I don't remember the name of the original Japanese movie that was made into "A Fistfull of Dollars" with Eastwood, but it was remade again into "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis. That's could be an example of double dumbing down by Hollywood, but I haven't seen the original. At least they didn't pretend either remake had a profound message.

BTW, the bit in "Butch Cassidy" about blowing the railroad car all to hell was based on historical fact, with photos for proof.

REmakes are a fine example of corporate thinking, they're sure moneymakers, they don't have to be better than the original. But sometimes (rarely) they do turn out better,as in the last version of "The Last of the Mohicans."

Hollywood being Hollywood, a remake of "The Man Who Would be KIng" would probably star Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey.

O'Meara