5 Directors Who Should Remake Their Own Films

Brian De Palma/Scarface

Scarface has already been remade once – to such success that it has overshadowed the original – and, in recent years, there have been rumors that another is in the oven. If they’re going to remake the film again, then why not bring back the great Brian De Palma to pull it off?

Even the best films are subject to the ebb and flow of culture. Unfortunately, the ’83 Scarface has -aesthetically speaking – not aged well. The corny, synch-heavy ’80s soundtrack is reason enough to give the series a face-lift.

Remaking his most popular work would allow De Palma to modernize it for modern audiences while simultaneously reintroducing himself to the world, having not had a successful film since Mission: Impossible. And no, it wouldn’t be a director pathetically cashing in on past successes; it would be a director pathetically cashing in on past successes in a somewhat artistic manner.

The original film tackled the universal themes of greed and excess in a simple but potent way. The ’83 version continued with those themes, but switched the ethnicity of the lead from Italian to Cuban and set the film in modern times, tagging on the additional theme of immigration.

Keeping with tradition, the remake could tag on yet another theme, or stick with immigration, which remains a hot-button issue. Personally, I would like to see the film be a 1930s period-piece and return to the original Tony Camonte. This way, De Palma could once again tackle the classic gangster environment of The Untouchables – giving the remake a double-dose of nostalgia.