Each country has versions of horror, romance, comedy, and science-fiction thrillers movies. Modern foreign-language classics like Roma (2018) from Mexico, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) from France, and Parasite (2019) from South Korea hold a special place in cinema lovers' hearts around the world. These films gained popularity for their originality, and earned numerous awards.
Some exceptionally popular films have inspired international remakes, some even too many to count. These remakes freshened up an existing story to appeal to a new audience, as well as incorporating situations and issues that most people living in that particular country of their native language, would relate to.
'Bullet Train' (2022)
In the United States (U.S.) the thriller Bullet Train debuted in theaters in August. The film, where most of the action (if not all) took place on a train, starred Brad Pitt as Ladybug, Joey King as Prince, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tangerine. In the film, Ladybug needed to redeem himself after he failed several of his assassination missions. His new job was to retrieve a briefcase while on a train.
The U.S. version of Bullet Train wasn't an original idea. It was adapted from the 1975 Japanese version, Shinkansen daibakuha, which translated to Bullet Train. The Japanese version starred Ken Takakura as Tetsuo Okita. Tetsuo, who previously worked in a manufacturing company, was hired to find a bomb that was planted on a train traveling from Tokyo.
'Hachi: A Dog's Tale' (2009)
Fans of Marley & Me (2008) and Togo (2019) should add Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) to their list of must-watch films. The biographical film Hachi: A Dog's Tale told the story of Hachi(ko), an abandoned Akita puppy who was adopted by Professor Wilson (Richard Gere). The film revealed the strong growing relationship between the man and the puppy.
The US version was adapted from the 1987 Japanese version titled Hachi-ko. In the 1987 version, Tatsuya Nakadai starred in the film as Shujiro Ueno, who adopted the Akita puppy in Japan. The film shared the same wholehearted plot and the grief that both dogs had after their owner's death.
'No Reservations' (2007)
Fans who watched the TV series The Bear (2022 -) know that the kitchen in a restaurant is not all that glamorous. It's fast-paced and stress-intensive for employees to ensure that they deliver the perfect dish, and No Reservations (2007) showed the chaotic kitchen life and how it can bleed into a chef's personal life. The U.S. version of the film No Reservations starred Catherine Zeta-Jones as Kate and Aaron Eckhart as Nicholas. Kate needed to balance two of her priorities, raising her niece and running a kitchen in a prestigious restaurant in Manhattan.
The U.S. version of this film was a remake of the 1998 film Mostly Martha (Bella Martha) from Germany. The main plot remained the same; one significant difference was the location and the characters' names. In Mostly Martha, Martha (Martina Gedeck) was the head chef of a German restaurant who gained custody of her niece.
'Eight Below' (2006)
Eight Below (2006) focused on a team of sled dogs that were left in the Antarctic after their owner, Jerry Shepherd (Paul Walker) intended to return to them after the storm passed. However, he didn't return, leaving the dogs to fight for survival on their own. Finding food and avoiding predators were only a few of the challenges that the dogs had to conquer.
The film was based on a true story, and the story was first adapted into a major motion picture in 1983. The 1983 version, Antarctica (Nankyoku monogatari), was filmed in Japanese and Ken Takakura starred as Akira Ushioda and Tsunehiko Watase as Kenjirô Ochi sled dog owners who also, unfortunately, left their dogs in Antarctica.
'Godzilla' (1954)
It seems every other year or so, a new Godzilla film is released in theaters. The most recent film premiered in 2021, titled, Godzilla vs. Kong. There have been at least 37 films that were released about Godzilla, but first versions of the film were Japanese.
In the 1954 version, the first Godzilla, film, Godzilla, a sea monster, was awakened after an explosion and started to attack the Japanese cities. Professor Kyohei Yamane (Takashi Shimura) was the expert on the monster and knew its weakness. The 2014 film released in the United States followed a similar plot, except this time Godzilla attacked San Francisco.
'200 Pounds Beauty' (2006)
In 2006, South Korea released 200 Pounds Beauty, a drama that tackled the topic of a women's appearance not meeting the expectations of others. Kim Ah-joong starred in the film as Han-na a talented singer, but she never stood in front of a live audience and sang as herself because of her appearance. Instead, she lent her voice to other performers. Other women would use her recording as their own while performing in front of an audience.
In order to meet the expectations set by others to even earn the attention she sought out, she underwent plastic surgery. The film's narrative remained the same and was remade in Japan in 2006 and in 2009, Vietnam released its version.
'What Women Want' (2000)
What are they thinking at this very moment? This wasn't a question that Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson) had to ask himself because he heard every woman's thoughts regardless if he wanted to hear them or not. After getting electrocuted, he gained the ability to hear women's thoughts, giving him the advantage to succeed in his job and have women fall in love with him in his personal life.
What Women Want was first released in the U.S. in 2000. In 2011, China adapted the film with the title, Wo zhi nv ren xin, which is similar to the U.S. version. In 2004, India released the film with the title Aga Bai Arecha! and starred Sanjay Narvekar who earned the ability to hear women after he wished he could understand women.
'My Best Friend's Wedding' (1997)
The first version of My Best Friend's Wedding was released in the U.S. in 1997. The film followed Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) who was best friends with Michael O'Neal (Dermot Mulroney), and they didn't see each other as anything more than friends. When Michael invited Julianne to his wedding, she felt torn and intended to stop the wedding from happening.
So far, My Best Friend's Wedding was remade twice, with the plot remaining the same. The title was only translated into a different language. In 2016, China released a remake starring Shu Qi and Feng Shaofeng. In 2019, Mexico released a remake starring Ana Serradilla and Carlos Ferro.
'Suddenly Twenty' (2016)
There have been several films that follow the trope of an older person wishing to be younger and waking up the next day younger. Suddenly Twenty (2016), from Thailand, adapted the trope and slightly altered it. In the film, Parn (Davika Hoorne) was about 70 years old and wished to reveal her 20s and her wish soon was granted.
In 2017, Indonesia adapted the film. It was titled Sweet Twenty and starred Tatjana Saphira. The Philippines adapted the film in 2018, and titled it Miss Granny and starring Sarah Geronimo. In 2019, India adapted the film and titled it Oh Baby with Samantha Ruth Prabhu as the lead.
'Perfect Strangers' (2016) (Perfetti sconosciuti)
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The title might vary from one language to another, but the premise stays relatively the same. A group of close friends met up to spend dinner together. To spice up what would have ended up as a casual friendly dinner, one of the hosts suggested that would share with the rest of the group any text message or phone call that came through.
This "game" tested their relationship and revealed information about each other that definitely impacted their night. Soon the guests were hoping that no text message would come through. Perfect Strangers has been remade more than 18 times, earning the Guinness World Record for the most amount of remakes. The films were remade in Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey, France, South Korea, India, Hungary, Russia, Germany, Armenia, Poland, Vietnam, Japan, Romania, Israel, Netherlands, Slovakia and Czech Republic, Lebanon, and Norway.