Arthur (1981 film) followed by a sequel in 1988, "". Lead players Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, and John Gielgud, reprised their roles, as well as many supporting players such as Geraldine Fitzgerald, Barney Martin, and Ted Ross. It was first reported in 2008 that "Arthur" was to be remade by Warner Bros., with British actor/comedian Russell Brand in the lead role. Brand confirmed this during his March 10, 2009 appearance on "The Howard Stern Show". The remake was a critical and financial failure. This film had three Indian remakes. One was the 1984 Bollywood Hindi language film "Sharaabi" starring Amitabh Bachchan in the
Arthur (1981 film) singer Christopher Cross was initially asked to score the film, but writer/director Steven Gordon did not feel comfortable with his lack of experience in composing for film and the job was given to Burt Bacharach. Cross was asked to compose a song for the film which he did, "Arthur's Theme", which he wrote with Bacharach along with Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen. The film received critical acclaim upon its release and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1981. It currently holds an 88% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. "Arthur" was