The document discusses several reasons why films may be remade, including appealing to new generations, expressing new artistic visions, and making additional profits. It provides examples of successful remakes like REC/Quarantine and analyzes why films like The Karate Kid have enduring popularity and legacy through multiple sequels and remakes. Remakes can introduce political or social commentary to older stories and benefit from incorporating modern technology or star power.

1. The world of cinema and film has been around for many decades. Over these many years
films have been made, re-made and then sometime re-made again. There are many reasons why
films are re-made; it may be due to the old film’s popularity or directors want to express their ideas
and make more money. Re-makes also appeal to audiences of the original film’s generation as it
gives them a chance to compare and remember the film. Film re-makes also tend to be the reason
why horizontal integration takes place. Large companies sometimes buy smaller ones so that they
have the rights to re-make their films.
Some films made at times where great technology was not available would be re-made so
that the film would appeal to a new generation. Similar to re-making films is re-mastering films, this
is where films are taken and edited to a higher quality. Black and white films today can be re-
coloured, then re-released. Some films a re-made so that a political subtext could be added. Re-
making popular films and adding popular actors increase the amount of people who want to see the
film. Re-making films also give the production companies a chance to sell merchandise such as
posters, shirts…Etc. Often the original film would be re-released on DVD while the new film is
released at the cinemas. Books, soundtracks and games may be available also.
Sometimes when a film is released it gets a bad review and flops at box offices, years later
the film may be re-made to re-cast and improve the film or make money to make up for their
mistake. There are many re-made films but not all of them make a big profit or receive amazing
reviews. The re-makes that tend to flop are mainly due to the fact that they don’t do the original film
justice.
REC is a ‘found footage’ horror film made in Spain 2007. It was directed byJaumeBalaguero
and Paco Plaza, with quite a limited budget (€1,500,000) and distributed by Filmax International. At
the box offices the film earned $32,492,948 across the world. The film is about a young reporter and
camera man who spend the night with the local firemen. The film in its entirety was filmed in a
handheld style, making good use of the camera man in the film. Despite of the film being in Spanish,
audiences around the world love it.
At the start of the film the reporter and camera man film a typical day at the fire station.
After a while the firemen get called out to an emergency, but this was no typical emergency. A
mysterious old woman was found on the one of the floors, acting hysterical, so it was up to the
firemen to get involved along with two police men. As events unfold the firemen and reporters get
themselves trapped in the block of small flats with the residents, unknowing what was to come.
In 2007 the handheld genre of films was very popular and still is today. With films such as
Cloverfeild and Diary of the Dead coming out at similar times, with similar aspects to REC, you could
only wonder if it was only a coincidence or deliberate due to their popularity. The handheld style of
filming put less pressure on the budget and the setting was very simple but effective. This made REC
feel purposely claustrophobic at times, making the experience more intense. As the main character
in the film was a real well known reporter in Spain, some of the Spanish people were really
frightened and believed it was real.
In 2008 John Erick Dowdle wrote and directed a film called Quarantine, based on the
infamous REC film in 2007. This film was very similar to REC but set in America with English speaking
actors. Screen Gems a large subsidiary company in America bought the rights to REC from Filmax so
that they could make a film based on it. As Screen Gems is a large company they had $12 million as
their budget. At box offices they gained $41,319,906. Quarantine was just as popular as REC as it
appealed to audiences that know English.
Why did Screen Gems remake the film REC? REC became so popular in Spain and across the
world. The found footage genre was also very popular with the general public meaning it would be a
mistake not to make Quarantine. The release of Quarantine also increased the DVD sales of REC.
Over the last couple of yearstwo REC and aQuarantine sequel has been made.
War of the worlds is a fictional novel written by H.G Wells in 1898, England. The story was
about a protagonist (with an unknown name) who lived in England during an alien invasion. The
story contained themes of Darwinism and it reflected Wells’ views on culture. Many critics loved the

2. novel as well as the readers. The novel has inspired many films, parodies and many other writers
have taken ideas from H.G Wells’ novel.
55 years later in 1953 an adaptation of the novel was made in the form of a film. The film
was written by Barré Lyndon with consideration the novel’s writer. The Action Sci-fi was directed by
Bryon Haskin and produced by George Pal. Unlike the original story the film was set in 1950s
America.This may be due to the fact they wanted to send a message the American public. The film
begins in a small town in California where the community gathers to watch a meteor shower. A
meteor hits the Earth but unknowing to the people it contains a passenger.
The film was very popular at the time as the idea of Martians and interterrestrial evidence
was cropping up a lot of the time, this did not mean that the evidence was reliable.The film was
created during the pinnacle of the Cold War; this stroked fear in most of the American public’s
minds. Americans at the time were frightened of Russia’s communism and during the Cold War
there was a lot of military tension between both the countries. You could suggest that the Martians
are very similar to what the Americans believed the Russians to be like,in a political sense.
In 2005 Steven Spielberg directed a new adaptation of the novel. This film was different
from the 1953 War of The Worlds. The story follows a man and his children trying to survive the
attack as the world is in mass pandemonium. The star of the film was Tom Cruise, a well-known
actor across the world. The use of a well-known star brought crowds upon crowds to cinemas to
watch this film.
In 2005 over 10 Sci-Fi’s were released. This shows how popular the genre was and still is
today. Many people believe that the 2005 film had a similar atmosphere to the attack on the World
Trade Centre in2001. The adaptation uses technology that was unavailable during the 1953
adaptation, this makes this 2005 version more realistic for he audiences today.
The Karate kid is a classic martial arts film set in Los Angelis, California. It was first released
in 1984, in cinemas. At box offices the film earned $90,815,558. The film is about a young man
(Daniel LaRusso) who moves to a new town. He then encounters a gang who then attack him. Mr
Miyagi an old Japanese man intervenes and saves Daniel. The young man then asks Mr Miyagi to
teach him karate. At box offices e film earned a massive $90,815,558. The film also sold a lot of
merchandise such as t-shirts, action figures and video games.
The Karate kid in later years had two sequels, a revamp and a remake ( The Karate Kid 2 and
3, The Next Karate Kid and The Karate Kid ‘2010’). But why do these films have such a legacy? The
story of good versus evil/bad is very common in most stories and these films do I well. Within 5
years the two sequels were released, taking advantage of the previous film’s popularity. The films
use a traditional sport to inspire audiences.
In 2010 the infamous Karate Kid was re-made. The film was directed by HaraldZwart who
also directed Hamilton and Agent Cody Banks. The story of this film is quite similar to the original but
with a few twists. The story is set in China, where a young boy and is mum moves from Detroit due
to a job transfer. At his new school Dre Parker (Jaden Smith)is bullied by the children at his school
and one day after school is chased home. Just as Dre is cornered Mr Han (Jackie Chan) comes to the
rescue. Similar to the original the young protagonist falls in love and tries to win her love. Mr Han
then begins to teach Dre Kung Fu.
The production company sold many soundtracks and merchandise during and after the film
was released. The soundtrack contained artists such as Red Hot Chilli Peppers, AC/DC and Justin
Bieber. These artists are all very popular with audiences. Actors such as Jackie Chan and Jade Smith
also helped sales as they are well known across the world. Columbia Pictures who distributed The
Karate Kid in 1984 was bought by Sony in 1991, which meant they had the rights to and to the legacy
and make a new film. Online games, posters and t-shirts were also released.