"Why did anyone have to remake Psycho? Or High Noon?"

High Noon? Did you ever see a science fiction film called "Outland" with Sean Connery, Peter Boyle and Frances Sternhagen? I think they did a fine job of translating the story into another genre. "High Noon" remains the classic, of course, but I'm glad it was remade in this fashion. (And Sternhagen was a revelation; superb actor.)

I'd love to see a 'rep' theatre program those as a double bill!


"Got any other examples... good or bad?"

Yup. And again, they're translations of genres.
Akira Kurasawa's "Seven Samurai" became "The Magnificent Seven". His film "The Citadel" supplied all the main elements of the first "Star Wars" film