Steven Spielberg's remake of the 1961 musical classic West Side Story was one of the movies honored with receiving a nomination for Best Picture alongside six other categories. With a fresh coat of paint and using modern technology, the story reignited the passion between Tony and Maria as well as the feud between the Sharks and the Jets.
But this is not the only remake throughout the history of the Oscars that was nominated for Best Picture over the years. From grand epic dramas to mesmerizing musicals, these are the nine other remakes alongside West Side Story that were nominated for the biggest award from the star-studded ceremony.
Cleopatra
The story of Cleopatra the Queen of Egypt has been made into movies ever since the silent era. And a new take of this story will reportedly star Gal Gadot as the Egyptian royalty, although a release date has yet to be confirmed.
But the most iconic version that most cinemagoers are aware of is 1963's Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor as the historical Queen. A remake to the 1934 movie, they both received a nomination for Best Picture, although none of them were able to take home the prized award the following year.
Beauty And The Beast
Based on the French fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast's most famous movie adaptation is the 1991 Disney animated classic. And it broke new ground within the Academy Awards as it was the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture.
But this was also a remake of the 1946 French movie that shared the same name. It was inspired by Jean Cocteau's original movie, with the design of the Beast sharing features from a Lion and Belle sacrificing herself for her father's imprisonment by the seemingly intimidating monster.
Moulin Rouge
The famed Australian director Baz Luhrmann had a huge feat to try and top his modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the star-crossed lovers. And this follow-up would be the musical remake of Moulin Rouge.
It was remade from the 1952 British drama of the same name and it was directed by then celebrated filmmaker John Huston. But Luhrmann was able to give the love story a bright and vibrant coat of paint that the original movie just couldn't possibly have done at the time. This year marks Moulin Rouge's twentieth anniversary that still has a dedicated fanbase.
The Thin Red Line
James Jones fought in the second world war and used his experiences as a soldier to become an author on a series of books that were heavily influenced by his time fighting overseas. One of these titles was The Thin Red Line, which was turned into a movie in 1964.
But 34 years later, the movie was remade by Terrence Malick, who returned to the director's chair after Days of Heaven twenty years prior. While it did lose out to Shakespeare in Love for Best Picture, it is still regarded as one of the best war movies produced in the 90s.
Chicago
Chicago first hit the big screen in 1927 as a silent drama from Maurine Dallas Watkins' play of the same name. But the version that many may think of when they hear the word Chicago would most likely be associated with the 2002 remake, which also took inspiration from the musical theatre production introduced in the 70s.
It was the cinematic directing debut of Rob Marshall, who would go on to continue making musical movies like Into The Woods and Mary Poppins Returns. And what a debut it was as he was nominated for Best Director and his involvement helped to win the movie the Best Picture award. For those new to this one, fans of The Greatest Showman should watch the movie.
Little Women
Little Women has been adapted multiple times, with the earliest released in 1917. But the most popular theatrical version was Gillian Armstrong's 1994 movie starring Winona Ryder and Kirsten Dunst that earned three nominations from the following year's Academy Awards.
That is until Greta Gerwig's 2019 remake was released. Starring Saoirse Ronan and Emma Watson, this version earned the nomination for Best Picture alongside five other nominations. Whether it will be remembered as fondly as its predecessor still remains, but it is ranked by Rotten Tomatoes as among Gerwig's ten best movies.
True Grit
Fans of westerns will undoubtedly have heard of True Grit and its association with John Wayne. The 1969 movie saw Wayne play Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. Marshal who goes after the murderer of a young girl's father. The role was one of the actor's greatest performances, receiving an Academy Award for his work and reprising his role in a sequel.
With superheroes taking over the cinemas at the time, it was refreshing to see a remake of this western return by the hands of the Coen Brothers. The movie received the Best Picture nomination and both Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld received Academy Award nominations for their performances while the famed directors also received a nomination for their direction too.
A Star Is Born
The 1976 movie was in itself the second remake of the original A Star Is Born. It starred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson and they were able to win an Academy Award for their song 'Evergreen.'
For his debut as a director, Bradley Cooper wanted to remake the 70s classic movie for a new generation. He bought Lady Gaga on board to play Ally Maine and help write some of the songs that would be featured in the soundtrack. While it lost the Best Picture award to Green Book, Lady Gaga did win the award for Best Original Song for "Shallow," which has been among one of the best-ranked songs from A Star Is Born.
The Departed
For those who may not know, Infernal Affairs was a 2002 thriller from Hong Kong that followed a cop who infiltrated a dangerous criminal gang to uncover their next big score while an informant of their own blends in the police force. It gained international recognition and would play a big part in Martin Scorcese's next movie.
Infernal Affairs was remade for American audiences as The Departed and changed the setting to Boston and focussed on the Irish mob. The story captivated cinemagoers and won the Best Picture award as well as Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.