“I did not think the original was really all that brilliant.”
Agree.
The best sci-fi films of the 1950’s were “Forbidden Planet” and “Invasion of The Body Snatchers”, both released in 1956. The 1978 remake of Body Snatchers was one of the few excellent remakes in movie history. Let’s hope the same can be said of the planned 2010 release of the new “Forbidden Planet”!
“The 1978 remake of Body Snatchers was one of the few excellent remakes in movie history.”
Agree, and I thought the 1993 remake was really good too. There’s a particularly creepy scene in this version where one of the pod people denounces an impostor (a real human trying to pass as a pod person) that is scarier than the 1978 depiction of same.
I thought “I am Legend” was an improvement over “The Omega Man.” The Omega Man seemed pretty scary when I saw it as a kid, but I just watched it again, and now the zombies seem comically stupid to me as they are wearing monk-like robes and jumping down on people to attack them.
Some films need no remake though. I can’t imagine an improved version of The Thing (1982, stars Kurt Russell).