9 Films You May Not Know Are Remakes

While it may appear that Hollywood is reviving more timeless movies today, this practice isn’t new: Studios have consistently reimagined films. Surprisingly, some of your most beloved movies are actually remakes of earlier popular works. Here are nine examples.

1. Remake: The Wizard of Oz (1939) / Original: The Wizard of Oz (1925)

Although many recognize The Wizard of Oz featuring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, and Margaret Hamilton, L. Frank Baum’s beloved children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz saw multiple adaptations before the iconic 1939 version. The most significant was the 1925 silent film adaptation. Directed by Larry Semon, with input from Baum’s son, L. Frank Baum, Jr., this version offered a more grounded and romantic take on the original 1900 story.

In the silent film adaptation, the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and Cowardly Lion are portrayed not as magical beings but as three farmhands in disguise, who accompany Dorothy to the Land of Oz, where she is discovered to be the missing princess of Oz. The silent film also depicts Dorothy being pursued by multiple suitors, including the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man, and Prince Kynd, the heir to Oz's throne.

In 1939, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer tasked director Victor Fleming with creating a musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, emphasizing the fantastical elements of L. Frank Baum’s novel and utilizing cutting-edge Technicolor technology. Despite earning six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, the film initially underperformed at the box office and only gained widespread acclaim after its re-release in 1949.

2. Remake: A Fistful of Dollars (1964) / Original: Yojimbo (1961)

In 1964, Sergio Leone directed his second film, A Fistful of Dollars, which revolutionized the Italian Western, or Spaghetti Western, genre. While the movie catapulted Clint Eastwood to fame, it was not an original concept—it was a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 Japanese film Yojimbo.

Both films center on a lone wanderer entangled in a feud between two rival crime families in a small town. However, A Fistful of Dollars replaces the samurai swords of Yojimbo with intense cowboy shootouts. The parallels between the two films were so striking that Kurosawa and Toho Studios, the producers of Yojimbo, filed a lawsuit against Sergio Leone, which was settled out of court for 15 percent of the film’s earnings. A Fistful of Dollars became a massive success upon its U.S. release in 1967, leading to two sequels: For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, completing the Man With No Name trilogy.

3. Remake: You’ve Got Mail (1998) / Original: The Shop Around The Corner (1940)

Nora Ephron’s beloved romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail is a modern retelling of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1940 classic The Shop Around The Corner. Both films revolve around two individuals—played by Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart in the original, and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in the remake—who clash in person but unknowingly fall in love through anonymous communication. While the original film uses handwritten letters, Ephron cleverly updates the concept with AOL emails for the 1998 version. Notably, Meg Ryan’s character, Kathleen Kelly, owns a bookstore named “The Shop Around The Corner,” a nod to Lubitsch’s timeless film.

4. Remake: Meet The Parents (2000) / Original: Meet The Parents (1992)

In 2000, Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller headlined Meet The Parents, a Jay Roach-directed comedy that earned over $330 million globally. The film was adapted from a lesser-known 1992 indie movie with the same title. While the original version received little attention (and remains difficult to find), Universal Studios saw potential in the premise of a man’s awkward first encounter with his girlfriend’s family and secured the rights to remake it in 1995.

The studio brought in screenwriter Jim Herzfeld, who transformed the original’s dark humor into a more lighthearted, family-oriented comedy. The remake’s success led to two sequels (Meet the Fockers in 2004 and Little Fockers in 2010) and two unsuccessful TV adaptations—the reality series Meet My Folks and the sitcom In-Laws—both aired on NBC.

5. Remake: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) / Original: Purple Noon (1960)

Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley inspired two film adaptations: the 1960 French movie Purple Noon by René Clément and the 1999 remake directed by Anthony Minghella, which shared the novel’s title. Both films delve into the psyche of a charming serial killer, but the original offers a definitive conclusion to Tom Ripley’s story, while the remake leaves his fate open-ended. Both versions are celebrated for their lead performances, with Alain Delon shining in Purple Noon and Matt Damon delivering a standout portrayal in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

6. Remake: The Ladykillers (2004) / Original: The Ladykillers (1955)

Joel and Ethan Coen, known for seamlessly blending crime and comedy, were initially tapped to write a remake of the British dark comedy The Ladykillers for director Barry Sonnenfeld. When Sonnenfeld exited the project, the Coens took over as directors.

While the 1955 original is hailed as one of the finest British comedies of all time, the Coen brothers’ 2004 remake garnered mixed reviews. The remake achieved modest box office success, whereas the original earned BAFTA Awards and Academy Award nominations.

7. Remake: Brewster’s Millions (1985) / Original: Brewster’s Millions (1914)

Surprisingly, Brewster’s Millions has been adapted 10 times since George Barr McCutcheon’s 1902 novel. The first adaptation, a silent film by Cecil B. DeMille in 1914, is now lost, but the most well-known version is Walter Hill’s 1985 film starring Richard Pryor and John Candy. Over the years, the story has been reimagined in three silent films, two British adaptations, two American versions, and three Indian films.

The plot follows a young heir who must spend his entire inheritance within a set time to claim an even larger fortune. While the core premise remains consistent, the amounts have evolved: in 1914, Brewster had to spend $1 million in a year to gain $7 million, while in 1985, he needed to spend $30 million in 30 days to win $300 million.

In 2009, Warner Bros. hired screenwriters Michael Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan to pen another remake based on McCutcheon’s original novel.

8. Remake: The Last House on the Left (1972) / Original: The Virgin Spring (1960)

Wes Craven's first venture into directing came in 1972 with the low-budget horror flick The Last House on the Left. This film, depicting parents avenging their daughter's rape and murder, is actually a reimagining of Ingmar Bergman's 1960 art-house classic The Virgin Spring, itself inspired by the 13th-century Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge" ("Töre's Daughters in Vänge").

Bergman's original film explores the ethics of revenge from a Catholic perspective, while Craven's version amplifies the story with intense violence and gore. Unsurprisingly, The Last House on the Left sparked significant controversy upon its early '70s release. The film was even banned in the UK due to its graphic depictions of sadism and brutality. It wasn't until 2002, after 31 seconds of cuts, that the movie was finally allowed to be shown in the UK.

9. Remake: The Bourne Identity (2002) / Original: The Bourne Identity (1988)

While the spy novel The Bourne Identity is best known for its blockbuster trilogy featuring Matt Damon and a less successful spin-off, The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner, its TV movie adaptation remains lesser-known. Originally aired in two parts on ABC in 1988, the TV movie starred Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac spy, with Jaclyn Smith as his romantic interest, Marie St. Jacques. Unlike the action-heavy 2002 film directed by Doug Liman, the TV version stays closer to Robert Ludlum's original novel. Chamberlain's performance even earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film.