MAWOR UNITED: Original vs. Remake

(Movie poster for the original 1971 Straw Dogs)

(Movie poster of the upcoming remake of Straw Dogs)

2011 has been filled with remakes galore.

The Mechanic (remake of 1972's original starring Charles Bronson) with Jason Statham started things off for the year.

Arthur (remake of 1981's original starring Dudley Moore) with Russell Brand came next

followed by:

Conan (remake of 1982's original starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) with Jason Momoa

Fright Night (remake of 1985's original starring Chris Sarandon) with Colin Farrell

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (remake of 1973's original)

and the upcoming:

Footloose (remake of 1984's original starring Kevin Bacon) with Kenny Wormald in October

and

Opening this weekend, Straw Dogs (remake of 1971's original starring Dustin Hoffman) with James Marsden.

I enthusiastically admit, I LOVE remakes!

Most movie enthusiasts would scoff at the announcement of a remake believing it couldn't possible be better than the original, or that a classic film shouldn't be touched, tweaked, revamped, remade.

I half agree.

There are some films I believe are so perfect in my eyes, they should never be considered for a remake:

Alfred Hitchcok's The Birds
Roman Polanksi's Rosemary's Baby
(although there have been remake rumors for both classics above, in the future)
James Cameron's Titanic
Andrew Davis' The Fugitive
Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way
and Spike Lee's Malcolm X
are at the top of that list.

But at the same time I would still be excited to see a new director and set of actors/actresses' spin on them.

I love remakes for that reason: to see what direction the director and an actor/actress will go in: Will the remake stray far from the original film? Or will the remake be almost identical to the original? Will an actor/actress be worse than the actor/actress in the original role? Or better?

I find it fun noting the differences and the similarities- if any odes to the original are made within the remake.

Originals however, are always wonderful (not saying every original vs. its' remake is great) because without the original, there wouldn't be a remake.

Originals however aren't always wonderful.

Of course sometimes, the remake film is better.

Because Straw Dogs remake is about to open I wanted to see the original.

I saw it and didn't really like it.
(Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXkqGVfm1mo)

The remake's trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2hARaDrISg) looks better.
I have a feeling I'll enjoy the remake a lot more than the original.

The upcoming Footloose remake however could be a made-for-t.v. movie compared to the original.

With remakes, there's always a chance the remake will be horrible but, there's also a chance it will be up to par or even better than the original.

Remakes I've seen, enjoyed and dub better than the original film are:

The Last House
on the Left