Top American Adaptations of Foreign Movies

The most recent movie on our list is an underdog story that stars Woody Harrelson as a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of transgressions, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with physical and intellectual disabilities. The Spanish original, released in 2018, stars Javier Gutiérrez, and holds an 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“True Lies,” a comedy/thriller stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a secret agent who is worried his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) is having an affair with a used-car salesman, was directed by James Cameron, based on the French film “La Totale!” “True Lies” was a massive hit, pulling in almost $379 million at the box office.

Released 44 years after the original, the reimagined “The Italian Job” takes place largely in Los Angeles, where a crook (Edward Norton) has fled to after turning on his team following a heist of gold in Venice. The reboot is long on charismatic starpower with Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, Mos Def, and Charlize Theron out to recover the gold. The original stars Michael Caine and Noël Coward, and is remembered for its Quincy Jones score and the chase scene through Turin in mini-Coopers. The redo brought the cars back in a chase scene through L.A. tunnels.

The Israeli version of this film was about a teacher who is trying to protect a gifted young poet and lays claim to some of his work as her own. It was remade four years later in the U.S. with star Maggie Gyllenhaal, who goes to extraordinary lengths to protect the poet’s talent. Gyllenhaal’s performance was hailed by critics.

“Puzzle” is a story of self-discovery about a repressed suburban woman (Kelly Macdonald) who discovers she has a talent for assembling jigsaw puzzles. She partners with a man for a puzzle tournament in Atlantic City and experiences independence, views herself in a different light, and tries to fit pieces of her own life together.