It's not necessarily a remake as it is another film of the novel. There are many versions of Hamlet yet no one calls every one save the original a remake.
I don't know Borges....that 1953 version of War of the Worlds was fabulous!!! It's scary everytime I see it, and I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it, but the "bling bling" noise from the alien's craft really adds to the drama as one of them comes closer, closer, closer.
And not only that....the 1953 WotW had a love interest. Yu can't beat that damsel in distress angle.
Ever notice how a little special sound effect like that is so important. Freddie had one...even Law and Order's got it's "ching ching".
I will not go to see Spielberg's War of the Worlds, and it's not because I feel any affinity for the novel. It's the 1953 movie I don't want messed up for me.