10 Remakes That Improve on the Originals

"Remakes: the only things lower than sequels… Often created to exploit a brand, pushed by studios looking for safe bets where an audience is pre-sold. But for all the critical carping about regurgitating old ideas, if a remake is talent-driven then there's no reason it can't be great—rebuilding the idea for a different age, fuelled by the fears of a new generation. Citing ten remakes better than the movies they're based on, though—it's hard. Originally this list had rules: the films needed to be 'pure' remakes, rather than alternative adaptations of source material. Then I discovered The Thing from Another World was based on a novella, and remembered His Girl Friday was originally a play. So, in the tradition of Hollywood fair-dealing…"
—Nev Pierce, in 10 Bad Dates with De Niro: A Book of Alternative Movie Lists (2007), edited by Richard T. Kelly.List in book titled "Even Better Than the Real Thing: 10 Remakes…" etc.