Art Imitates Art

Minding my own business, I was. Scrolling through clickbait we used to call news feeds. Subject to pitfalls and rabbit holes. And la, in the style of Movie Master John Floyd, a film collection article slid into view titled,

Different Movies with the Same Plot

Writer Brianna Zigler explains:

“Many plots in modern-day stories—even across continents, time periods, planets, and dimensions—echo each other's plot arcs. Typically, even the most original works of art nowadays owe credit to others that came before, sometimes dating back to ancient myth. … In film, scripts of one studio [can be picked] up while another takes the same idea and gives it a slight spin … Art imitates art.”

My simplistic definition: Different Titles, Same Plot. In other words, we’re not including remakes, do-overs with the same titles (although some remakes take off in wildly varying directions).

Titles began to pair in my head and within a minute, ten had come to mind. I couldn’t resist checking where she ranked them and, to my surprise, not one of mine made her list. Not one.

Okay, no person can watch every movie ever. Blowup/Blowout are a bit obscure not to mention opaque, but surely most people have heard of John Travolta, Charton Heston, Sean Connery, or are we experiencing Baby Boomer irrelevance? Bond, James Bond. Who?

Zigler goes on to pair thirty four movies (after two updates). I dug into the Web to garner additional opinions, which are included in the table. Some pairings seem tenuous and specious at best: Forest Gump v Benjamin Button? I Robot v Roger Rabbit? The Matrix v The Lego Movie? Fugitive v Minority Report v every individualist ever taking on dystopian society?

Defending My Selections

Blowup v Blowout

Why a studio thought a redo was a good idea mystifies the most avid whodunit fan. Travolta’s Blowout closely follows the impenetrable plot of Blowup (1966). The major distinction is sight versus sound, video versus audio. Picking up the faintest clue of what’s going on requires sitting through the final couple of minutes, which many hippies weren’t willing to do.

Thunderball v Never Say Never Again

Some actors grow so full of themselves, they can’t bear another moment of the series that made them rich and famous. Then, when the world moves on without them, they panic. Leonard Nimoy felt the sting of abandoning his iconic Spock rôle. Likewise Sean Connery. When he realized he was aging out of the sexy spy women adored, he rushed back to grab a script… which happened to be a Thunderball reprise.

Seven Samurai v Magnificent Seven v Battle Beyond the Stars

Hollywood adapted the Japanese classic initially as a damn good Western and later a decent space adventure. Or, one might argue Akira Kurosawa wrote a classic anti-bullying Western that spread across genres. Or, simply turn off the brain and enjoy any of them.

Last Man on Earth v I am Legend v The Omega Man

Vampires. A struggle to survive. Chomp, chomp. Slurp, slurp. Futility. What sets Omega Man apart is his heroism carries a hint of hope missing from the other movies. Further, if you sit through the end scene, you’ll witness Heston reenact a religious iconic scene.

Lawnmower Man v Frankenstein

To be clear, Lawnmower Man the movie shares no plot points with Stephen King’s short story. (Frankly, the story is not one of my King favorites, so please, Mr King, don’t sic Langoliers, Tommyknockers, or clown spiders on me.) The movie wasn’t bad, but as we walked out of the theatre, I realized I’d seen a remake of Frankenstein. What do you think?

The List

The following list includes opinions garnered from internet sites, beginning with my own notions: 68 movies, 32 plots.

1. Blowup ⇔ Blowout
2. Thunderball ⇔ Never Say Never Again
3. Seven Samurai ⇔ Magnificent Seven ⇔ Battle Beyond the Stars
4. Last Man on Earth ⇔ I am Legend ⇔ The Omega Man
5. Lawnmower Man ⇔ Frankenstein
6. Rear Window ⇔ Disturbia ⇔ Woman in the Window
7. Antz ⇔ A Bugs Life
8. Armageddon ⇔ Deep Impact
9. Canine ⇔ Tuner and Hooch
10. Dances With Wolves ⇔ Avatar
11. Forrest Gump ⇔ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
12. Gremlins ⇔ Transformers
13. Gumball Rally ⇔ Cannonball
14. Iron Man ⇔ Doctor Strange
15. It’s a Wonderful Life ⇔ Click
16. Mall Cop ⇔ Observe and Report
17. Megamind ⇔ Despicable Me
18. Mirror, Mirror ⇔ Snow White and The Huntsman
19. No Strings Attached ⇔ Friends With Benefits
20. Phantom of the Paradise ⇔ Rocky Horror Picture Show
21. Point Break ⇔ The Fast and the Furious
22. Rio Bravo ⇔ Assault on Precinct 13
23. Terminator 2: Judgment Day ⇔ Looper
24. The Fugitive ⇔ Minority Report
25. The Great Race ⇔ Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
26. The Hidden Fortress ⇔ Star Wars
27. The Matrix ⇔ The Lego Movie
28. The Prestige ⇔ The Illusionist
29. The Prince of Egypt ⇔ Thor
30. Top Gun ⇔ Days of Thunder ⇔ Iron Eagle
31. Volcano ⇔ Dante’s Peak
32. Who Framed Roger Rabbit ⇔ I, Robot

Which movies would you add?