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Aremake is afilm,television series,video game,song or similar form ofentertainment 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".[1] A remake tells the same story as the original but uses a differentset of casts, and may use actors from the original, alter thetheme, or change the flow andsetting of the story. In addition, since a remake is released some time after the original work, it may incorporate new technologies, enhancements, and techniques that had not existed or been commonly used when the original work was created.[2][3][4][5] Similar but not synonymous terms arereimagining orreboot, which indicates a greater discrepancy between, for example, a movie and the movie it is based on.[6]
Afilm remake uses an earlier movie as its main source material, rather than returning to the earlier movie's source material. The 2001 filmOcean's Eleven is a remake of 1960'sOcean's 11, while 1989'sBatman is a re-interpretation of the comic book source material which also inspired 1966'sBatman. In 1998,Gus Van Sant produced analmost shot-for-shot remake ofAlfred Hitchcock's 1960 filmPsycho. The 2025 filmSnow White is alive-action remake of theanimated 1937 filmSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
With the exception ofshot-for-shot remakes, most remakes make significant changes in character, plot, genre, and theme.[7] For example, the 1968 filmThe Thomas Crown Affair is centered on a bank robbery, while its1999 remake involves the theft of a valuable painting. The 1999 remake ofThe Mummy was viewed primarily as a "reimagining" in a different genre (adventure).
Similarly, when the 1969 filmThe Italian Job wasremade in 2003, few aspects were carried over. Another example is the 1932 filmScarface which wasremade in 1983 starringAl Pacino; the 1932 version is about the illegal alcohol trade, while the characters in the 1983 version are cocaine smugglers.[8]
Sometimes a remake is made by the same director. For example,Yasujirō Ozu's black-and-whiteA Story of Floating Weeds was remade into the colorFloating Weeds. Hitchcock remade his 1934 black-and-whiteThe Man Who Knew Too Much in colorin 1956.[9]Tick Tock Tuckered, released in 1944, was a color remake ofPorky's Badtime Story, released in 1937 withDaffy Duck inGabby Goat's role.Cecil B. DeMille managed the same thing with his1956 remake of his silent 1923 filmThe Ten Commandments.Sam Raimi directedEvil Dead 2 in 1987, a quasi-remake of his 1981 filmThe Evil Dead, blending original elements with an emphasis on comedy.[10] In 2007,Michael Haneke' remakeFunny Games, was anEnglish-language remake of his originalGerman-languageFunny Games (this is also an example of a shot-for-shot remake), whileMartin Campbell, director of the miniseriesEdge of Darkness, directed the2010 film adaptation.
Not all remakes use the same title as the previously released version; the 1966 filmWalk, Don't Run, for example, is a remake of theWorld War II comedyThe More the Merrier. This is particularly true for films that are remade from films produced in another language such asPoint of No Return (from the FrenchLa Femme Nikita),Vanilla Sky (from the SpanishAbre los ojos),The Magnificent Seven (from the JapaneseSeven Samurai),A Fistful of Dollars (from the JapaneseYojimbo),The Departed (from Hong Kong'sInfernal Affairs),Secret in Their Eyes (from the ArgentineEl secreto de sus ojos),Let Me In (from the SwedishLet the Right One In orLåt den rätte komma in), andThe Ring (from the JapaneseRing).[11]
Remakes are rarelysequels 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 ofShaft, which was the second film adaptation of theoriginal novel but was also a canon storyline sequel to theoriginal 1971 film adaptation. The 2013 remake ofEvil Dead was also a storyline sequel, featuring a post-credits cameo fromAsh Williams.
The Italian filmPerfect Strangers (Perfetti sconosciuti; 2016) was included in theGuinness World Records as it became the most remade film in cinema history, with a total of 18 versions of the film.[12]
Remakes occur less often on television than in film, because television mostly favours the concept of "reviving" a series instead. But some remakes have happened from time to time, especially in the early 21st century. Examples includeBattlestar Galactica (2003),He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002),Nikita (2010),V (2009),Hawaii Five-0 (2010), andCharlie's Angels (2011).
One area where television remakes are particularly common is remakingBritish shows for the American market or, less frequently,American shows for the British market. For example,Three's Company is an American remake of the BritishMan About the House: not only was the original show re-created (with very few characters or situation changes initially), but both series hadspin-offs based onthe Ropers (in the United Kingdom,George and Mildred, in the United States,The Ropers), and both series were eventually re-tooled into series based on the male lead (in the United Kingdom,Robin's Nest, in the United States,Three's a Crowd). The British sitcomTill Death Us Do Part inspired the AmericanAll in the Family, whileAll in the Family's spin-offMaude was remade in the United Kingdom asNobody's Perfect.
Another example is the long-running American sitcomThe Office (2005–2013), which was a remake of the 2001 BBC sitcomof the same name. The American version'spilot episode followed its British counterpart "nearly verbatim", though later episodes had their own unique plot.[13] The American television showThe Killing is aninvestigative crime drama based on the Danish seriesForbrydelsen.[14]
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 asResident Evil 2 in 2019 (followed byResident Evil 3 in 2020) andFinal Fantasy VII Remake in 2020, these strict notions are being called into question and brought into a broader perspective. This can even be seen as early as 2004 with the release ofMetal 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 calledfan games and can be seen as part of theretrogaming phenomenon.
Master of Arts Dissertation, Mass Communication; This study looks at the change in controversial content in films during the 20th century. Original films made prior to 1968 and their remakes produced after were compared in the content areas of profanity, nudity, sexual content, alcohol and drug use, and violence.
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