Black Remakes of White Films

Movies that added color and got a new life on screen.

Steel Magnolias (2012) -  There’s always extra added pizazz, new energy and yes, well, color when an all-white film gets remade with a predominantly African-American cast.Steel Magnolias is the latest film to undergo this transformation. The 2012 version of this award-winning movie stars Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad and Jill Scott taking over roles originated by Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Dolly Parton respectively.Here’s a peek at other Black remakes of white films that have (or will soon) become beloved original, classics in their own right.(photo: courtesy Lifetime)

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Steel Magnolias (2012) -  There’s always extra added pizazz, new energy and yes, well, color when an all-white film gets remade with a predominantly African-American cast.Steel Magnolias is the latest film to undergo this transformation. The 2012 version of this award-winning movie stars Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad and Jill Scott taking over roles originated by Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Dolly Parton respectively.Here’s a peek at other Black remakes of white films that have (or will soon) become beloved original, classics in their own right.(photo: courtesy Lifetime)

The Wiz - Thanks to a soundtrack by music legend Quincy Jones, an all-star cast featuring Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Richard Pryor, there's a whole generation that only knows how to ease on down the road. This movie version of the Tony winning Broadway play, an urban retelling of 1939's The Wizard of Oz, is the original funkytown. (photo: courtesy Universal Pictures)

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The Wiz - Thanks to a soundtrack by music legend Quincy Jones, an all-star cast featuring Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Richard Pryor, there's a whole generation that only knows how to ease on down the road. This movie version of the Tony winning Broadway play, an urban retelling of 1939's The Wizard of Oz, is the original funkytown. (photo: courtesy Universal Pictures)

Death at a Funeral (2010) - Chris Rock served as producer and star of the film, based on the original 2007 screwball British comedy, which turns the setting of a funeral into a farce of family secrets and misplaced bodies. The movie's all-star cast includes Zoe Saldana, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan and Danny Glover.(Photo: Courtesy Screen Gems)

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Death at a Funeral (2010) - Chris Rock served as producer and star of the film, based on the original 2007 screwball British comedy, which turns the setting of a funeral into a farce of family secrets and misplaced bodies. The movie's all-star cast includes Zoe Saldana, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan and Danny Glover.(Photo: Courtesy Screen Gems)

Annie - Previously a redhead curly afro-ed white youth in comics, on Broadway and in the original 1982 film, little orphan Annie is about to get a makeover. With Willow Smith in the title role, dad Will Smith as producer and Jay-Z providing the film’s score, movie audiences should be prepared to have their hard knock lives rocked. Annie begins production in New York City in Spring 2013.(Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

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Annie - Previously a redhead curly afro-ed white youth in comics, on Broadway and in the original 1982 film, little orphan Annie is about to get a makeover. With Willow Smith in the title role, dad Will Smith as producer and Jay-Z providing the film’s score, movie audiences should be prepared to have their hard knock lives rocked. Annie begins production in New York City in Spring 2013.(Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

About Last Night - Can a sexy couple make a relationship out of a one-night stand? That’s what the original 1986 film, starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, (based on the David Mamet play Sexual Perversity in Chicago) tried to answer. That question will be revisited when Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant take over the remake’s lead roles and Kevin Hart stars as Ealy’s BFF. The film began shooting in Los Angeles in fall 2012.(Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images For BET)

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About Last Night - Can a sexy couple make a relationship out of a one-night stand? That’s what the original 1986 film, starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, (based on the David Mamet play Sexual Perversity in Chicago) tried to answer. That question will be revisited when Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant take over the remake’s lead roles and Kevin Hart stars as Ealy’s BFF. The film began shooting in Los Angeles in fall 2012.(Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images For BET)

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Black Orpheus - A reworking of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, writer, director and star Marcel Camus set this classic tale, (first done on screen in 1950) during the time of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. A joyous explosion of jubilant color, music and cinematography, the film stars Breno Mello and Marpessa Dawn in the title roles.(Photo: courtesy Dispat Films)

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Black Orpheus - A reworking of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, writer, director and star Marcel Camus set this classic tale, (first done on screen in 1950) during the time of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. A joyous explosion of jubilant color, music and cinematography, the film stars Breno Mello and Marpessa Dawn in the title roles.(Photo: courtesy Dispat Films)

The Karate Kid (2010) - Ralph Macchio’s nostalgic 1984 karate kid marching orders of “wax on…wax off...” became part of pop culture lexicon, but Jaden Smith’s interpretation blew audiences and box office receipts away. Produced by dad Will Smith and starring Taraji P. Henson, The Karate Kid grossed nearly $200 million. A sequel is reportedly in the works.(Photo: Columbia Pictures)

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The Karate Kid (2010) - Ralph Macchio’s nostalgic 1984 karate kid marching orders of “wax on…wax off...” became part of pop culture lexicon, but Jaden Smith’s interpretation blew audiences and box office receipts away. Produced by dad Will Smith and starring Taraji P. Henson, The Karate Kid grossed nearly $200 million. A sequel is reportedly in the works.(Photo: Columbia Pictures)

Carmen Jones - Bizet’s opera Carmen has had screen incarnations, which include an early 1915 Hollywood version, plus Spanish and French remakes. But director Otto Preminger’s retelling starring Dorothy Dandrige, (which earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress) Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey and a very young Diahann Carroll is probably the most classic and beloved among film buffs.(Photo: Courtesy Carlyle Productions)

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Carmen Jones - Bizet’s opera Carmen has had screen incarnations, which include an early 1915 Hollywood version, plus Spanish and French remakes. But director Otto Preminger’s retelling starring Dorothy Dandrige, (which earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress) Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey and a very young Diahann Carroll is probably the most classic and beloved among film buffs.(Photo: Courtesy Carlyle Productions)

I Think I Love My Wife - A remake of the 1972 French film Chloe in the Afternoon, Chris Rock directed, starred and wrote this dramedy that examined if a married father could stay happily faithful when tempted by another woman (Kerry Washington). Rock, also a producer of the film, continued his trend of mining smart, witty European movies for source material.(Photo: Courtesy Fox Searchlight Productions)

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I Think I Love My Wife - A remake of the 1972 French film Chloe in the Afternoon, Chris Rock directed, starred and wrote this dramedy that examined if a married father could stay happily faithful when tempted by another woman (Kerry Washington). Rock, also a producer of the film, continued his trend of mining smart, witty European movies for source material.(Photo: Courtesy Fox Searchlight Productions)

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) - Whitney Houston starred as the fairy godmother and Brandy as Cinderella in this retooling of the 1957 movie, starring Julie Andrews. As the film's producer, Houston turned her version of this classic fairytale into a multicultural celebration; the Asian prince charming had a Black queen mother (Whoopi Goldberg) and white king dad (Victor Garber).(photo: courtesy Brownhouse Productions)

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Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) - Whitney Houston starred as the fairy godmother and Brandy as Cinderella in this retooling of the 1957 movie, starring Julie Andrews. As the film's producer, Houston turned her version of this classic fairytale into a multicultural celebration; the Asian prince charming had a Black queen mother (Whoopi Goldberg) and white king dad (Victor Garber).(photo: courtesy Brownhouse Productions)