Deja View: Old Movies Made New for 2010

Some things never go out of style: leather jackets, little black dresses, laughter and good stories. Hollywood knows this, and its denizens are experts on what to wear, when to wear it, and when to air it again. Mining old clothes for

 new appeal can be risky, though, and the same hazard applies when directors decide to re-make classic films. Will they succeed like perennially cool denim and plaid or tank like bell bottoms? Only time and audiences will tell whether the following 10 movies will be worth the redo…

Alice in Wonderland

Down the rabbit hole she

 goes again! Alice took her first cinematic journey in 1903, but it was Disney’s 1951 version that remains the classic for viewers born in the last 60 years. Since then, she’s been tripping down that hole fairly regularly, falling for TV versions in 1985 and 1999. But now this classic story will get the ultimate cinematic makeover, care of Tim Burton. Starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, the 2010 version promises to present us with an even curiouser retelling of this deliciously nutty tale. (credit: Walt Disney Pictures)

Robin Hood

This classic story of a heroic fighter who steals from the rich to feed the poor never gets old, which is why it has been told so many times. Played variously by a fox (Disney’s 1973 cartoon), Kevin Costner (Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, 1991) and Cary Ewles (Mel Brook’s Robin Hood, Men in Tights, 1993), 2010 will see the underdog champion of England played by Russell Crowe. With Ridley Scott directing and Cate Blanchett playing Maid Marion, it’s a good bet that Robin Hood will steal more than a few hearts. (credit: Universal Pictures)

A Nightmare on Elm St

If we spend the rest of the year hiding under the covers, A Nightmare on Elm Street will be to blame. As if Wes Craven’s 1984 version wasn’t scary enough, Freddie Krueger is back to frighten a new generation. Coming to a nightmare near you in April. (credit: New Line Cinema)

Predator

With Arnold Schwarzenegger busy overseeing California’s economic demise, makers of a re-vamped Predator have turned to Adrian Brody to introduce this thriller to a new generation of alien prey. As in the first film, an extraterrestrial predator is on the hunt, and only one commando can stop it. Coming this summer. (credit: 20th Century Fox)







The A-Team

80s kids rejoice! No longer fodder for retro costume parties and dated cereal-references, Mr. T is coming back. Just kidding. Mr. T is still firmly ensconced in the 1980s, but his show, The A-Team, will return in 2010 as a movie. Starring Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, and Liam Neeson, the film is expected to be released in June. (credit: 20th Century Fox)

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

After inspiring three entire generations of children and stoned teenagers, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is set to wow again. Most famously a segment of Disney’s cartoon epic Fantasia, this version will star real people like Nicholas Cage, Jay Baruchel and Monica Bellucci. (credit: Walt Disney Pictures)

Clash of the Titans

An ancient tale of heroes, gods, mythical animals and deadly monsters, this story, last told in 1981, has been dying for a modern FX treatment and director Louis Letterier is going to provide it. Starring Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson, Clash of the Titans will thunderbolt into theatres in April. (credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Green Hornet

Originally a radio play, this tale of newspaper reporter Britt Reid and his crime-fighting alter ego Green Hornet is so compelling it’s spawned several movies, a television series and a comic book. The 2010 version, to be released in December, was written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen and stars Christoph Waltz, Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz and Edward Furlong. (credit: Columbia Pictures)

Red Dawn

Remember when movie bad-guys were always communists? The 1984 version of Red Dawn explores those fears as Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen and Lea Thompson play teens striving to save their hometown from an attack by Russian and Cuban forces. Fast forward to 2010, where a new version of Red Dawn has the bad guys cast as….Russians! Back to their Soviet-era tricks, the Russian army joins forces with the Chinese military, making hell for a group of all-American teenagers. (credit: MGM)

When in Rome

No one at Disney will ‘fess up to this one, but When in Rome, starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel, shares remarkable similarities with the 1954 hit Three Coins in the Fountain. Both stories revolve around the power of a Roman fountain and magical coins that grant love wishes in a hilariously misguided fashion. (credit: Walt Disney Pictures)