Cruise has never been a favorite of mine either. But he's a big star so I figured others must like him.

Anyway I have only watched three of his movies, all where he co-stars with Nicole Kidman. I would rank them like this:

1. Far and Away (1992)
2. Days of Thunder (1990)
3. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

3. The Color of Money (1986) (May I vote for this again, @Karin Schill?)

Yes you may.

 

[Karin Schill]

Last chance to add your Tom Cruise picks.

 

[Karin Schill]

Okay so your favorite Tom Cruise movie is:


Rain Man (1988)
This is an american road comedy-drama movie. In the movie Tom Cruise portrays Charlie, a selfish young wheeler dealer. After his father dies he finds out that he has an autistic older brother named Raymond who has inherited all of their father's money. Charlie tries to gain control over the money but ends up forming a relationship with his brother instead. So it's really a tale about two brother's relationship where one has a mental diagnosis. The movie was the highest grossing movie of the year it came out and it won 4 Oscars, including Best Picture the following year.

You gave it a total of: 56 points.

Here's a trailer for the winning movie:

And here's the rest of the list:

A Few Good Men (1992) 41 p.
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) 30 p.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) 26 p.
Interview with a Vampire (1994) 25 p.
Mission: Impossible (1996) 24 p.
Minority Report (2012) 22 p.
Top Gun (1986) 20 p.
Far and Away (1992) 19 p.
Cocktail (1988) 15 p.
Oblivion (2013) 15 p.
The Color of Money (1986) 14 p.
Vanilla Sky (2001) 14 p.
The Firm (1993) 13 p.
Magnolia (1999) 13 p.
War of the Worlds (2005) 13 p.
Valkyrie (2008) 12 p.


Knight & Day (2010) 10 p.
Days of Thunder (1990) 9 p.
Legend (1985) 8 p.
Mission: Impossible II (2000) 6 p.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) 6 p.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) 6 p.
Collateral (2004) 5 p.
Risky Business (1983) 5 p.
The Last Samurai (2003) 4 p.
The Outsiders (1983) 2 p.
Lions for Lambs (2007) 2 p.
Jack Reacher (2012) 2 p.


Thank you to everyone who participated in this round.

 

[Karin Schill]

Best Remakes

A remake is a film or television series that is based on an earlier work that tells the same or a very similar story. The term remake is most commonly applied to a movie which draws upon an earlier movie as its main source material. Most remakes make significant character, plot, genre or theme changes. Not all remakes use the same title as the earlier work.


Totals: Sunday

 

[Toni]

Great choice again @Karin Schill! One question though: Should we mention both remake movies and series indistinctly or maybe let one of them for another Top Ten?

 

[Karin Schill]

You can mix movies and TV-series for this one if you'd like. Just make sure to write in bracets if it's a TV-series.

Also it's actually @Willie Oleson choice, so thanks for that.

 

[Ms Southworth]

@Karin Schill - You really should take the time to watch "Rainman"! It was one of the best movies in the 80s. Tom Cruise did a great job in that movie, but Dustin Hoffman did an amazing job playing a man with autism! Now, I've taken you up on your advice and ordered an Elizabeth Taylor DVD boxset with four of her movies. And now you should take my advice: Watch "Rainman"
Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

 

[Emelee]

I took films from Wikipedia's list(s):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_film_remakes_A-M
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_film_remakes_N-Z

1. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) - remake of The Incredible Journey (1963)
2. Ocean's Eleven (2001) - remake of Ocean's 11 (1960)
3. Walt Disney's Robin Hood (1973) - remake of Robin Hood (1912)
4. Chicago (2002) - remake of Chicago (1927)
5. City of Angels (1998) - remake of Wings of Desire (1987)
6. Vanilla Sky (2001) - remake of Abre Los Ojos (1997)
7. The Parent Trap (1998) - remake of The Parent Trap (1961)
8. Fatal Attraction (1987) - remake of Diversion (1980)
9. Waterloo Bridge (1940) - remake of Waterloo Bridge (1931)
10. Meet Joe Black (1998) - remake of Death Takes a Holiday (1934)

 

[Willie Oleson]

You can mix movies and TV-series

How about 2 Top Tens: movie remakes and (mini-)series remakes?

1. 101 Dalmatians (1996)
2. Scarface (1983)
3. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
4. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
5. Poseidon (2006)
6. The Jackal (1997)
7. Beauty And The Beast (2014)
8. Clash Of The Titans (2010)
9. King Kong (2005)
10. The Wicker Man (2006) (The first time I watched this movie I hated it, the second time I loved it)


I like these remakes better than the original movies, except #1 and #10.

 

[Karin Schill]

@Karin Schill - You really should take the time to watch "Rainman"! It was one of the best movies in the 80s. Tom Cruise did a great job in that movie, but Dustin Hoffman did an amazing job playing a man with autism! Now, I've taken you up on your advice and ordered an Elizabeth Taylor DVD boxset with four of her movies. And now you should take my advice: Watch "Rainman"
Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Thanks for your recommendation. It's funny since I was just thinking yesterday when looking at the trailer that the movie seemed pretty good and might be worth a watch.
Unfortunately I won't have the time to watch it for the time being though as I've already got a pile of approx 30 DVD's with movies that I have never watched!
But yeah I'll keep it in mind the next time I shop for new DVD's.

Also I'm curious, which four movies with Elizabeth did you get?

How about 2 Top Tens: movie remakes and (mini-)series remakes?

