Film remakes

1957


2007

Both "work". Personally prefer the early one because of the casting more than anything else.

I recently watched 13 Tzameti (2005). It is a French film, written and directed by the Georgian Géla Babluani and starring his younger brother George Babluani. I liked it, and would recommend it. But not to our 'white picket fence and pumpkin pie' members, as it is an impassive depiction of horrific acts. Many have called it 'cynical' but I would rather describe it as amoral. It is minimally budgeted, black and white, and vaguely like early Polanski movies.

I now see that it was remade in 2010 by the same director as 13 in English and in colour, Hollywood style, and with a huge cast, including Sam Riley, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Ray Winstone, Ben Gazzara, Michael Shannon and 50 cent. That cast-list suggests an effort to appeal to the 'Death Race violence porn' audience.

In the original version, only the protagonist and two other characters are portrayed in any depth, and those two others vanish from the story a third the way in. All the other participants are briefly sketched with little or no explanation for their odd and vile actions. In the remake many characters are rounded out with back-stories in flash-backs, some with partial vindication. Yet both films have the same running time, 93 minutes. That the later film can cram in so much more material speaks volumes for teenage and American preferences as to cutting and exposition.

For me, the original only gets away with the violence and the absurdities of the plot because we are in an almost oneiric state. The protagonist is dazed throughout (once the action proper starts) and the other characters come and go as if in a shadow-play. If we had to think about their motivations and back-stories in technicolor we would say, 'Hang on, this is absurd' or 'this is exploitatory'.

Ben-Hur


1907

1925

1959

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Selected film and stage adaptations
Ben-Hur (play) debuted on Broadway in New York City on November 29, 1899.
Ben Hur (1907 film) is a silent film short.
Ben-Hur (1925 film) is an MGM silent film starring Ramon Novarro; it premiered in New York City on December 20, 1925.
Ben-Hur (1959 film) is an MGM sound film starring Charlton Heston; it premiered in New York City on November 18, 1959.
Ben Hur (2003 film) is an animated direct-to-video film featuring the voice of Charlton Heston
Ben Hur Live is a 2009 stage adaptation.
Ben Hur (TV miniseries) is a 2010 adaptation.
Ben-Hur (2016 film) is a film adaptation for MGM and Paramount Pictures, released worldwide after August 17, 2016.

Based on the Zane Grey novel ... plot summaries indicate that some are based more loosely than others

Riders of the Purple Sage (1996) (TV Movie)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1941)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1931)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1925)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1918)

Cyrano de Bergerac 1950


1990


2021


Roxanne (1987) - wonderfully inspired by CdB

La Otra , aka The Other One (1946) Mexico Dir. Roberto Gavaldón. An excellent twin sister dark drama starring Dolores del Río.
The 96-page script titled "The Other Woman" and was written by José Revueltas, Jack Wagner and director Roberto Gavaldón. Apparently owned by Warner Bros, it is the same script used for the film Dead Ringer (1964).
                                                                             
Remade in 1964 as Dead Ringer, directed by Paul Henreid, starring Bette Davis.
                                                                                                            

Warners decided to not make the film with Davis in the 1940's because the story was similar to a film Davis had just made, A Stolen Life (1946).