Nothing gets a movie respect like a remake. The original Night and the City received its share of negative reviews, but you'd never know it from the critics who trashed the 1992 version. Here are other vintage movies that, despite some initial pans, have aged gracefully.
THE BIG SLEEP (1946) ''It's likely to leave you confused and
dissatisfied.'' —The New York Times
THE BIG SLEEP (1978) ''An entirely
unnecessary movie. Howard Hawks adapted Raymond Chandler's classic
detective story 30-odd years ago and he did it right.'' —Time
THE BLOB (1958) ''Woodenly presented.... And most of [the] trick
effects... look pretty phony.'' —The New York Times
THE BLOB (1988) ''More wounding than the uneven tone...of this Blob is its increased
scale. Much of [the original's] appeal...lies in [its] economy of
means.'' —Los Angeles Times
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) ''In all respects...it
flouts audience desire. It's not good.... It is horrible.'' —New York
Post
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990) ''What about [the] original
needed improving?'' —The Washington Times
OUT OF THE PAST (1947) ''The action of this new film is likely to
leave the napping or unmathematical customer far behind.'' —The New
York Times
AGAINST ALL ODDS (1984) ''Yet another overwrought
remake.... Back in 1947, this was [the] measurably superior Out of
the Past.'' —Playboy
THE THING (1951) ''Lacks genuine entertainment values.... Cast
members fail to communicate any real terror '' —Variety
THE THING (1982) ''This new film bears only a superficial resemblance to Howard
Hawks' 1951 classic [which was] a masterpiece of understatement.''
—The New York Times
