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12.21.2011

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and other successful foreign films successfully remade in the U.S.

Today, David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens in theaters. Early indicators suggest that the film lives up to the hype and that it is at least as good, if not better, than its 2009 overseas predecessor.

This won't be the first foreign movie to have been successfully remade in the United States. Here is a list of a few other successful pond-jumping films.



Ringu (1998) / The Ring (2002)

It's pretty hard to make an original horror film. It's even harder to remake one and maintain the same level of quality. Loses some of it's luster in the digital age. Especially when you consider that fewer and fewer people know what VHS tapes are.

Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs; 2002)The Departed (2006)

This happens to be my favorite pair of foreign and U.S. remakes. Even though at the time, Scorsese swore that The Departed was a "reinterpretation" not a remake. I have my doubts, as I saw Infernal Affairs the day before I saw The Departed in the theater, and let's just say, I was the only person in the theater not surprised by the "car landing scene."

There are some interesting differences between the movies. For example, in the original the back-story was established in the opening credits whereas in the remake, er...reinterpretation it takes half an hour. I highly recommend watching them in close proximity.

Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One in; 2008) / Let Me In (2010)

Okay, so I know that I said horror is hard to make and even harder to remake, but these movies have an edge. They both center on freaky kids. The fact that both films were successful proves that kids in horror films are scary in any language. It also proves that you can still make a vampire film without stripper body glitter and Mormon values.

What are your favorite foreign to U.S. remakes? 




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