Film remake

A film remake is one that is based on a previous film.

It is popular with studios and production companies because it reduces the financial risks, as fans of the original work are likely to feel more comfortable going to see something that is already somewhat familiar to them.[1] Also, the original producer may still retain (and thus not have to pay again for) the film rights.[1]

Remakes may be near copies, such as Gus Van Sant's Psycho (1998), or they can introduce twists. In the original The Front Page (1931), a male newspaper editor tries to keep his male star reporter from quitting. In His Girl Friday (1940), not only is the reporter a woman, she is also the editor's ex-wife. Black Caesar (1973) is a blaxploitation retelling of Little Caesar (1931).

Technological advances are also a factor. A silent film can be redone as a "talkie", a black-and-white movie can be remade in color, or both. A regular 2D motion picture can be redone in 3D.

Walt Disney Pictures has remade or is planning to remake many of its animated classics as live-action productions, 24 as of October 2020.[2]

Remakes can be made in different languages. The English-language The Magnificent Seven (1960) is based on the Japanese-language Seven Samurai (1954). The former is also in color, whereas the latter is black-and-white.

Musical remakes are another possibility, though not always a successful one, as the critically panned 1973 Lost Horizon can attest to.