Hitch a ride with these remakes
The remake of The Hitcher is now in theaters. It's a remake of the 1986 movie starring Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and C. Thomas Howell. And it begs the question: Of all the 80s flicks to remake, why this one?
It's not the best thriller of the 80s. It's not the best movie by Hauer, Howell or Leigh. (Those would be Blade Runner, Soul Man and Fast Times at Ridgemont High). It wasn't a very original plot or story idea. Is Hollywood really that desperate?
If so, here's a half dozen 80s movies to remake:
Friday the 13th (1980): Great story, lousy special effects and cheesy acting. Hey, bring back Kevin Bacon for the movie. But this time, let him star as "Jason." [Click for podcast]
Last American Virgin (1982): This movie was nearly forgotten because it came out the same summer as Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Keep the great soundtrack and find out if Diane Franklin has a daughter who can take over her role. (Did you know this movie is actually a remake of a 1978 Israeli movie called Eskimo Limon?)
Repo Man (1984): This cult classic featuring Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton and a great punk rock soundtrack is ripe for a remake. (Both Estevez and Stanton -- who still look pretty much the same today -- could use the gig.)
All The Right Moves (1983): Craig T. Nelson developed his role as "Coach" in this high school football movie, which starred Tom Cruise, Chris Penn and Lea Thompson. Sadly, we lost Penn in 2006. And sadly, Cruise lost his sanity in 2006. Move the team from Pennsylvania to Florida and start over.
Class Reunion (1982): The first writing credits for a guy named John Hughes. Only D-list actors in this campy flick about a mental patient who terrorizes his high school's 10-year reunion. Notable line? "Hey, Walter, listen, you're making a big deal out of nothing. You're not unique you know. Everyone in class had sex with your sister." Jeesh, sign Hughes back up, let him take a whack at that dialog again and make his triumphant return to Hollywood's front lines.
Tron (1982): It can be improved ... we have the technology. Can you imagine how much better this movie would be today with computer animation and the infinite story lines associated with the Internet? Hollywood seems oblivious. To them I say: "End of line."
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Rumors lately are that a Tron remake IS in the works. I'd rather see a sequel, but anything's better than nothing!
Posted by: John Hays | September 14, 2007 at 05:01 PM
ENOUGH WITH THE REMAKES ALREADY!!!! AREN'T THERE ANY NEW IDEAS IN THE WORLD?
Posted by: JWS | January 26, 2007 at 05:55 PM
AND ONE MORE THING.....
LOL.
I would give you $1K of my own money if you could find a studio who would actually do a remake of TRON. That's just ridiculous! How did you get this job as an opinion 'journalist?'
Seriously, the best reason to NOT remake some of these classics was stated perfectly by an earlier poster named "Greg Williams."
He wrote:
{I swear, if they think of remaking "Gone With the Wind"...}
PERFECT answer to this stupid remake question.
END OF DISCUSSION as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by: *i | January 26, 2007 at 02:50 PM
NO REMAKES!
Why do you think these classics need remakes???
They are what they are BECAUSE of WHEN they were made...
And to the author...how you could EVEN say that "Soul Man" was C Thomas Howells best movie just proves your incompetence.
No one forgets PONYBOY. No one remembers Soul Man except that it was a little 'contraversial.' Gee...maybe that's why we never hear from CTHowell again (to speak of).
Rutger Hauer in THE HITCHER is so great that I can't conceive of WHY someone is trying to remake it....
It's like how some idiots are trying to re-do "Grease." It's just great in its authenticity.
The idea of remakes is just stupid and a way of thinking that's either lacking in intelligence, or after some potential dollars from young kids who don't know about the real thing.
GIVE UP on the remakes already!
They bite!
Posted by: *i | January 26, 2007 at 02:42 PM
I add WarGames to the Red Scare list...
Posted by: Bgirl | January 20, 2007 at 10:54 AM
> Like many cover songs of the 80s, there shouldn't be ANY movie
> remakes...EVER!
