La Cage Aux Folles (1978)

The Birdcage isn't so much a remake of La Cage Aux Folles as it is an extraordinary doppleganger.  There appear to be passionate arguments on the imdb boards over which version is better, but the reality is that there's not much difference.  Even minor plot and staging elements have been scrupulously translated from the French to the American, and the performances are direct homages.  

Gene Hackman is a significant upgrade over Michel Galabru, who seems to shout all of his lines -- Hackman strays the furthest from the original portrayal, to the benefit of all.  Dan Futterman comes off better than Remi Laurent, but this has more to do with minor script changes -- in both films, the character is self-absorbed to a fault, but he redeems himself in the remake by declaring Albert to be his mother, while he is simply absent from that scene in the original.  The script change is a vast improvement.   I preferred Michel Serrault to Nathan Lane, and Benny Luke was vastly superior to Hank Azaria.  Otherwise the actors are largely toss-ups between the two (though I lean slightly towards the ones in the remake, being more familiar with them).