8 Universally Beloved Movies Nobody Wants to See a Remake Of
In Hollywood, making money is often more important than all else. That’s why cinemas are filled with so many sequels and comic book movies. An already established IP is easier to sell than something audiences have never heard of before. It’s the same reason why there are so many reboots and remakes. There was a wave of them in horror throughout the 2000s, and there continues to be across all genres with mixed results. For every success, such as Dune, there’s an unnecessary Disney live-action reboot, or a disastrous reimagining, like The Crow. Bill Skarsgård‘s turn as Eric Draven wasn’t exactly awful, but no one wanted to see a reboot of what Brandon Lee created. Some movies mean so much to audiences that they want them left alone forever. These eight classics fall into that category.
‘The Princess Bride’ (1987)
The late Rob Reiner went through a streak of directing perfection throughout the 80s and 90s with instant classics like Stand by Me, Misery, and A Few Good Men, but for those who grew up with it, there’s a special place in the hearts of fans for The Princess Bride. Written by the legendary William Goldman, the fantasy film deftly blends adventure, comedy, and romance in the story of Westley’s (Cary Elwes) rescue of Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright).
There were rumors of a reboot of The Princess Bride years ago, which thankfully never came to be. How do you recapture the 80s magic? It’s a moment in time movie that can’t be redone with different actors to the same effect. There’s no one who can do what Mandy Patinkin and Wallace Shawn pulled off. Now, with Reiner sadly no longer with us, any idea of a remake should be put to rest forever. To make one now would be disrespectful to his legacy.
‘The Goonies’ (1985)
The Goonies is another 80s childhood classic which should never be touched. Not only is it for kids, but it stars them, making actors such as Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, and Corey Feldman huge stars. Based on a story by Steven Spielberg, written by Chris Columbus, and directed by Richard Donner, The Goonies sees a group of kids going on an adventure to save their homes by following a map that will take them to a pirate’s treasure.
There is absolutely no need for a remake of The Goonies. To do so would be to ignore what made the original so compelling. It’s not as easy as retelling the story. It’s the actors who make the journey so memorable. How could anyone else do what Jeff Cohen did as Chunk, or capture the energy of Ke Huy Quan’s Data? Any attempt would be cheap parody. Like Rob Reiner, Richard Donner is no longer around. Leaving one of his greatest movies alone is the best way to honor him.
‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
For many, the first movie they ever saw or which made an impact on their lives was The Wizard of Oz. If you’re of a certain age, it’s what you watched every Thanksgiving on network TV. The Wizard of Oz was a larger-than-life spectacle, and it still is. The magic transcends across generations. Based on L. Frank Baum‘s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming somehow made this film and Gone With the Wind in the same year. As big as the latter is, even it can’t touch the fantastical journey Dorothy (Judy Garland) goes on.
There have been reimagining of sorts of The Wizard of Oz with Return to Oz and The Wiz, but an exact reboot of the movie that started it all wouldn’t work. It would be like reshaping an important part of your life with the flat gloss of modern Hollywood. The shock of seeing black and white turn into color would no longer hit. Seeing someone else sing the same songs Garland did only mimics the beauty of her performance. Continue to tell other stories in the world, like Wicked successfully did, but leave one of the most important movies ever made alone.
‘The Sound of Music’ (1965)
Image via Twentieth Century Fox
Another movie which has been passed down by families for decades is The Sound of Music. Robert Wise‘s musical, written by Ernest Lehman, delivered a top-tier performance from Julie Andrews as Maria, the nun who takes care of the seven von Trapp kids while falling in love with their widowed father, Georg (Christopher Plummer). Set in Austria during the rise of Nazism, the movie combines the seriousness of war with the joy of falling in love, all told with beautiful songs.
The Sound of Music is steeped in nostalgia. To even attempt to reboot it would be ludicrous. There is no way to improve on what Julie Andrews pulled off. Any poor actress who took that risk would be set up for immediate failure and ridicule. If you want to see The Sound of Music, go check out showings of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s musical and be swept away in a live performance of the story. As for the movie, perfection shouldn’t be touched.
‘The Godfather’ (1972)
The Godfather is not a movie any kid should ever watch, but what it means to cinema history is just as important. Based on Mario Puzo‘s novel of the same name, Francis Ford Coppola‘s film ruled the 70s and is still regarded as a perfect masterpiece. The drama of the changing Corleone family delivered Marlon Brando‘s most famous role and turned Al Pacino into a mega star. How does any director or actor approach that?
The Godfather is untouchable. That era of early 70s filmmaking had a sense of grit which can’t be so easily replicated. What Coppola did was masterful. The performances can’t be duplicated either. Pacino and James Caan were so great that they launched decades-long careers at the top. As for Brando, how he approached Vito Corleone’s speech patterns became one of the most imitated in history. For any actor to try to play Vito would be seen only as a bad parody of Brando. Refuse any offer for this reboot.
‘Forrest Gump’ (1994)
Tom Hanks was on quite the run in the early to mid 90s. After winning a Best Actor Oscar for Philadelphia in 1993, he followed it up with an even more challenging film. Forrest Gump, an adaptation of Winston Groom‘s novel, is an enthralling lifelong journey about a mentally disabled man who doesn’t let his perceived shortcomings slow him down. It was one of the biggest, most quoted movies of 1994 and resulted in another Oscar for Hanks.
A Forrest Gump remake wouldn’t work today for a few different reasons. There is, of course, no way to improve on what Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis accomplished. Their movie works because it feels so fresh. Nothing quite like this, with its wide scope and unique character, had been done before. Remake it and the magic is lost. At the same time, it’s a movie which couldn’t be made today because a Hollywood actor playing someone who is mentally disabled is now seen as offensive. Any attempt would be immediately rejected.
‘Jaws’ (1975)
Steven Spielberg‘s Jaws invented the summer blockbuster. The director was still in his 20s when he crafted the classic horror action movie about a coastal town held hostage by the attacks of a killer great white shark. Spielberg used John Williams‘ phenomenal score to make up for the lack of seeing the monster for so long. At its heart, Jaws is a character-driven film more than a killer shark horror flick thanks to the performances of Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw.
Jaws launched a franchise, with each sequel worse than the one before it until the studio finally gave up. This didn’t mean that the appetite for shark movies went away, though. There have been countless ones made over the decades. That’s exactly why there doesn’t need to be another Jaws. The genre is being done elsewhere already. Jaws is about the score, characters, and setting. To remake it means showing the shark as soon as possible, completely changing the tone and what Spielberg was going for.
‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
No movie quite defines “movie magic” like Back to the Future. Robert Zemeckis’ film, which he co-wrote with Bob Gale, could have been a disaster with Eric Roberts in the lead role of Marty McFly. It changed when Michael J. Fox came on board. Suddenly, Back to the Future was light and cool, with a badass DeLorean time-travel machine, and a fun partnership with the quirky Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd). Everything came together beautifully to create perfection.
Back to the Future became a thrilling trilogy, but after three movies, everyone wisely decided to stop while they were ahead. It’s a world that has never been returned to in a feature film. It should stay that way forever. Like Jaws isn’t all about a shark, Back to the Future isn’t about time travel. It’s the high-energy story and the well-written characters we keep coming back for in rewatches. No one can copy what Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd did. From the supporting cast, to the impeccable writing, and the heartwarming score from Alan Silvestri, there will never be a way to outdo the past.
