9 Remakes That Were More Influential Than The Original

It’s almost sacrilegious to suggest a remake might be better than the original film. Remakes are generally met with scorn by critics and fans, and a fair amount of them deserve it too; anyone who’s seen the updated versions of A Nightmare On Elm Street, Total Recall or Clash Of The Titans will know this firsthand.

That being said, a few of these reboots took the core idea of the original and do something fresh with it. Some of them even manage to best the original, and would prove more influential on the genre as a whole. Aside from improving on the first film, they introduced new ideas or concepts others would borrow (or steal) for years to come, and they’re often cited for the impact they left.

This is a rare phenomenon to be sure, but at least it disproves the old “remakes always suck” adage. Let’s take a look at some of the most influential “reimaginings” out there, and the impact they had on their genres.

The 1932 version of Scarface is rightfully considered a genre classic, and tells the story of the rise and fall of a violent gangster. It was directed by Howard Hawks, and the story is a thinly veiled take on mobster Al Capone. The film ran into some censorship issues because of the amount of violence, but it was a huge success upon release and has been called one of the best gangster movies ever.

It was also an inspiration on Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma, who would go on to direct the famous 1983 remake. Al Pacino takes over the lead role, and the film is a luridly violent story of an ambitious Cuban gangster. The remake has become even more iconic than its predecessor, thanks to the great acting, quotable dialogue and, of course, the “Say hello to my little friend” scene.

The movie would go on to inspire similar movies like New Jack City and American Gangster, plus it seems like every hip-hop artist in the world cites Scarface as a personal inspiration.