Remakes - why ruin a classic?

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Remakes - why ruin a classic? (Discussion)

hcraig said – Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:03:38 -0000 ( Edit Link )

Remaking an old film is a cheap trick used to squeeze more money of out already successful films. But here’s the problem. Remakes are NEVER as good as the original.

The only purpose remakes serve is to ruin what was a good movie.

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oLahav said – Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:19:03 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

I don’t completely agree with it… it’s true in most cases, sure, but not always. Like Ocean’s 11. The remake was better than the 60’s original, in my personal opinion.

Besides, remakes tend to get young people interested, while otherwise they may never have gotten to see the original. So they get to know some good plots and characters, and maybe they’ll get interested enough to take up watching the original.

Plus, if I ever get into the movie business, I’d like to remake some of my favourite films. I can see the attraction- take a huge classic and make it your own, and possibly better. I mean, I’d be a much better Braveheart than Mel Gibson, or a better Neo than Keano Reeves (just as two small examples).
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windwind said – Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:44:24 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

I find that as a rule Originals are best.

This does noy apply however to films from the ‘30 which were remade in the ‘60. The latter are usually way better.

I also prefer watching foreign films with subtitles to watching a Hollywood remake. There are exceptions though (Robin Williams-The Birdcage comes to mind).
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hcraig said – Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:59:22 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

I agree with you wind wind. The reasons I’m so up in arms about this at the moment is that Hollywood is planning to remake Oldboy, a Korean movie that came out in the early 2004s and is a revenge tale of Shakespearian proportions – seriously, it’s twisted!

But they’re going to remake it in English, starting Will Smith. I’m pretty sure there is no way this movie can translate to being mainstream audience friendly, so they’re likely going to be changing the story, which upsets me even more!
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lucyinthesky said – Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:17:12 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

You’re right, remaking a film is a cheap trick to make more money. But isn’t one of the primary reasons of producing a film making profit?

Remakes are always interesting, and they definitely run the risk of living in the shadow of its usually superior, original version.

Scorcese’s “The Departed” was a remake of the Chinese film “Infernal Affairs”, but I think that was a still pretty well-produced film. It also helps get different audiences interested in new movies. Hopefully that Will Smith version of Oldboy will attract new fans of the original Korean movie. :)
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avicster said – Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:55:01 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

I’m not a big fan of remakes either, but then it was an amazing remake of an already awesome Kurosawa movie that practically gave us Clint Eastwood! So all is forgiven.

I love “The Departed” too. It’s too mainstream for a Scorsese movie, but it’s still kickass.

Other decent remakes I can recall are “Scent of a woman” and “Scarface”. I actually liked “Vanilla Sky” too, but reportedly the original – “Abre los ojos” – is much better. Anybody seen it?
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lucyinthesky said – Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:35:26 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

It’s funny you mention Vanilla Sky – I can’t stand that movie. I find Tom Cruise’s acting in it a bit atrocious. I haven’t seen Abre los ojos, but I would consider watching that.

Other Korean movies such as My Sassy Girl and The Lake House have been remade into English versions. One did extremely poorly and went straight to DVD – the other did fairly well at the box office, yet received mixed reviews by critics. Sometimes the nuances of a film are lost when remade in English, simply because the culture is different. The style and wit and norms are not the same as they are in other countries.
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1. avicster said – Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:49:39 -0000 ( Flag Edit Link )
  
  I know, I always find myself a li’l bit of a pariah whenever the discussion drifts towards Vanilla Sky. I don’t claim it’s great movie, neither am I a Tom Cruise fan. But I like the story. The sci-fi element is somewhat cringe-worthy, but the unconventional romance is nice, and so is the dialogue. And the soundtrack is fabulous! Jason Lee is pretty good too.
  
  Or maybe all this is just an excuse for the fact that I’m desperately in love with Penelope Cruz, or at least her character.
  
  I agree that remaking a movie in a different language is a tricky task, and it sometimes feels out of context. Sergio Leone did it masterfully in “A fistful of dollars”. He adapted scenes from “Yojimbo” but didn’t do it blindly. He kept the spirit of a Western intact. For instance, in “Yojimbo”, the protagonist defeats a man with a gun, when he carries only a knife and a sword; in the equivalent scene in Fistful, Eastwood’s pistol-wielding character survives being shot by a rifle by hiding an iron plate under his clothes to serve as a shield against bullets.
  
  I thought “The Thin Red Line” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” were remade rather well, although it’s slightly different because they were basically adapted from books. Some remakes like “The Thomas Crown Affair” make you wonder why somebody chose to remake an average movie as a similar, average movie. Maybe the director liked the original as a kid and wanted to make his own version.
  
  Who knows, I may end up remaking a version of “Vanilla Sky” that you hate even more! :)
  
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2. hcraig said – Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:44:20 -0000 ( Flag Edit Link )
  
  Very very true – sometimes you just can’t translate things from one culture to another. I mean, you can try, but the little things are lost.
  
  Other times the entire movie plots gets changed to suit an American audiences. One thing I’ve noticed with movies that come from outside of North America is that they don’t feel the need to end on a happy note. Not all stories are meant to have a happy ending, but that doesn’t always test well with audience, and so the film won’t make as much money.
  
  And since I’m on the idea of money now…. I see what you’re saying about film’s being produced to make money, but I argue that the artistic integrity of the film (should there be any to start with) should always come before the ability of that film to turn a profit..
  
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lucyinthesky said – Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:17:17 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

@hcraig,

You’re right – the artistic integrity of the film should come before the capacity of a film to make profit. I suppose that’s the key difference between film remakes that do well and films that don’t.
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oLahav said – Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:21:15 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

I don’t know, I’ve always compared movie remakes to song covers (although covers is a much simpler and well-developed industry, for obvious reasons). And a lot of song covers are better than the originals, while others are totally painful. But I wouldn’t say that I hate it when artists cover songs, it’s actually sometimes exciting.

It’s the same with movies, in a way. If I like the original, I’ll get excited and hope the result is good. It may end up terrible, but it may not. And I’m hoping that as time passes by and maybe we get some talented actors in Hollywood, remakes will become better. For example, I’m of the opinion that we should start remaking a few sci-fi classics, because now the effects could make an old classic really come alive. As technology and filming techniques progress, shouldn’t remakes allow us the improve old classics as well as introduce them to new generations? (In theory at least).
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hcraig said – Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:50:48 -0000 ( Flag Edit Mark / Unmark Best Link )

Avicster: so you did over a few posts!

I can only offer the fact that I can’t had enough coffee to make my brain work properly in my defense!
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