Hollywood is the dominating force in cinema, for better or for worse. Some of the most original and fantastic works in the art form came from the Los Angeles neighborhood. With all this being said, the whole world engages in the medium, and most of the work is often ignored by western eyes.

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To show some respect to the unsung international film space and acknowledge where Hollywood gets its ideas, the following list will detail ten movies you didn't know were remakes of foreign films. The originals are almost always better, but a few of the remakes make their own creative liberties, which, in turn, make them wholly original works worthy of their own praise.

12 Monkeys Is A Remake Of La Jetee

Only Terry Gilliam could make a science fiction film as wild and original as 12 Monkeys. Yet, the movie wasn't the first work to have this idea. La Jetee is an experimental French short film told mostly through still photographs.

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The plot is mostly the same as the 1995 movie, and the ending revelation is left largely unchanged. The 1962 films is only half an hour long, though some may find the format hard to endure. 12 Monkeys, on the other hand, adds a layer of thorough entertainment to a thought-provoking plot filled with tear-jerking moments.

The Departed And Infernal Affairs

A man holding another man at gunpoint in Infernal Affairs

Even the most ardent Scorsese fans will admit The Departed isn't his best film, yet it was the one that finally garnered him a much deserved Oscar. While the plot and crime scream of the director's trademarks, the movie is a remake of a Hong Kong film from 2002 called Infernal Affairs. The original was well-received in its homeland, as well, and garnered two sequels just a year later. The Departed, for obvious reasons to those who saw it, never got a second or third part.

Some Like It Hot And Fanfare Of Love

Marilyn Monroe singing in Some Like It Hot

Of all Marilyn Monroe films, Some Like it Hot is one of the most popular. The topic of cross-dressing was considered racy at the time, and the film's success is credited as one of the reasons for the notorious Hays Code's eventual disappearance in the 60s. As it turns out, another film was ahead of the curve by more than twenty-five years. France's Fanfare of Love told the same story of two musicians dressing as women for work opportunities in 1935, and Some Like it Hot's screenplay was directly adapted from it.

Point Of No Return Is Nikita

Bridget Fonda's starring vehicle Point of No Return is a remake of Luc Besson's Nikita. The plot is nearly identical, with a drug-addicted woman on death row being saved in exchange for becoming an assassin. The main character's renewed outlook on life coming only after forever transforming into a killer makes for a compelling drama. Jean Reno's character in Nikita was also a direct inspiration for his starring role in The Professional. Besson's recent work has been less than stellar, but Nikita is a thrill ride from start to finish.

True Lies Is La Totale

True Lies stands as an outlier in James Cameron's filmography. In true Cameron fashion, it still was one of the most expensive movies at the time. The film came into being because Arnold Schwarzenegger loved a french comedy called La Totale and convinced his director friend to make an American version. It is Cameron's only work based on a foreign film, and it holds up with the best of his projects.

The Parent Trap Is Two Times Lotte

The idea for The Parent Trap stemmed from a German children's novel called Lottie and Lisa. Before becoming the 1960s family comedy, it was first a 1950 West German feature Two Times Lotte. All these years and remakes, and the main plot of two twins reunited by coincidence and hatching a plan to fool their separated biological parents remains the same.

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The story behind the original book's creation is also quite interesting, with the author hatching the plot during World War II but being forbidden to work on it by the Nazis. Only after the war ended did he continue the work and publish the novel.

The Magnificent Seven Is Seven Samurai

The classic western about seven gunman thanklessly saving a poor town from malicious gangsters has been told time and time again in different settings. Most recently, The Mandalorian's fourth episode takes many cues from the story.

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Before The Magnificent Seven, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai was the first time the plot was translated to film. Unlike later adaptations, Kurosawa's film is an epic three-and-a-half-hour opus. Considering the Japanese director's unmatched talent, it is no wonder so many movies took inspiration from it.

The Last House On The Left Is The Virgin Spring

the virgin spring movie

Wes Craven's revenge horror film shocked audiences in the late 70s. Discovering Ingmar Bergman's 1960 film The Virgin Spring was the inspiration for it may be even more shocking. The principal difference is the setting, but it still follows a father's vengeance against men who sexually assaulted his daughter.

The movie caused controversy upon release for its graphic violence and the US version was subject to censorship. Bergman is one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, though one would not expect him to have directly impacted one of the best horror films of the 70s.

Fistful Of Dollars Is Yojimbo

Yojimbo sword fight

A Fistful of Dollars' story is essentially a western retelling of Kurosawa's classic Samurai work Yojimbo. Given its more straightforward tale, the movie is a great introduction to Kurosawa's filmography. It's quick and accessible but still displays the director's masterful techniques and dedication to aesthetic perfection. The Clint Eastwood western is also a fine film in its own right and jettisoned the now legendary actor to stardom.

Solaris Was First A Movie From The Soviet Union

Kevin in the ending of Solaris

Andrei Tarkovsky is one of the most celebrated films from the Soviet Union. Works like Ivan's Childhood, Stalker, and Andrei Rublev are still playing on art house cinema screens around the world decades after release. Solaris, like most of his works, is long, slow, and brimming with beauty in every frame.

Steven Soderbergh remade the movie in 2002 with George Clooney. It runs about an hour shorter than the Soviet version, giving viewers less time to dwell on the story and is an inferior interpretation by all accounts. Ultimately, it is best to read the 1961 novel on which the movies are based, written by Stanislaw Lem.

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