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Asian Remakes of Western Films

Seven Spins on Classic Hollywood Tales

By Tyler TurnerPublished 5 years ago 8 min read
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Ghost [Credit: Paramount Pictures]

Remember the J-horror craze that saw Japanese-borne horror movies such as the Grudge and Ringu snapped up by Western filmmakers and given a glossy Americanized makeover? Ever wondered what it'd be like is the shoe was on the other foot and your favourite Hollywood movies were remade and set in an entirely different culture?

Look no further. Below is a lift of seven popular western movies remade by Asian filmmakers. Delve in and discover a whole new take on these familiar tales.

The Original: 'Unforgiven' (1992/USA)
The Remake: 'Unforgiven' (2013/Japan)

Unforgiven [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Unforgiven is one of the US’s most renowned Westerns. It stars Clint Eastwood as a retired killer who decides to take up one last job in killing two men who have horribly disfigured a prostitute. Things get messy when the town’s corrupt sheriff, played by Gene Hackman, gets involved with everyone trying to get the bounty. This film is one of Clint Eastwood’s best, and has taken home numerous awards and a place in the United States National Film Registry.

Did the remake work?

The Japanese version swapped Clint Eastwood with another A-lister in both sides of the Pacific: Watanabe Ken. The setting was also changed from the American wild west to the beginning of the Meiji Period, when the days of the samurai have just ended.

The story is essentially the same, but instead of cowboys, it features retired swordsmen and Ainu (who are basically to Japan what Native Americans are to the United States). The remake indeed lived up to the original, and had remarkable performances from both Watanabe Ken and Sato Koichi, who took the role originally played by Hackman.

The Original: 'Ghost' (1990/USA)
The Remake: 'Ghost: I Want to Hold You in My Arms Again' (2010/Japan)

Ghost [Credit: Paramount Pictures]

The classic supernatural romantic drama Ghost starred Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. The story centers around a man who returns as a ghost after being murdered by an unknown assailant. In order to protect his lover from suffering the same fate, he recruits the aid of a quirky medium, resulting in an adventure that has made everyone who has watched it cry waterfalls.

Did the remake work?

The Japanese version takes the basic premise of the original and adds its own spin to things. The first noticeable change is that the girl (played by Matushima Nanako) is the one who suffers Swayze’s fate. She must work together with a quirky medium (Kiki Kirin) to come to the aid of her Korean husband (Song Seung-Heon).

It seems strange to recruit a non-Japanese male lead, but perhaps the words “I love you” would have a stronger effect on female viewers if spoken by a Korean (in Korean, no less). A cute reimagining of the classic film, but definitely nowhere near as popular. But hey, at least the iconic ballad, “Unchained Melody” made an appearance, getting a nice cover by pop star Hirai Ken.

The Original: 'Dangerous Liaisons' (1988/USA)
The Remakes: 'Untold Scandal' (2003/Korea) and 'Dangerous Liaisons' (2012/China)

Dangerous Liaisons [Credit: Warner Bros.]

This entry is a bit of a special case. The 1988 American film, Dangerous Liaisons was adapted from the French novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, though it wasn’t the first adaptation to come into the world.

It was, however, the most renowned one, and set the bar for other remakes, including the 1999 American film, Cruel Intentions. They share the same basic story, in which an upper-class woman makes a bet with an acquaintance, promising sexual favors to be awarded should he succeed with the seduction of a certain young girl. What follows is a tale of revenge, betrayal, love, and redemption.

Did the remakes work?

The Korean and Chinese versions did their own spins on the original story. Untold Scandal, which stars Bae Yong-joon, Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Mi-sook, and Lee So-yeon, takes place in the same time period as the original novel and film, but in Joseon period Korea instead of pre-Revolution Paris.

The Chinese take on the story stars Jang Dong-gun, Zhang Ziyi, Cecilia Cheung, and Candy Wang in the respective main roles, and sets the story in 1930s Shanghai. Both films did well at adapting the original piece, but it was Untold Scandal that really shone between the two, having the awards and nominations to show for it.

The Original: 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' (1966/Italy, West Germany, Spain, USA)
The Remake: 'The Good, the Bad, and the Weird' (2008/Korea)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Credit: Produzioni Europee Associate]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is one of the most definitive Spaghetti Westerns ever made. Clint Eastwood headlines this epic, which was known for its stylish use of violence and its nail-biting Mexican standoff. As the name suggests, the story follows three gunslingers—a hero, a villain, and an oddball thief—in the American Wild West as they search for buried treasure.

Did the remake work?