Absolutely!
Posted by: Igor Vorobej | January 20, 2007 at 08:47 AM
Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Posted by: | January 20, 2007 at 07:05 AM
Like many cover songs of the 80s, there shouldn't be ANY movie remakes...EVER!
I point you to "War of the Worlds" for proof positive that few remakes are worth the paper the posters are printed on.
I swear, if they think of remaking "Gone With the Wind"...
Posted by: Greg Williams | January 20, 2007 at 01:45 AM
> Give us your 5 favorite Red Scare movies of the 80s!
I don't really like "Red Scare" movies for some reason ;)
Although, I love two non-"Red Scare" movies -- Red Heat and Iron Eagle II.
> What am I missing?
Rambo : First Blood part II; Rambo III; Rocky IV; Red Scorpion; Invasion U.S.A.; Born American; The Hunt for Red October; Predator; No Retreat, No Surrender; Firefox; The Beast of War; Black Eagle; The Fourth Protocol; Spies Like Us; The Experts ...
Posted by: Igor Vorobej | January 19, 2007 at 09:46 PM
Igor -- Give us your 5 favorite Red Scare movies of the 80s!
I'm thinking, not in order yet: Top Gun, Red Dawn, White Nights... What am I missing?
Posted by: Spears | January 19, 2007 at 05:16 PM
> It's not the best thriller of the 80s.
Totally disagree here. One of the best, to say the least.
> It's not the best movie by Hauer, Howell or Leigh.
Best Hauer performance for my tastes.
Posted by: Igor Vorobej | January 19, 2007 at 05:00 PM
I'd just redo the first Friday the 13th. But don't make it a literal remake. Feel free to improve the plot, the lines, the characters. Just keep the basic idea in place and go from there.
Posted by: Stuckinthe80s | January 19, 2007 at 04:21 PM
Jason wasn't the main killer until "Friday the 13th part 2". Would it be worth it just to remake the first one or the whole series? Where would you stop?
Posted by: Aaron | January 19, 2007 at 04:13 PM
Remake "The Running Man", but have it follow the book's plot line.
Posted by: Walter Cox | January 19, 2007 at 02:42 PM
I agree TRON really needs to be revisited. I got the 20th aniversry edition when it came out on DVD. Even my 8 year old likes it.
I think the re-make of TRON would work. They recently had a couple video games out (TRON 2.0). One was centered on Alan's son, who got sucked into the compter this time. The other was on Where TRON was reactivated. In both cases the bad guy was an evil computer virus. That works really well for a modern internet world or you can go the whole terrorist thing gone awry or a new world order kind of thing with the UN and a new MC program.
Posted by: Morris | January 19, 2007 at 02:31 PM
I don't think Emilio Estevez is hurting for work. "Bobby" brought him some critical acclaim in 2006. he'll be working pretty steadily behind the camera.
Posted by: Bassnote | January 19, 2007 at 11:51 AM
OK, I'd settle for a Tron sequel. So what becomes of the Master Control Program? Does it make a comeback? Does it have the face of Bill Gates this time? Or Steve Jobs?
Posted by: Stuckinthe80s | January 19, 2007 at 11:30 AM
We need a sequel to TRON, not a remake!
Posted by: David | January 19, 2007 at 11:09 AM
Another post jogged my memory about a remake I would like to see: LESS THAN ZERO. And they should do it right this time and not kill off one of the main characters to try and be self-righteous. Keep it gritty and true to the book.
Posted by: Bgirl | January 19, 2007 at 10:03 AM
NEVER remake Repo Man--just re-release it!
I can't figure out why these remakes just keep spewing out--they are generally awful and pale in comparison with the original films.
I can't think of a good one--but I think the worst example ever was trying to remake Psycho. Why even bother or tamper with absolute perfection?!?!
Posted by: Bgirl | January 19, 2007 at 09:58 AM