People Explain Which Movies Should Absolutely Never Be Remade

Flyover

"Airplane!" ~ r4d2c

"If they made that movie today, it'd never fly." ~ farrenkm

Even with Tom

"Besides the fact that Tom Hanks was perfect, I don't see a modern remake of Forrest Gump being received well based on cultural shifts alone." ~ neon-rose

"They should take the book sequel to the first book, and make it exactly like the book. All the crazy stuff that the author put in as an apparent "F**k you" to the movie." ~ adeundem

The Boys

"Goodfellas." ~ Loki-Skywalker

"It's my favorite film of all time lmao. Like, I get the length complaint. It was a bold move, but it succeeded in my opinion. The character building in that film is like any other, ever single character that has a line feels extremely alive and it feels like they are all equally as significant to the story. And that ending shot is one that will haunt my dreams forever." ~ WalrusPuddng

Redemption

"Shawshank."

~ ParsnipBusy

"There are no advances in technology, cinematography, writing, or acting that could possibly add anything to that movie." ~ physedka

"I always got the feeling Shawshank was loosely based on Escape From Alcatraz, So personally i think it would be fun to watch some other loosely based adaptation." ~ recommended_

Great Scott!

"Back to the Future." ~ SingleFunction204

"I'm pretty sure the director has already promised he will never never let remakes happen." ~ jml011

Keep looking into the future, don't go back. That series doesn't need a newer, sleeker trilogy. We're content with what we have.

Ripley

"Alien (1979). Im surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, it's still so good 40+ years later." ~ Bitter-Economics3946

Oh Buttercup

"The Princess Bride." ~ ButAreYouReally

"May have some bad news for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29s1yU3nGkQ I just did a search for Home Movie: The Princess Bride and this was the best version I could find. It was originally on Quibi apparently, which, what the hell is that, right?" ~ Chairchucker

People Share Their Unexpected Happiest Moments | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Friends

"Stand By Me. That combo of young actors just worked so well, and I just can't imagine it would work so well again." ~ proximitous

"Surprisingly I think this would be a great movie to remake. But Hollywood would probably goof it up. They'd cast people that are too good looking. And they'd have to compensate for cell phones and stuff which might ruin it." ~ Sevnfold

"They've tried doing movies in the same vein but they always end up sh*t. Like, Hollywood just forgot what friendship was. The best we have now days seems to be stranger things and they are playing that up." ~ GaussfaceKilla

I dare you!

"Pulp fiction." ~ Tough_Consideration0

"This was my first thought. I cannot imagine anyone else playing most characters. Find me someone else who can play Jules Winfield or Winston Wolf, without totally ruining the movie. I dare you." ~ BentoSpinzone

Brothers

"Blues Brothers and Monthy Python and the Holy Grail. Since a lot of you are bringing up Blues Brothers 2000, thats a sequel to the OG movie, not a remake." ~ DjingisKhan97

"I came here to say The Blues Brothers. Jake and Elwood ARE John and Dan and their friendship and their soul brother connection."

"It wouldn't work with anyone else plus you can't replace the band itself seeing as they were highly talented and legendary blues musicians that played with the greats like Otis Redding and Muddy Waters. Plus the supporting cast of legends like Aretha, Cab, James Brown, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, etc." ~ MrsCorleone

Not without Dave

"Labyrinth." ~ SarinaVazquez

"I like to think that David Bowie didn't realize they were making a movie and thought it was all real." ~ sound_is_butter

Too Much

"Requiem for a Dream. Great movie. Watched it once. Won't watch again." ~ sleepf0rtheweak

"I agree! It's so well done. Just saw it last night for the first time. My husband did not warn me adequately! He said it was crazy. I was like whatever. Wow! What a movie. I stayed up half the night thinking about it and have been watching behind the scenes videos today. Great performances from everyone." ~ librachick104

Rowan

"Mr Bean. No one will ever be able to recreate the character as well as Rowan Atkinson. Really anything from Rowan Atkinson can never be remade. Blackadder for instance." ~ itothepowerofahalf

"I remember first time seeing Rowan Atkinson being interviewed not in character. And growing up with my only knowledge of him as Mr. Bean, it blew my mind. He is as prim and proper British as his characters are bungling weirdos." ~ Classic_Shallot_3353

Treasures...

"The Goonies." ~ starcoder

"Modern version is they find the treasure but the rich corporation finds a way to make the treasure legally belong to some rich a-hole or a museum or something so the town still loses their homes. Finding the treasure is just the first half of the movie and the second half is a courtroom drama where the bad guys win." ~ I_am_reddit_hear_me

Into the Galaxy

"Galaxy Quest." ~ pepsihatman

"Welp, they were going to make a sequel and Tim Allen said the script was fantastic. Then Alan Rickman died. So now they've given it to Simon Pegg to adapt into a television series reboot. So possibly crap, possibly okay, casting better be good. https://www.nme.com/news/tv/simon-pegg-is-adapting-galaxy-quest-for-tv-2981178" ~ yojimboswrath

Say it!

"Beetlejuice." ~ disanddat_kittycat

"I'm pretty sure there have been talks of a sequel since '90. Every so often Keaton, Burton or Ryder are asked about it and supposedly different writers have been tasked with creating scripts for it but it keeps getting shelved." ~ Stlieutenantprincess

Over and Over

"Groundhog Day." ~ Grogosh

"There may not have been an actual remake but there have been approximately ten thousand 'remakes' already and some of them are even good. Which kind of shuts down the entire premise of this thread. The original isn't always better and an inability to imagine anything better is just a lack of imagination." ~ dvali

For Brad

"Fight club." ~ KungFu-omega-warrior

"I'd put Seven right next to Fight Club. Lucky to even have those two made without studio interference. Would probably never happen that way today." ~ aSoberTool

Humor

"Anything by Monty Python. They can't be improved on and the dodgy special effects only add to the humor." ~ Bitter-Edge-8265

JW

"Jurassic Park won't feel the same. Jurassic World 1 is good but both the JW films have bigger dinosaur scenes so they need more CGI and it just doesn't have the same magic as Jurassic Park." ~ XtraCrispy02

"Jurassic Park will always be one of the greatest cinematic experiences I've ever had. I don't think I can describe to younger people who are used to easy CGI how incredibly awe inspiring it was to see dinosaurs sharing the screen with people in such a realistic looking way." ~ pboy2000

I See...

"The sixth sense." ~ ozziejoe

"I honestly don't think they could now anyway. That twist ending was such a shock at the time and wouldn't have the same impact now since movies have copied the formula time and time again since sixth sense was released." ~ ngatiara

If Sigourney Weaver isn't in it, then it's not Alien. Period. The end. And I think we can all agree, there will ever only be one Bowie.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.