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There is no definitive ranking of the best movie remakes, and streaming availability changes by country and date. This selection treats “best” as a blend of reinvention, influence, critical standing and lasting appeal, and includes direct remakes alongside a few clearly identified reinterpretations. Where can you watch them? The viewing guide below is explicitly for the United States: JustWatch’s title-by-title listings were checked on October 7, 2026, but each film’s options can change. Use its current listings to confirm whether a title is included with a subscription, available to rent or buy, or offered on physical media.
Check JustWatch’s US listings before choosing a film. JustWatch says it checks 375 streaming services; its October 7, 2026 snapshot found 6 of the 20 films in its guide on Philo and titles available on 41 other services. Those are guide-wide figures, not a promise that any particular film is on a particular service.
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How this list defines a remake
Some entries retell a specific earlier film; others take its premise in a markedly new direction. Because “remake” has no perfectly sharp boundary, this list identifies looser relationships rather than treating every adaptation or film in conversation with an earlier work as a direct remake. The aim is not to rank films by box office or claim a settled consensus, but to highlight versions that make a distinctive case for themselves through tone, setting, performance, style or cultural perspective.
BFI’s discussion of beloved remakes and its broader account of remakes and related films offer useful context: a new version can stand on its own, while still inviting comparison with what came before. Criterion’s May 2026 program also paired 1980s remakes with their originals, including The Thing (1982) and The Thing from Another World (1951)—a reminder that watching both can make each film’s choices easier to see.
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![Sorcerer (The Criterion Collection) [4K UHD] [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51zZOK1M6iL._SL160_.jpg)
- Genre: Action / Adventure
- Number of Discs: 3
- Number of Tracks: 0
- Playback Duration: 121
- Rating: PG
25 standout movie remakes and reinterpretations
Order is editorial, not a claim that one film is objectively superior to another. Viewing services are not listed as confirmed title-by-title offers here: the supplied US guide covers 20 titles, not this full 25-film selection, and its availability varies by film. Search each title in the US guide immediately before watching; select the relevant title page to distinguish subscription streaming from rental and digital purchase. Physical editions may be another option, subject to edition and region compatibility.
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The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter turns the 1951 film The Thing from Another World into a bleak, distrustful survival horror story. Its isolated Antarctic setting and body-horror effects make the remake feel less like a repeat than a different answer to the same premise. Compare it with the original to see how sharply the tone and threat change.
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The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese relocates the crime story of Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs to Boston, reshaping its atmosphere around local institutions, identity and divided loyalties. It is a direct example of how changing place and cultural context can give a familiar framework a new dramatic character.
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The Fly (1986)
David Cronenberg reworks the 1958 science-fiction horror film as an intimate, grotesque tragedy. The transformation is not only a special-effects spectacle: the film makes bodily change and the strain it places on a relationship central to its emotional force.
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Scarface (1983)
Brian De Palma’s film remakes the 1932 gangster movie by moving its rise-and-fall story into 1980s Miami and centering a Cuban immigrant. The change in era and setting gives the crime saga a different social texture and a brash visual style.
Rank #2
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Some Like It Hot (1959)
Billy Wilder’s comedy reimagines the 1935 French film Fanfare of Love. Its cross-dressing disguise, fast timing and star performances turn the setup into a classic Hollywood farce; BFI includes it among remakes that became beloved in their own right.
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His Girl Friday (1940)
Howard Hawks adapts the 1928 play The Front Page, which had already been filmed in 1931, and changes the star reporter Hildy Johnson into a woman. The rapid-fire newsroom comedy gains a new charge from the central relationship and the gender shift. It is a remake in the broader sense of reworking a source, rather than a straightforward remake of the earlier film.
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Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Steven Soderbergh’s slick heist film recasts the 1960 movie with a new ensemble and a more contemporary Las Vegas. The pleasure lies in the interplay among the crew as much as in the mechanics of the casino robbery; compare the two versions for a clear change in performance style and pacing.
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A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Sergio Leone’s western draws directly on Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961), relocating the wandering outsider’s scheme to a frontier town. The shift from samurai film to Italian western changes the visual language and genre while preserving the source’s central conflict.
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Gaslight (1944)
George Cukor’s psychological thriller is a remake of the 1940 British film of the same name, itself based on Patrick Hamilton’s play. Its controlled suspense and focus on manipulation show how a new film can refine a story’s atmosphere without abandoning its source.
Rank #3
![Clash of the Titans 2-Movie Blu-ray Collection (Original & Remake): Clash of the Titans (1981) / Clash of the Titans (2010) [Spanish Artwork]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/6166IHXdgyL._SL160_.jpg)
Clash of the Titans 2-Movie Blu-ray Collection (Original & Remake): Clash of the Titans (1981) / Clash of the Titans (2010) [Spanish Artwork]- clash of the titans blu ray
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Cat People (1982)
Paul Schrader’s reimagining of Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 horror film shifts the material toward explicit, sensual body horror. The contrast is especially revealing: where the earlier film built much of its dread through suggestion, the later version makes transformation more physical.
