I find that most film re-makes dont have a patch on the originals. I do though have a wish to see some of those classics that I love re-made just to see if they can be done giving me the same tinlgles down my spine that the originals did.
So which movies of yester year would you be interested in seeing remade into a modern version?
My choice would be just thios one for now the first would have to be "Brief Encounter" To be able to recreate the amost claustrophobic magnificence of the romance would be at very least intersting, just to see if it can be done.
If you think though how good some of the tv productions are of things like - Life on mars - where the recreation is very authentic looking maybe they could do something stunning.
As for Casablanca. Oh my word I love that film. I think with films such as these its the atmosphere that the stars of the age gave them. I wonder really if they could be emulated well enough, and have the sheer presence needed, by todays stars
I recently read an interview with some musicians.... but I think it's relevant to some degree...
they basically stated that when you look back over old techniques and how you played (or filmed) etc... there would be so many influences (of that time). Not only that, but a certain naivety that you just cannot recreate. It's impossible to react, think, act the way you did when you were younger... just impossible.
If you make a movie in 1940, it's inevitable that somehow the fashions of the time, the body movements (yes we walk differently today than we did then!), the intonation, even the quality of light on streets, and the smog etc all conspire to give a 'feel'... when you wrap it all up, it's very hard to recreate exactly. In fact, impossible.
In a sense, that gives some credit to the film makers, not so much for their technique, but the fact they they DID capture something of that period, something you just can't recreate.
It would still be as hard to recreate an 80's movie too... you could do a decent job, but never truly copy it.
It's true that some good TV work (Life on Mars, Mad Men etc) do a fine job of bringing the past into the present day. But not a perfect job.
So, remaking a movie can be very difficult. Not least when the original was a hit. I personally thought that The Thomas Crown Affair did a splendid job of a remake. So it is possible.
Sadly our increasingly commercial world (and general lack of ambition in some parts of the film work) means that a movie remake is more of a 'rehash'. A convenient and substandard attempt to make a quick buck.
Sometimes, I've wondered if we ourselves are the tainting the view... simply because we remember seeing films in our youth and cloud our judgement with fond memories.
Alas, I was quite surprised and pleased when my son watched the remake of the Italian Job (first), and thought it 'just ok'. Then when he was surprised to learn there was an original... we watched it together. He was duly impressed and claimed the original truly WAS 'miles better' (his own words).
Films used to be an experience, now they are a commodity, traded and pushed to us to make a very tidy profit. Is it any wonder that we lose a little of the magic along the way?
confessions of a window cleaner....but who play Robin Askwith...
What could they add to the film to make it better - Spose you could bring in Hollywood lions, with their mains and fur groomed to an inch of its life, nails sparkling and able to play with balls and jump through a couple of hoops to save someones life or something :? A brilliant sunset for the lions to walk off into as they turn back to look at the people one last time for the 'lump in the throat' finale :?
:x