Worst American Remake of a Non-English Movie
Making an American remake of a great foreign language film into an English spoken version usually is a good idea. After all, sharing a great story with as wide an audience as possible makes a lot of sense. However, despite having bigger stars, larger budgets and the full resources of Hollywood behind them, it is often not enough. These adaptations, more often than not, pale in comparison to the masterwork and magic of the original telling.
Which of these select American remakes* is by comparison the most unworthy of its foreign non-English language original? * IMDb rated 6.9- (as of June 2019)
Take the companion poll: Best American Remake Non-English Movie
Discuss the topic here.
Which of these select American remakes* is by comparison the most unworthy of its foreign non-English language original? * IMDb rated 6.9- (as of June 2019)
Take the companion poll: Best American Remake Non-English Movie
Discuss the topic here.
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- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsSarah Michelle GellarJason BehrClea DuVallAn American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.Original: Ju-On: The Grudge (2003) from Japan in Japanese
- DirectorNeil BurgerStarsKevin HartBryan CranstonNicole KidmanA comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy man with quadriplegia and an unemployed man with a criminal record who's hired to help him.Original: Les Intouchables (2011) from France in French
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsJosh BrolinElizabeth OlsenSamuel L. JacksonObsessed with vengeance, a man sets out to find out why he was kidnapped and locked into solitary confinement for twenty years without reason.Original: Oldeuboi (2003) from South Korea in Korean
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsSharon StoneIsabelle AdjaniChazz PalminteriThe wife and mistress of the sadistic dean of an exclusive prep school conspire to murder him.Original: Les diaboliques (1955) from France in French | English
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsMatthew BroderickJean RenoMaria PitilloFrench nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that heads off to New York City. The American military must chase the monster across the city to stop it before it reproduces.Original: Gojira (1954) from Japan in Japanese
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsJohnny DeppAngelina JoliePaul BettanyRevolves around Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path.Original: Anthony Zimmer (2005) from France in French
- DirectorRupert SandersStarsScarlett JohanssonPilou AsbækTakeshi KitanoIn the near future, Major Mira Killian is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.Original: Kôkaku Kidôtai (1995) from Japan in Japanese
- DirectorCharles GuardThomas GuardStarsEmily BrowningArielle KebbelElizabeth BanksAnna returns home after a stint in a mental hospital, but her recovery is jeopardized by her father's new girlfriend and ghastly visions of her dead mother.Original: Janghwz, Hongryeon (2003) from South Korea in Korean
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsBridget FondaGabriel ByrneDermot MulroneyA government fakes the death of a criminal to turn this young woman into a killer on its service.Original: La Femme Nikita (1990) from France in French
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsNaomi WattsTim RothMichael PittTwo psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.Original: Funny Games (1997) from Austria in German | French | Italian
- DirectorJay RoachStarsSteve CarellPaul RuddStephanie SzostakAfter he finds out that his work superiors host a dinner celebrating the idiocy of their special guests, a rising executive questions the merits of his invitation just as he befriends a man who would be the perfect guest.Original: Le Diner de Cons (1998) from France in French
- DirectorJohn Erick DowdleStarsJennifer CarpenterSteve HarrisColumbus ShortA television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC, after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.Original: [REC] (2007) from Spain in Spanish
- DirectorScott HicksStarsCatherine Zeta-JonesAaron EckhartAbigail BreslinThe life of a top chef changes when she becomes the guardian of her young niece.Original: Bella Martha (2001) from Germany in German
- DirectorDavid MoreauXavier PaludStarsJessica AlbaAlessandro NivolaParker PoseyViolinist Sydney Wells was accidentally blinded by her sister Helen when she was five years old. She submits to a cornea transplantation, and while recovering from the operation, she realizes that she is seeing dead people.Original: The Eye (2004) from Hong Kong in Catonese
- DirectorKen ScottStarsVince VaughnChris PrattCobie SmuldersAn affable underachiever finds out he's fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them file a lawsuit to reveal his identity.Original: Starbuck (2011) from Canada in French
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsJennifer ConnellyAriel GadeJohn C. ReillyA mother and daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, hole up in a run-down apartment building, where they are targeted by the ghost of a former resident.Original: Honogurai mizu no soko kara (2000) from Japan in Japanese
