remake meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

remake

verb

/ɹiːˈmeɪk/ · /ˈɹiːmeɪk/

Etymology From re- + make.

To make again.

To make a new, especially updated, version of (a film, video game, etc.).

The director wanted to remake some of his favourite films from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Fritz Lang in Hollywood has remade the French "La Bête Humaine" story, setting the drama, a little coldly, among the great hooting diesels of the Middle West routes, […].1958 February 23, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 90:

1 more example

In 1976 and 1977, and the years to follow, as symbolically remade by the Sex Pistols, it was, perhaps, dadaists, lettrists, situationists, and various medieval heretics.1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:

noun

Etymology From re- + make.

A new version of something.

A new, especially updated, version of a film, video game, etc.

I haven't seen the original film, but the remake was great.
The thing I like most about the Total Recall remake is the—I have to presume ironic—name of its production company. The first words that appear on screen are “Original Film”.2012 August 24, John Patterson, “Total Recall—a remake to forget”, in The Guardian:

2 more examples

Like Hollywood remakes or remasters old movies, video game publishers are overhauling and rereleasing games to tap into ready-made fan bases for popular franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and World of Warcraft.2020 August 1, Imad Khan, “Like Old Hollywood Movies, Video Games Get a Polish for New Audiences”, in The New York Times:
The family film is the remake of a remake – the 2022 version puts a new spin on the 2003 movie of the same name, which updated the 1950 movie based on the semi-autobiographical novel by siblings Frank Butler Gilbreth Jr and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.2022 March 18, Adrian Horton, “Cheaper by the Dozen review – breezy Disney remake of family comedy”, in The Guardian: