A remake is a film or television series based on one produced earlier. The term "remake" can refer to everything on the spectrum of reused material: both an allusion or a line-by-line change retake of a film. However, the term generally pertains to a new version of an old film. A reproduced television series could also be called a remake.

Film

The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source. For example, 2001's Ocean's Eleven is a remake of the Ocean's 11, while 1989's Batman is a re-interpretation of the comic book source material which also inspired 1966's Batman. In 1998, Gus Van Sant produced a shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho.

With the exception of shot-for-shot remakes, most remakes make significant character, plot, genre and theme changes. For example, the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair is centered on a bank robbery, while its 1999 remake involves the theft of a valuable piece of artwork. The 1999 remake of The Mummy was viewed primarily as "a reimagining" in a different genre (adventure). Similarly, when the 1969 film The Italian Job was remade in 2003, few aspects were carried over. Another example is the 1932 film Scarface which was remade in 1983 starring Al Pacino; whereas the setting of 1932 version is the illegal alcohol trade, the characters in the 1983 version are involved in cocaine smuggling.

In computing, a clone is a hardware or software system that is designed to function in the same way as another system. A specific subset of clones are Remakes (or Remades), which are revivals of old, obsolete, or discontinued products.

Motivation

Clones and remakes are created for various reasons, including competition, standardization, availability across platforms, and even as homage. Compatibility with the original system is usually the explicit purpose of cloning hardware or low-level software such as operating systems (e.g. AROS and MorphOS are intended to be compatible with AmigaOS). Application software can be cloned simply by providing similar functionality (all word processors have the same basic purpose), but may also be designed to support specific file formats (e.g. OpenOffice.org is intended to supplant Microsoft Office).

Commercially motivated clones are made often during a competitor product's initial successful commercial run, intentionally competing with the original and trying to participate on their success.

A remake is a film or television series based on an earlier produced work.

Remake may also refer to: