Movie remakes

[Colin]

As you get older, and wiser, you get a lot of pet peeves, usually with the irrationality of human behavior. One of my pet peeves is the shoddy remakes of great movies. NOT just colorizing, which I can understand, or converting the soundtrack to multi-channel, which makes sense, but spending millions to remake a movie which was great to begin with. This peeve goes along with another, similar one, (as your brain rots, peeves multiply like white bunnies, if you are NOT careful, peevish populations prevail and you become a crotchety old man). That is, another pet peeve of mine is when they try to make a great movie from a great book; it almost never happens. Steven Speilbergs (of course) The Color Purple is just as good as the book, partly because he wisely chose to lose the authors colloquial southern vernacular. So here, gentleman and formal forum lady, are the questions:

1. What movie do you think is so good in original form, that they should never have made a remake and why?

2. In your own humble opinion, what movie remake actually succeeds and is much better than the original and why?

Awwh, but here is the third, perhaps more interesting question. There are possibly hundreds of flawed black and white movies that need remaking:

3. What movie is so flawed, but very nearly brilliant OR COMPELLING, that it should be remade; why and what should be changed?

Ill go first:

Can you imagine a modern remake of Charlie Chaplins The Tramp? Cant be done, NOT even by Robert Downey Jr. or Johnny Dep.

Or: Orson Welles Citizen Kane, Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gene Kellys Singng in the Rain, Judy Garlands Wizard of Oz, Julie Andrews Sound of Music, Frances Ford Coppolas Apocalypse Now, Hitchcocks Vertigo, Buster Keatons The General, Ridley Scott Blade Runner, John Waynes True Grit, Bette Davis as Norma Desmond, in "Sunset Boulevard",

(Im ready for my close-up, Mr. de Mille), Cary Grants Bringing up Baby, Paul Newmans Cool Hand Luke, Dr. Strangelove, Gone with the Wind, Frank Capras Its a Wonderful Life, The Princess Bride, Star Wars, All About Eve

Mel Gibsons remake of Mutiny on the Bounty doesnt work. It is a pale, but colorful and nude, remake of Marlon Brandos enigmatic Fletcher Christian.

Or how about some cad remaking the scintillating dialogue of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca, heres looking at you kid.

[Colin]

1. I think Hollywood could bring back a youngish crooner, like Harry Connick Jr. He could remake many of Bing Crosbys movies. After the hit movie Chicago, a musical should be an easy pitch. Modern color, sound and a handsome young singer should make this an obvious remake. The movie could be made in Romania, like Cold Mountain, instead of Connecticut, for cheap, with local cast as inexpensive dancers. Bing does a great job in this movie, but the rest needs freshening up.

[m00n]

Well, I'm not sure if this really fits the bill of any of your requirements, but there is one movie i would love to see them remake and that's the 1978ish version of Flash Gordon. While that still remains as one of my all time favorite movies, I would really like to see a new updated version with all the killer hollywood affects.

However, that being said... I just know that Hollywood would mess it up and give it that comic book to movie feel. In my opinion the 78 version did not have that feel. But at teh same time, I was only in the 7th grade when it came out so it was killer by default.

[Colin]

Yeah. Cult classic like Flash Gordon, definitely needs remaking. Because they showed off new technology so much, I would like to see a suave Keanu Reeves remake all of the James Bond movies, maybe as an Interpol agent fighting evil genius Osma bin Laden! Of course, after XXX, Vin Diesel could really redo all of the Bond movies, with a gen X twist.

[Colin]

2. Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the Kings Men, is a classical political tale of electioneering, politics and the lure of corruption, and perhaps one of the bet political movies ever made, but it needs updating for modern times. After Clinton, and before the next election, we need to re-examine this charismatic, populist Southern politician who belies his "man of the people" roots as he ruthlessly maneuvers, lies, and deals his way into the halls of power. I could see Brad Pitt in the too handsome NOT too win lead role. For that matter, I think Pitt could reprise many of Robert Redfords roles.

[Colin]

3. I havent seen In We Serve, based on the true story of Lord Mountbatten's destroyer, but with Titanic, Master and Commander, U-571, there are some incredible ocean war stories made possible by George Lucas wet film studio in Mexico. In Which We Serve was one of the most memorable British films made during World War II. Unfolding in flashback as survivors cling to a dingy, the film interweaves the history of HMS Torrin with the onshore lives of its crew. The 1942 film was the brainchild of Noel Coward.

[damonrpayne]

OK, let me say first of all I generally agree. I am just now reaching the age where my childhood loves are being systematically hunted down and ruined by Hollywood; case in point Jessica Simposon starring as Daisy Duke in a "Dukes of Hazard" movie. Any day now I expect to hear Nine Inch Nails as the background for a Burger King commercial...

A lot of times I think the remakes are just "Hey we could do this with today's effects technology" and no more thought goes into it.

Back to the original point:

1) Star Wars trilogy should have been left alone.

Planet of the Apes: the new version was quite good but really whimped out on the story in a dozen different ways.

Ocean's 11: because the movie lacked substance of any kind and is one of the most formulaic films I've ever seen. Also I hate Julia Roberts.

2)The SciFi channel remake of "Dune" was quite good I thought, the David Lynch version took some minor liberties with the story and I thought the newer version was done very well.

3)Ah, too many to name here IMHO. There are many times a movie comes close to greatness but they whimped out rather than take that extra step. Some recent films come to mind:

-2nd and 3rd matrix movies could have been so much better

-"The Last Samurai", could have been brilliant, but the wussed out. See what I mean in the spoilers section here: http://www.damononline.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=18

I'll add a 4th category: "What movie should we stop freaking making every year?"

-Dracula

-Frankenstein's Monster

-"Large Object hurling towards earth"

-"High school football movie"

[Joe Shmoe]

I personally would like to see a remake or maybe better yet just a sequel of TRON. After growing up and seeing it , it was so cool .... still is but the effects look dated, would be cool to have a part two somehow made with all the effects they now are able to do.

[damonrpayne]

Yeah, actually Tron is a movie that would benefit from the "lets make this again with modern effects" idea. I've been hearing for years a remake is in the works.