I caught the end of a discussion on NPR about movie sequels, and it got me thinking about movie remakes. The ones I enjoy the most – in no particular order, because I keep changing my mind about which is my favorite – are:
*all the various remakes of “The Front Page,” whether starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O’Brien or Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau or Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in “His Girl Friday;”
*the remake of my favorite classic madcap comedy “Bringing up Baby,” starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, updated as “What’s up, Doc?”with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal;
*”To Be or Not to Be,” remade by Mel Brooks and Anna Bancroft from the original which starred Jack Benny and Carole Lombard,
Honorable mentions:
*the 3 remakes titled “A Star Is Born,” reinterpreted from the original “What Price Hollywood?”;
*”King Kong,” cheesy but enjoyable.
*“Planet of the Apes,” with an interesting backstory;
NB: I’m not including Disney’s live action remakes of animated films like “Beauty and the Beast,” or foreign language films transformed into English versions, such as “La Cage aux Folle,” which became “The Birdcage.”
rabbi.author 
Comments on: "MOVIE REMAKES" (3)
Any thoughts about the various versions of “The Jazz Singer,” whether the three films — Jolson, Danny Thomas, Neil Diamond — or the television version, which starred Jerry Lewis?
These were my favorite remakes. Jazz Singer, apart from its historic significance, doesn’t make my list. It’s a bit too schmaltzy for me. Not that A Star Is Born isn’t schmaltzy, but I like it better. Purely subjective.
I just heard there’s another remake of Father of the Bride, and I’m pissed off. First Steve Martin ruined it, and now it is being ruined yet again by some other group – this one racially diverse. Now, nice about the diversity but the original was amazing, so KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF THE ORIGINAL! Spencer Tracey is perfect and NO ONE can beat his version.