10 Famous Hollywood Movies That Are Actually Remakes of Foreign Films

Martin Scorsese finally won his long-awaited Oscar with this crime film about a mole in the police and a mole in the mafia. Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio played great. But the story? That comes straight from Hong Kong. It is an almost scene-by-scene remake of the brilliant thriller “Infernal Affairs” (2002). Where the American version is coarse and loud, the original is sleek and stylish. Many critics even think the Asian version is better (and shorter!).

Everyone knows the image of the girl with the long black hair crawling out of the TV. Naomi Watts played the leading role in this horror hit about a cursed video tape. The original comes from Japan and is called “Ringu” (1998). Japanese horror (“J-Horror”) is often much more subtle and therefore scarier than the American “jump scares”. After the success of The Ring, Hollywood started remaking Japanese horror films en masse (think The Grudge and Dark Water), but Ringu remains the king.

Tom Cruise plays a vain playboy whose face becomes disfigured. It's a bizarre, dreamy film with a twist you won't see coming. Penélope Cruz plays his sweetheart. The funny thing is: Penélope Cruz played “the exact same role” in the original! The film is a remake of the Spanish film “Abre los Ojos” (Open Your Eyes) from 1997. Tom Cruise saw the film, immediately bought the rights and asked Cruz if she wanted to reprise her role, but in English.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the ultimate spy who pretends to be a boring computer salesman at home. It is one of the best action films from the 90s, full of explosions and humor. But this idea doesn't come from James Cameron. It is a remake of the French comedy “La Totale!” from 1991. The story is identical, only the French version had no budget for fighter jets and nuclear weapons. Hollywood literally and figuratively blew up the story.

This sci-fi classic starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt is about time travel to stop a deadly virus. A complicated and dark masterpiece. However, the source of inspiration is even more artistic. It is based on the French short film “La Jetée” from 1962. That film lasts only 28 minutes and consists almost entirely of still black and white photos. Proof that you can build a Hollywood blockbuster with a simple idea.

Seven tough cowboys protect a village against bandits. It's the ultimate western. But those cowboys were originally samurai. The film is a direct copy of “Seven Samurai” (1954) by the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The swords were replaced by revolvers and the kimonos by cowboy hats, but the story about honor and sacrifice remained exactly the same.

“Hoo-ah!” Al Pacino finally won his Oscar for his role as the blind, bitter lieutenant colonel who wants to show off one last time. Pacino was great, but he wasn't the first. The film is a remake of the Italian classic “Profumo di Donna” from 1974. The Italian version is slightly more melancholic and less focused on the “big speech” at the end, but the tango scene is there in both versions.

The hit comedy from the '80s about three bachelors who suddenly have to take care of a baby. (And yes, that movie where that famous “ghost” was supposed to be in the background, which turned out to be just a cardboard sign). This is also “French made”. The original is called “Trois hommes et un couffin” (Three men and a cradle) and was released only two years earlier. The Americans found the concept so funny that they immediately adopted it, and it became the most successful film of 1987 in the US.

This film recently won the Oscar for Best Picture. It is about a deaf family whose daughter is the only one who can hear and dreams of a singing career. A beautiful tearjerker. But the story had been known in Europe for a long time. It is a remake of the French hit “La Famille Bélier” from 2014. There is one big difference: in the French version the deaf parents were played by hearing actors, which led to criticism. The American version cast “real deaf actors,” which made the film much more authentic.

Robin Williams and Nathan Lane play a gay couple who run a nightclub and have to pretend to be "normal" to their son's in-laws. Hilarious and iconic. But the basis is again in France (and Italy). It is a remake of “La Cage aux Folles” (1978). That film was groundbreaking at the time because it was one of the first films to star a homosexual couple in a comedy. Hollywood poured an American sauce over it, but the chaos remained the same.