- DirectorBilly RayStarsChiwetel EjioforNicole KidmanJulia RobertsA tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.Original: El Secreto de sus Ojos (2009) from Argentina in Spanish
- DirectorMennan YapoStarsSandra BullockJulian McMahonAmber VallettaA depressed woman learns that her husband was killed in a car accident the previous day, then awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home; then awakens the day after that to find that he's dead.Original: Yogen (2004) from Japan in Japanese
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyNatascha McElhoneUlrich TukurA troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.Original: Solyaris (1972) from the Soviet Union in Russian
- DirectorGeorge SluizerStarsJeff BridgesKiefer SutherlandNancy TravisThe boyfriend of an abducted woman never gives up the search as the abductor looks on.Original: Spoorloos (1988) from Netherlands in Dutch
- DirectorDanny PangOxide Chun PangStarsNicolas CageCharlie YeungShahkrit YamnarmA hitman who's in Bangkok to pull off a series of jobs violates his personal code when he falls for a local woman and bonds with his errand boy.Original: กรุงเทพมหานครอันตราย (2000) from Thailand in Thai
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsNat WolffLaKeith StanfieldMargaret QualleyA high school student named Light Turner discovers a mysterious notebook that has the power to kill anyone whose name is written within its pages, and launches a secret crusade to rid the world of criminals.Original: Desu Nōto (2006) from Japan in Japanese
- DirectorCamille DelamarreStarsPaul WalkerDavid BelleRZAAn undercover Detroit cop navigates a dangerous neighborhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of an ex-con in order to bring down a crime lord and his plot to devastate the entire city.Original: Banlieue 13 (2004) from France in French | Spanish
- DirectorTim StoryStarsQueen LatifahJimmy FallonGisele BündchenA mouthy and feisty taxicab driver has hot tips for a green and inept cop set on solving a string of New York City bank robberies committed by a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers.Original: Taxi (1998) from France in French
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsNick NolteBette MidlerRichard DreyfussA rich but troubled family find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.Original: Boudu sauvé des eaux (1932) from France in in French
- DirectorPeter ChelsomStarsRichard GereJennifer LopezSusan SarandonA romantic comedy where a bored, overworked Estate Lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.Original: Shall we dansu? (1997) from Japan in Japanese
- DirectorKevin GoetzMichael GoetzStarsTroian BellisarioBailey NobleKate BurtonA woman and her childhood friend seek out revenge on those who victimized and abused them.Original: Mártires (2008) from France | Canada in French
- DirectorYann SamuellStarsElisha CuthbertJesse BradfordAustin BasisA sweet Midwestern guy with his life planned out for himself is wooed, groomed, and ultimately dumped by a complicated, elusive gal.Original: Yeopgijeogin geunyeo (2001) from South Korea in Korean
- DirectorCatherine HardwickeStarsGina RodriguezThomas DekkerVivian ChanGloria finds a power she never knew she had when she is drawn into a dangerous world of cross-border crime. Surviving will require all of her cunning, inventiveness, and strength.Original: Miss Bala (2011) from Mexico in Spanish | English
- DirectorBart FreundlichStarsJulianne MooreMichelle WilliamsBilly CrudupA manager of an orphanage in Kolkata travels to New York to meet a benefactor.Original: Efter brylluppet (2006) from Denmark in Danish | Swedish | English | Hindi
- DirectorWalter HillStarsBruce WillisBruce DernWilliam SandersonA drifting gunslinger-for-hire finds himself in the middle of an ongoing war between the Irish and Italian mafia in a Prohibition era ghost town.Original: Yojimbo (1961) from Japan in Japanese
added 10 April 2021 - DirectorNat FaxonJim RashStarsJulia Louis-DreyfusWill FerrellZach WoodsBarely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other.Original: Turist (2014) aka Force Majeure (2014) from Sweden in Swedish | Norwegian | English | French | Italian
added 10 April 2021 - DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsJake GyllenhaalRiley KeoughPeter SarsgaardA demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.Original: Den skyldige (2018) from Denmark in Danish
added 25 January 2022 - DirectorHans Petter MolandStarsLiam NeesonLaura DernMicheál NeesonA grieving snowplow driver seeks out revenge against the drug dealers who killed his son.Original: Kraftidioten (2014) from Norway Denmark Sweden in Norwegian | Danish | Swedish | English | Serbian | German Languages
added 25 January 2022 - DirectorMartin CampbellStarsLiam NeesonGuy PearceTaj AtwalAn assassin-for-hire finds that he's become a target after he refuses to complete a job for a dangerous criminal organization.Another American Remake of a Non-English Movie Not Listed
Original: De zaak Alzheimer (2003) from Belgium in Dutch | French | Flemish | Languages (with Memory (2022) as the pictured example)
added 10 February 2023