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Breathless (1983)
Jim McBride’s American take on Jean-Luc Godard’s À bout de souffle (1960) moves the story to Los Angeles and updates its cultural references. Its value as a comparison lies in the changed setting and sensibility, not in replacing the formal daring of Godard’s original.
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The Magnificent Seven (1960)
John Sturges transposes Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) from feudal Japan to the American West. The change of genre and social world makes the film a clear case of a remake preserving a group’s protective mission while changing its cultural frame.
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The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Victor Fleming’s film is one of several screen adaptations of L. Frank Baum’s novel, rather than a direct remake of a single earlier movie. It belongs in a broad, clearly labeled list of reinterpretations because its musical form, color imagery and performances became a defining screen version of the story.
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The Mummy (1999)
Stephen Sommers transforms the 1932 horror premise into a brisk adventure-comedy. The switch in genre is the point: instead of relying primarily on supernatural dread, the remake foregrounds action, romance and comic spectacle.
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Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Frank Oz’s musical comedy adapts the 1960 Roger Corman film, itself based on a story later developed for the stage. Its songs and heightened theatricality make it a distinct reinvention rather than a simple retelling.
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The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Alfred Hitchcock remade his own 1934 film, moving the suspense story to an international setting and building around a new cast. It is a useful example of a filmmaker revisiting earlier material with a different scale and stylistic confidence.
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King Kong (2005)
Peter Jackson revisits the 1933 classic with contemporary effects and an expanded adventure narrative. Its scale and technical approach reflect the era of its production, making it a natural paired watch for anyone interested in how filmmaking technology changes a familiar monster story.
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True Lies (1994)
James Cameron’s action comedy is an American remake of the French film La Totale! (1991). The premise of a secret agent balancing espionage and family life becomes a vehicle for larger action set pieces and comedy.
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The Birdcage (1996)
Mike Nichols adapts the French comedy La Cage aux Folles (1978), which originated as a stage play. Its American setting and performances reshape the original’s family and identity conflicts into a distinct studio comedy.
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![The Thing 3-Movie Collection [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/5143wfb0wdL._SL160_.jpg)
The Thing 3-Movie Collection [Blu-ray]- Runtime: 299 minutes
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Insomnia (2002)
Christopher Nolan’s film remakes the 1997 Norwegian thriller of the same name, relocating the investigation to Alaska. The landscape and constant daylight intensify the story’s psychological pressure while giving the remake its own atmosphere.
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The Ring (2002)
Gore Verbinski’s American version of the Japanese horror film Ringu (1998) carries its cursed-video premise into a different cultural setting. The comparison shows how a remake can preserve a central fear while changing the imagery and context through which an audience encounters it.
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3:10 to Yuma (2007)
James Mangold remakes Delmer Daves’s 1957 western, keeping the tense escort-and-capture premise while bringing a contemporary sensibility to its characters and violence. Watching the two together makes the shifts in western style especially apparent.
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The Parent Trap (1998)
Nancy Meyers updates the 1961 family comedy, retaining the separated-twins setup but giving it a new cast and a later-era setting. It is an accessible example of a remake built around renewed performances and a fresh generational context.
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Funny Games (2007)
Michael Haneke’s American film is a near shot-for-shot remake of his own 1997 Austrian work. Rather than substantially altering the plot, it asks what changes when the same confrontational story is presented to a different audience in a different language and setting.
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A Star Is Born (1954)
George Cukor’s musical drama reworks the 1937 film, one of several versions of the story made across different eras. Its songs and star performances shift the focus toward the demands of fame and the changing fortunes of a couple—an example of a remake whose central material can be reshaped repeatedly.
How to check where a film is available in the US
The current guide is a starting point, not a fixed catalog. JustWatch’s US page identifies streaming, rental and purchase options on its title rows and says its guide was updated July 2, 2026, with availability checked October 7, 2026. Availability can change after that check.
- Open the US guide. Use JustWatch US; availability in another country may be different.
- Search for the exact film and year. Several titles share names, and a remake and its source may appear separately.
- Check the viewing format. Confirm whether the listing is included with a subscription, requires a rental or purchase, or points to physical media.
- Confirm with the provider. Catalogs and prices can change; verify the offer on the service or retailer before paying.
- For UK viewers, check BFI Player title pages individually. Its Remakes and Fresh Takes collection includes direct remakes and looser reinterpretations, but a collection listing does not mean every film is currently available.
Why watch the original and remake together?
A paired viewing turns “which one is better?” into a more revealing question: what did the later film choose to preserve, and what did it change? Track a few concrete elements: genre and tone, time and place, performance style, visual approach, and the cultural assumptions surrounding the story. Criterion’s May 2026 program paired nine 1980s remakes with originals, including the two Thing films. That program documents a past lineup, not current access to those titles; check each film’s present availability separately.
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