by Nicole Ford

Created on: February 11, 2009

When you go to the movies these days, there is a strong chance that the movie you watch is not an original one. Over the last 80 years, over a million movies have been made, in that time a lot of those have been remakes. A remake is a movie that is based on another movie. Some remakes are made to update a story and make it more relevant, some are made so as to use modern technology and special effects, while some are made to make money using a familiar story. Some of these movies are remade for the better, and then there are remakes that do not even come close to the original.

Although the remake genre can be critically panned, there can be some good reasons for one to be made. One of those reasons is to have a remake that has an updated story from the original. Making a movie that today's audiences can connect with more than the dated original. A good example of this is "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962), where a Korean War POW is brainwashed by communists. The remake of the same title, made in 2004, is about soldiers from the Gulf War and relates to oil companies in the Middle East. The remake plays more to truer situations happening at the same time. Another example is the movie "The Shop Around The Corner" made in 1940 which is loosely about a man and a woman who hate each other in real life, but are unaware that the other person is the author of a series of love letters with whom they have fallen in love. The remake of that entitled "You've Got Mail" made in 1998, is the same story except letters are replaced with e-mails. This modern story took the original concept and made it appealing to the modern viewer.

Another good reason to remake an original is because of technological advances. In the time before CGI and green screens, moviemakers made due with what they had. A great example of this are the movies "King Kong". The original, made in 1933, was made with primitive stop motion graphics and had many problems with continuity and realism. When Peter Jackson redid it in 2005, he took full advantage of special effects to create the giant gorilla rampaging New York City. Even fans of the original "King Kong" respect the remake for its visual greatness.

Sometimes remakes are made to show that central themes can transcend cultural lines. You can often see movies that are remade from ones made internationally. The movies "La Cage Aux Folles" (1978) and "The Birdcage" (1996) are basically the same exact movie, except for their language and setting. In "La Cage

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