When films from Hollywood are remade by other cultures, it’s natural that some people would complain about them degrading pictures that were already excellent. For every brilliant remake, there will undoubtedly be a slew of duds. Here’s a rundown of times when foreign cinema attempted but failed to rip off Hollywood:
1. Groundhog Day to Stork Day
Groundhog Day to Stork Day in Italian is a dreadful remake. Not awful in the way that a lot of comedies are. It’s horrible in a way that makes you angry and perplexed as to how somebody could spend time making it. Groundhog Day possesses the unique combination of excellent filmmaking, clever writing, and the charisma of a well-known comic. The directing of Stork Day is at best uneven, and the Italian actor who replaces Murray is pretty much unknown outside of his homeland. The whole thing falls into that nasty and baffling category of remakes that makes you think you’re missing out on some inside joke.
2. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly to The Good, The Bad, The Weird.
Regarded by most to be one of the best movies of all time, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is one of the most iconic Western movies ever. Written and directed by Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-Woon, The Good, the Bad, and the Weird is far less of a remake and more of a tardy, goofy ode to Leone’s classic. In both South Korea and internationally, the picture was sufficiently distinct to become a box – office success. However, because the original Good, Bad, and Ugly was released so long ago, it should be eligible for a big-budget modern version rather than an offbeat replica.
3. What Women Want to I Know A Woman’s Heart
Despite its creepy undertone, the Mel Gibson-Helen Hunt comic What Women Want was a huge box office success in 2000. Wo Zhi Nu Ren Xin, or ‘I Know A Woman’s Heart’ was adapted in China in 2011. The basic premise was the same: after a supernatural accident, a chauvinistic advertising executive can read women’s minds. As a consequence, uses it to deceive the ladies in his life until he is finally redeemed by love. The focus moves slightly in the Chinese translation, which is more concerned with the rise of consumer society and the middle class in general than with changing gender relations in the workplace.
4. The Godfather to Sarkar
It’s no surprise that a foreign replica of Francis Ford Copolla’s 1972 blockbuster The Godfather was made. Sarkar reimagines the traditional gangster tale by immersing it in the actual politics and criminality of Maharashtra, India’s westernmost state. Director Ram Gopal Varma excels in making the film fully his own by giving it a local flavor. Despite the fact that Varma’s remake falls short of the mastery of the original, it is largely regarded as a triumph of film making in its own right by both American and Indian critics.
5. Unforgiven to Yurusarezaru Mono
Unforgiven is one of the best western movies, therefore we have no objections to Japan trying their hand at it. The American Unforgiven played a significant role in reviving the modern Western, particularly revisionist Westerns. Yurusarezaru Mono, a Japanese remake with the same title, was released in 2013 and follows the scenario of the American version somewhat faithfully. It follows a retired samurai as he returns to a violent society. Furthermore, for those who require a cinematic reference, it takes place at the same time as The Last Samurai.
