tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post3692264858373659119..comments2023-08-21T02:20:26.757+12:00Comments on It really is upside down: Identity theftvethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13376500106064052491noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post-2278958058550418442009-05-18T10:58:00.000+12:002009-05-18T10:58:00.000+12:00Xigent, true that there have been worthwhile remak...Xigent, true that there have been worthwhile remakes, such as the ones you cite. I would give a pass to remakes of recent foreign-language films, such as 'The Magnificent Seven', because that's just trying to expand the audience.<br /><br />I don't object to that, even when the remake steals the title <EM>and</EM> is patently inferior (as in 'The Vanishing' (1988/1993) or 'The Ring' (1998/2002)). In those cases, the dates don't look like trying to extend the life of control. They may not be enriching us all that much, but at least they're not impoverishing us either. (Although I do recall hearing that Dreamworks went to some lengths to prevent TV channels and stores in the US from showing or stocking the Japanese original of 'Ringu' before their version was released.)<br /><br />PS: Too right! There are a lot of movies that <EM>could</EM> benefit from remaking, but it doesn't happen. Even in those cases, though, I'd appreciate it if the makers could come up with a variant on the title. There was a brief vogue, in the early 90s, for putting the names of authors into film titles (as in 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' (1992), which wasn't particularly faithful to the book, but at least it's differentiated from all the other bastardisations).<br /><br />Jantar, I'm sure all the things you mention do play their part. But I don't think we should underestimate the ravenous, black-hole-like greed of Hollywood. I think that when the heads of companies like Sony or Time Warner think of people enjoying culture <EM>without giving them a cut</EM>, they experience actual physical pain.<br /><br />And when that 'culture' is something that was originally created by a company that was bought by a company that was bought by a company that <EM>their</EM> company then bought, then anyone who consumes without paying them is obviously and blatantly stealing from them, just as much as if we were in their house helping ourselves to their own DVD collection. I'm too lazy to do it now, but there are plenty of quotes to that effect made back when the Sonny Bono Act was undergoing what passed for 'debate' at the time.vethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13376500106064052491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post-62139394871496811262009-05-18T10:02:00.000+12:002009-05-18T10:02:00.000+12:00I'm not sure Hollywood is trying to destroy the ol...I'm not sure Hollywood is trying to destroy the old culture. For that, you would have to accept the idea that they understand the importance of it - and I seriously doubt that they do.<br /><br />I think it's part laziness, part cowardice and part expedience: Why invest time and money in new ideas, when you can pick and choose stuff that already proved it worked from the old archives.<br /><br />Mind you, it's not only in the world of movies that this kind of grave robbing occurs. Look at the book publishing market, with all its disgusting follow-ups: From 'Peter Pan' to 'Gone with the Wind' - not to mention cheap shite as that Jane Austen zombie book.<br /><br />I think all of the above is just done because it seems to be an easy way to make money. The desecration is more or less unintended. They are like illiterate survivors of some apocalyptic event, throwing precious manuscripts on their camp fires, in order to keep warm,<br />J.Jantarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16175442324153369421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post-43769958937300296382009-05-14T22:00:00.000+12:002009-05-14T22:00:00.000+12:00To make it worse, there are some movies that could...To make it worse, there are some movies that could have been great but were ruined by Bad Directors, "Brave New World" comes to mind.<br />If you have the chance and the desire, pick it up and watch actors spout off lines that they have no concept of what they mean as fast as they can. No need for pesky breaks between sentences.<br />This and other movies are in desperate need of a remake, but instead Hollywood would rather stick with destroying well made movies and replace them with trash.Darrell B. Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02851443183217238218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post-56417650349457922242009-05-14T19:03:00.000+12:002009-05-14T19:03:00.000+12:00Let the record show that there have been several i...Let the record show that there have been several instances where the remake equalled or was considered virtually equal to the original. 'Tis the exception, after all, that proves the rule, and here are three.<br /><br />The example that comes first to mind is <I>Twelve Angry Men</I>. The original made movie history, with its superb acting and cast (Martin Balsam, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda). It deservedly got an almost unheard-of 8.9 on IMDb after 90,000+ votes. The TV remake, amazingly, was of movie quality and had considerable star-power of its own (George C. Scott, Jack Lemmon, Ossie Davis, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell). Although one wonders what could <I>possibly</I> have prompted a remake at all, even in TV land (the 40th anniversary?), it was impressive enough to deserve a 8.1 or 8.2 rather than merely the respectable 7.6 it got (1957/1997).<br /><br />Films that shouldn't be remade but that are remade, to bridge a language barrier or to exploit it by capitalizing on the American aversion for subtitled foreign films, probably fall into a different category entirely. In most cases the original is virtually unknown in the remake country. <br /><br />Only six years separated <I>The Seven Samurai</I> (Takashi Shimura, ToshirĂ´ Mifune, directed by Kurosawa) and <I>The Magnificent Seven</I> (Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, directed by Sturges). The blinding technicolor of the latter, its sound track (later rebranded by Marlboro), the scenery and sets, and the cast accounted for a lower-than-expected 0.9-point rating spread. (1954, IMDb 8.8/1960, 7.9)<br /><br />Even though in reality there was no contest between Oscar-nominated <I>Cousin, Cousine</I> featuring two ordinary-looking but unpretentious, and therefore hot, French actors, and the sexed-up, rather fulsome American remake with neutered title (<I>Cousins</I>, Ted Danson[!], Isabella Rossellini, Sean Young), IMDb users still ranked them much closer to parity than they deserved. (1975, 6.9/1989, 6.0)<br /><br />I could come up with two or three more instances of equal or greater lameness if I weren't so slothful.Egsgnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10501022127039236801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post-84018268155033709972009-05-14T08:49:00.000+12:002009-05-14T08:49:00.000+12:00SMG, I wondered about those two titles. I came to ...SMG, I wondered about those two titles. I came to the conclusion that the name-theft trick doesn't work so well if the movie was promoted as a huge blockbuster first time around. That's why the original 'King Kong' is still remembered, despite the remakes. Most of the titles I list were kinda second-string - not B-movies, by any stretch, but not hugely promoted either.<br /><br />Hmm... thinking about it, here in NZ, both of those movies are now free...<br /><br />There are good new movies being made. Not many, but it does happen. But Hollywood pours a <EM>lot</EM> of resources into projects that are not merely pointless, but actively destructive of our culture, and that's what I resent.<br /><br />Annamaria, glad to hear it. Have you tried her on 'The Pink Panther'?vethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13376500106064052491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post-38259106380060797222009-05-14T06:31:00.000+12:002009-05-14T06:31:00.000+12:00Vets, thanks for taking the time and leaving those...Vets, thanks for taking the time and leaving those words of well-thought out wisdom on my blog. Just wanted to say that my grand-daughter, just turned eight, requested the old version of "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" for her birthday, so you have a young follower of your ideas on this post. Well said.Annamariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16962199664250824467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3628231292297278599.post-57664150284516255842009-05-14T04:32:00.000+12:002009-05-14T04:32:00.000+12:00I still waiting to see remakes of "Gone with the W...I still waiting to see remakes of "Gone with the Wind" and "Citizen Kane". I find it simply amazing that Hollywood is so afraid to try something new. Although after attending several screenings at the Tribecca Film Festival, I can say that new does not always mean good.Steven Marty Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12025403178005766557noreply@blogger.com