The Good, the Bad, and the Weird takes a similar premise from its predecessor, in that the three titular characters race each other to search for buried treasure. The scenery was changed to 1930s Manchuria, but the vibe of the story is kept to feel like a typical Western. Starring superstars Jung Woo-sung, Lee Byung-hun, and Song Kang-ho as the titular trio, the story is filled with tons of fun moments, charismatic characters, and exhilarating action sequences. It’s not as influential as the original, but it does hold a spot as one of the Korean films to definitely see in one’s lifetime.

The Original: 'Sideways' (2004/USA)
The Remake: 'Sideways' (2009/Japan)

Sideways [Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures]

Sideways is an award-winning film starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church as two middle-aged wine connoisseurs on a road trip in the Santa Ynez Valley. Along they way they meet two women who they take along for the ride, igniting an adventure filled with wine, sex, and the eventual acceptance of reality. The acting was phenomenal, and did so well critically and commercially that tourism increased in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Did the remake work?

The Japanese remake, unlike many of the films on this list, didn’t relocate the story to the country that produced it. Instead, the road trip was shifted to the wine country in Napa, and placed Giamatti and Church with two veteran actors in Kinohata Fumiya and Namase Katsuhisa.

The reason for the road trip was altered, with the two men driving across Napa as a sort of bachelor party before one of them marries off an American. The remake’s basic sequence of events and characters’ personalities are kept intact, and each of the actors admirably took on the English language.

Indeed, the film had big shoes to fill with the original, and the subject matter of wine connoisseurs is a niche in The Land of the Rising Sun. The remake would have been more of a standout if relocated to Japan, and had the wine replaced with some nihonshu. But overall, it didn’t perform so well. But hey, at least it had Kikuchi Rinko.

The Original: 'What Women Want' (2000/USA)
The Remake: 'What Women Want' (2011/China)

This action-packed flick features Mel Gibson as an arrogant, yet successful advertising executive who, through an accident involving a hairdryer and a bathtub, inherits the superpower of hearing women’s thoughts.

Rather than using this power to fight crime, he decides he wants to steal back his promotion from the witch who he felt stole it from him. Actually I lied; this is a total romantic comedy which everyone’s mothers have probably watched. This film is definitely recommended for date nights, but only if you can appreciate the time Mel Gibson was considered a heartthrob.

Did the remake work?

Other than relocating to Beijing, and replacing the hairdryer with a lamp, the Chinese remake followed the original’s story pretty spot on. Though, the biggest improvements that the remake had was the casting Andy Lau and Gong Li in the stead of Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. That being said, the remake is definitely a step above the original, just because Lau and Gong are two pieces of a winning formula.

The Original: 'My Fair Lady' (1964/USA)
The Remake: 'Lady Maiko' (2014/Japan)

My Fair Lady {Credit: Warner Bros.]

My Fair Lady is the 1964 adaptation of the 1956 theatrical musical of the same name, which itself was an adaptation of the 1938 British film Pygmalion, which adapted the 1913 stage play of the same name. Confusing enough? Well, the most important thing you should remember is that My Fair Lady is an Audrey Hepburn classic.

At the story’s center is Hepburn’s character, a girl with a thick Cockney accent. She becomes part of a wager by a phonetics professor (played by Rex Harrison), who bets that he can make her speak “proper” English, and fit in with the high society of London. The film was a critical success, collecting eight Academy Awards and millions of fans.

Did the remake work?

The remake, named Lady Maiko, shifted the scenery from London to the beautiful Kyoto, and Japanized the story in every sense. Inheriting Audrey Hepburn’s role is Kamishiraishi Mone, a newcomer who beat out hundreds of other girls. She plays a naive girl from Kagoshima who makes the trip all the way to Kyoto to become a geisha. A lot of obstacles stand in the way of her dream, such her messy speech—a combination of dialects of rural Kagoshima and Aomori.

Harrison’s character is inherited by Hasegawa Hiroki. As a linguist professor, he sees Kamishiraishi as an interesting case study, and wagers that he can teach her the Kyoto dialect, which will undoubtedly help her succeed in her dream. A light-hearted twist on the geisha profession, with musical dance numbers added in, Lady Maiko is more than worthy to be successor to My Fair Lady. It is also worth watching because of all the clever ways it outfits the original story with all the fun nuances of Kyoto and Japanese culture.

Do the remakes pull it off, or are they unforgivable? Let me know!

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About the Creator

Tyler Turner

Music and film blogger. English and History student. South Park goth kid.

Like what I do? You help me continue doing what I love most by supporting me on ko-fi.com/tylerturner

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