Well that could work except that I was actually planning on adding Buffy to my list of remakes and it's a Tv-series. So it doesn't fit into either one of those categories. But it's hands down my favorite remake. So I would rather just leave this category wide, where you can include both movies and tv-series for this one.

 

[Angela Channing]

Although not specified in the criteria given for remakes, I've only included films for which I have also seen the original and thought the remake was superior:

1. The Ring (2002) Remake of Ringu (1998)
2. Hairspray (2007) Remake of Hairspray (1988)
3. The Wizard of Oz (1939) Remake of The Wizard of Oz (1923)
4. Imitation of Life (1959) Remake of Imitation of Life (1934)
5. Some Like It Hot (1959) Remake of Fanfare D'amour (1938)
6. The Blue Veil (1951) Remake of Le Voile Bleu (1942)
7. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
8. Scent of A Woman (1992) Remake of Profumo Di Donna (1974)
9. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Remake of Le Dernier Tournant (1939)
10. Pocketful of Miracles (1961) Remake of Lady For A Day (1933)

 

[Willie Oleson]

But there are so many movies to choose from...and what if a tv-series becomes the favourite movie remake?

 

[Karin Schill]

Well I think that's always the case with any genre, that there's a lot more movies to chose from than when we focus on the body of work of an actor or director.

 

[Angela Channing]

But there are so many movies to choose from...and what if a tv-series becomes the favourite movie remake?

I don't get how TV series fit into this. I thought the definition given earlier was a good one:

The term remake is most commonly applied to a movie which draws upon an earlier movie as its main source material.

A film can be based on a TV series (for which we already did a Top 10) but I don't see how a TV series can be remade as a film. Also, a TV series based on a film is neither a film nor is it a remake; it's a TV series based on a film.

To be a remake it has to cover the same general plot as the original. If it just uses characters and settings of the original film but follows a completely different story, then it's based on or inspired by the original film but is not a remake of it.

 

[Karin Schill]

Also I think my remakes list would look something like this:

1. Mogambo (1953)
2. Elsa & Fred (2014)
3. The Parent Trap (1998)
4. The Grudge (2004)
5. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
6. Waterloo Bridge (1940)
7. An Affair To Remember (1956)
8. Paris When it Sizzles (1964)
9. The Birdcage (1998)
10. The Rains of Ranchipur (1955)

 

[Karin Schill]

I don't get how TV series fit into this. I thought the definition given earlier was a good one:



A film can be based on a TV series (for which we already did a Top 10) but I don't see how a TV series can be remade as a film. Also, a TV series based on a film is neither a film nor is it a remake; it's a TV series based on a film.

To be a remake it has to cover the same general plot as the original. If it just uses characters and settings of the original film but follows a completely different story, then it's based on or inspired by the original film but is not a remake of it.

Gosh now I am confused. I guess it's the way they keep labelling TV-series based on films as "Remakes" that screws things up for me.
Anyway you make a good point about why we should only list films in this round.
So I guess I need to amend my list. *sigh*

 

[Willie Oleson]

Of course there are examples of made-for-TV mini-series that are remakes of older movies, "The Shining" for example (this remake happens to be one of the worst, but that's not the point right now).
But then "East Of Eden (1981)" wouldn't qualify as a remake because it's so different from the movie.

 

[Toni]

Remakes, when are well done, are a category of their own inside the movie history. As those of you who have already posted your choices (esp. @Angela Channing!) know, most stories were translated to the big screen before the second World War, and what came after that were more or less sophisticated remakes.

Here is my list:

1. A Star Is Born (1954) - remake of A Star Is Born (1937)
2. Cat People (1982) - remake of Cat People (1942)
3. Against All Odds (1984) - remake of Out of the Past (1947)
4. Breathless (1983) - remake of À Bout de Souffle (1960)
5. Cape Fear (1991) - remake of Cape Fear (1962)
6. Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - remake of Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
7. Rich and Famous (1981) - remake of Old Acquaintance (1943)
8. The Letter (1940) - remake of The Letter (1929)
9. Intermezzo (1939) - remake of Intermezzo (1936)
10. Vanilla Sky (2001) - remake of Abre Los Ojos (1997)

 

[Angela Channing]

Of course there are examples of made-for-TV mini-series that are remakes of older movies, "The Shining" for example (this remake happens to be one of the worst, but that's not the point right now).
But then "East Of Eden (1981)" wouldn't qualify as a remake because it's so different from the movie.

I'm sure there are some examples of films that have been remade as a TV series that "tells the same or a very similar story", to use the definition given earlier, but mostly they have to be expanded, often with additional characters and sub plots that weren't in the original film to fill out the greater amount of hours for which TV series run. An example is Bates Motel which is based on Psycho and although this TV series will include the events that occurred in film, so much more of the storyline is completely new material that it couldn't reasonably be considered to be a remake of the film.

Anyway, it's not really that important, I'm just offering my opinion. I think different people have a different idea of what constitutes a remake.

 

[Willie Oleson]

but mostly they have to be expanded, often with additional characters and sub plots that weren't in the original film to fill out the greater amount of hours for which TV series run

Well, in those days we had the 3 or 4 hours mini-series. Salem's Lot 2004 is 3 hours and I don't recall any additional plotlines.

But Lord Of The Rings is a cinema movie and it's also 3 hours. (who has the patience to sit in a cinema for 3 hours????).
20 years ago this would have been a mini-series.