There should not have been a remake of the original [i]The Manchurian Candidate.[/i] It was a brilliant film, great script, great casting/acting, direction etc. It did not need a remake. The remake was OK. But the original was brilliant.
I have seen a few that paid good homage to the original and/or were even better...however I think it should not be done at all (and especially if the original was/is a classic gem) because way too many more are really bad and take away from or destroy the magic of the original. So what if it is a "dated"? If Hollywood is hurting so badly for new idea and want to remake things, I say leave the classics alone. There are plenty of films that were made and just simply flopped out there (or didn't even make it all), many had potential to be really good films had they been better written and put together.
Ringu [i](Original Japanese movie - remake: The Ring)[/i] Ju-On [i](Original Japanese movie - remake: The Grudge)[/i] Låt den rätte komma in [i](original Swedish movie - remake: Let me in)[/i] Taxi [i](original French movie - remake: Taxi)[/i] Oldeuboi [i](Original Korean Movie - Remake: Oldboy)[/i]
... There is an entire list of films that were non-english. But because the English language area has an overall problem reading subtitles, there is this idea that all of them have to be put into English. And the remakes don't come out that great honestly :| . There are a few exceptions. Like:
Män som hatar kvinnor [i](original Swedish movie - remake: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)[/i]
Which I think wasn't that bad. But I still prefer the original.
When it comes to American remakes:
- Ben Hurr (2016) [i](this one makes me so angry 😡)[/i] - Total Recall (2012) - Planet of The Apes [i](not really a remake... but wtf you guys) [/i] - Red Dawn - Psycho (1998) - Rollerball (2002) [i](wtf you guys)[/i] - The Mummy (2017) [i](it wasn't even that old damned!)[/i] - A nightmare on Elm Street (2010) [i](modafockas)[/i] - The Fog (2005) - The Haunting (1999) - The Wicker Man (2006)
I didn’t ever see it, but back along Fawlty Towers was sold to an American network, who made so many changes that their version bore no resemblance to the original series whatsoever... what a crime!