Movie Remakes That Surpassed the Original
TL;DR — The clearest cases: The Thing (1982), The Fly (1986), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Scarface (1983) and Ocean's Eleven (2001), all far better known than the films they remade. The Departed (2006) and True Grit (2010) are closer calls but won over most critics. What they share: a director with a real reason to retell the story, not just a famous title.
Get movie picks based on this article
Want a great movie for tonight, remake or not? Get picks matched to your mood.
Get movie picksTell us your mood. We'll do the picking.
8 quick questions. Real movie picks from real catalogs — not ads. Free, no sign-up.
Take the quizWhat the good remakes have in common
Almost every remake that beats its original does one of three things: uses new technology to show what the first film couldn't, moves the story somewhere it means something new, or goes back to the source book and does it properly. The list below notes which one applies.
Clear winners
The Maltese Falcon (1941). Warner Bros. had already filmed Dashiell Hammett's novel twice, in 1931 and as Satan Met a Lady (1936). John Huston's debut, with Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, stuck close to the book and became one of the first great film noirs. Back to the source.
The Thing (1982). The Thing from Another World (1951) had a man in a suit. John Carpenter returned to John W. Campbell's novella, where the alien can imitate anyone, and Rob Bottin's grotesque effects made the paranoia real. A box-office flop on release, now a horror landmark. New technology, back to the source.
The Fly (1986). David Cronenberg kept the 1958 film's premise, a teleport experiment gone wrong, but made it a slow transformation. Jeff Goldblum's decline is grotesque and heartbreaking, and the makeup won an Oscar. New technology.
Scarface (1983). Howard Hawks's 1932 original is a fine gangster film, but Brian De Palma and writer Oliver Stone's version, about a Cuban refugee in Miami's cocaine trade, became a pop-culture monument. New setting.
Ocean's Eleven (2001). The 1960 original is mostly an excuse for the Rat Pack to hang out. Steven Soderbergh's version, with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, is a genuinely clever heist with style to spare, and spawned two sequels. Better script.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). Philip Kaufman moved Don Siegel's 1956 small-town story to 1970s San Francisco, swapping Cold War paranoia for urban alienation, and ended on one of horror's most famous final shots. New setting.
Closer calls
The Departed (2006). Martin Scorsese relocated Hong Kong's Infernal Affairs (2002), about moles in the police and the mob, to Boston. It won Best Picture and Best Director. Plenty of fans still prefer the tighter, 101-minute original, so watch both. New setting.
True Grit (2010). The 1969 film won John Wayne his only Oscar. The Coen brothers went back to Charles Portis's novel, keeping its language and making 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) the real lead. It earned ten Oscar nominations. Back to the source.
Our verdict
Start with The Thing and The Fly, ideally back to back, then watch the 1950s originals to see how much each director changed. For something lighter, Ocean's Eleven.
Frequently asked questions
Is The Departed better than Infernal Affairs? It's debated. The Departed won four Oscars including Best Picture, but many critics and fans prefer the tighter Hong Kong original from 2002. Both are worth watching.
Why are most remakes worse than the original? Many are made to cash in on a famous title rather than because a filmmaker has something new to say. The good ones change the setting, the technology or the point of view.
Want a movie for tonight?
Our movie quiz can match one to your mood, with runtimes for each pick.