Foreign Film Remakes

It's no secret that Hollywood isn't known for originality these days. Most movies are adapted from books, this is nothing new, but now more and more remakes and sequels are showing up all over. This is common knowledge, but what isn't is that many seemingly original films are actually remakes of foreign films.

Americans don't seem to like foreign films very much. They consistently fail to make even a slight blip on the box office radar. They're typically only seen by film buffs, so most people haven't heard of them. This makes them prime remake material. I recently found out that Dinner for Schmucks, coming out this weekend is based on the French film "The Dinner Game" from 1998. So I knew, I had to make this list.

Here's a short list of the most notable ones from the last 10 years:

China
The Eye (2008) from The Eye (2002)
The Departed (2006) from Internal Affairs (2002)

Denmark
Catch that Kid (2004) from Klatretosen (2002)
Brothers (2009) from Brodre (2004)

French
Taxi (2004) from Taxi (1998)

German
No Reservations (2007) from Bella Martha (2001)

Japan
Dark Water (2005) from Dark Water (2002)
The Grudge (2004) from Ju-On: The Grudge (2003)
One Missed Call (2008) from Chakushin Ari (2004)
The Ring (2001) from Ringu (1998)
Shall we Dance (2004) from Shall we Dansu (1996)

Korea
The Lake House (2006) from Il Mare (2000)
The Uninvited (2009) from A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Mirrors (2009) from Into the Mirror (2003)

Norway
Insomnia (2002) from Insomnia (1997)

Spain
Vanilla Sky (2001) from Abre Los Ojos (1997)
Quarantine (2008) from REC (2007)

Thailand
Shutter (2008) from Shutter (2004)
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) from Bangkok Dangerous (1999)

Sweden
Let Me in (2010) from Let the Right one In (2008)

and also some older ones you might not expect.

The Birdcage
Jungle 2 Jungle
The Parent Trap
Weekend at Bernie's
True Lies
Three men and a Baby