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March 28, 2024, 02:57:32 PM
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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  Why Remake Anything? « previous next »
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Author Topic: Why Remake Anything?  (Read 4895 times)
Matthew.G.A
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« on: June 09, 2001, 10:11:35 AM »

My opinion is, leave the old classics alone! For instance when they went through the "colorization" craze, all they did was ruin the effect  of the film! Those films were shot in black and white and they were meant to be viewed that way! Now it seems writers are so lame they must "improve" on old movies and other peoples ideas! Almost always its a disaster! Goe,violence,profanity,sex is all they add! IM no prude, but that stuff doesn't belong in these movies!
What made the old movies great was partly our innocence! Space movies were great for me because it was during the space race, as far as I knew, there was dinosaurs on the moon and real Martians! But more importantly when someone died on film you never saw it! Instead you heard it and your imagination took over! So much was left to the imagination! People say you cant make movies like that anymore that will make money! Well, look at "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" It sure made money! The problem I believe is the writers in Hollywood are part of the same click! And any decent talent cant get in he front door!  I mean, they have no ideas of their own it seems!
So, They are going to remake "Forbidden Planet" ?  My prediction is that any female characters will be portrayed as whores and there will be a lot of sex scenes! And don't forget a lot of profanity! And I bet the robot will cuss too! a lot of blood and gore! So when future generations hear the title "Forbidden Planet" they will say "that was a lousy movie!
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Scott
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« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2001, 11:24:58 AM »

Your correct Mathew, remakes should not be made. They should stop wasting their time and our time. You would think they would be original with all the money being used to make movies these days. Its my opinion that just because you can put images on film dosn't mean it should be called a movie. It must have entertainment value. And originality is part of that process.
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Fritz
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« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2001, 12:04:29 PM »

You forget about the first Invasion of the body snatchers remake, that equalled the original as did The Thing from another planet remake.
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Steve.
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« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2001, 01:37:59 PM »

John Carpenter's "The Thing" isn't a remake. In fact it stays with the original story - "Who Goes There?" - the "Thing" is never seen. In H. Hawks'  "Thing From Another World" the alien is just another besuited monster. I think the remake o "Bodysnatchers" is almost, but not quite as good as Don Siegel's original (For shock-value at least).
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Mofo Rising
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« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2001, 09:35:48 PM »

Clique.

Anyway, I disagree.  There are quite a few stories that are made quite a few times.  Was A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS a remake of YOJIMBO?  Was LAST MAN STANDING a remake of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS?  It is quite possible to take a story and take your own approach to it and come up with a excellent movie.

To take the point to an extreme, what is the point of all these movies based on stories from the Bible?  Why bother filming these when they were done right the first time, in print?

There are as many ways to tell a story as there are stories, if not more.  And it doesn't just apply to film.  Besides, most people want to see stories told in the parlance of their times.  How many silent movies were remade as talkies?  Are all those useless?  Should they have stuck with the originals?

It's easy to trash movies like the remake of PSYCHO, or just plain vapid remakes of older films, but let's not toss the baby out with the bathwater.
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Matthew.G.A
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« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2001, 10:32:14 PM »

Ok Ill say one TV series that was redone and is great is "THE Outer Limits" Those shows are great and keep with the original series! Only more modern and special effects! However the stories are all new, and not remakes of old stories from the old series!
What in saying is be original! I mean I can come up with better plots that hollywood is putting out now, as well as most people on this board could!
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The Waffle Man
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« Reply #6 on: June 10, 2001, 01:18:38 AM »

I think the question is, does the remake add anything that wasn't in the original? Does it outdo the original in some way? I think for a lot of remakes nothing improtant is said that wasn't already said in the original.

My problem with remakes is that they are always of classic movies. I think people should do remakes of B movies that had good ideas but failed because of lack of budget or bad acting or something like that.
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Mofo Rising
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« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2001, 01:39:11 AM »

You're right, I was attacking the long view and missing the argument.

But I still think my point was valid in that remakes in and of themselves can be worthwhile.  I've never bought into the argument of classics remaining classics by virtue of themselves.  You mean I can never add my own embellishments while retelling an old story?

Originality is a hard beast to tame.  I dare you to tell me right now a story that has never been told before.  You can go on and on that they won't have they style that the original had, but that's because that style is played out.  It was new at the time, but not anymore.

Yes, movie studios do rerelease movies that were popular in their time, trying to find a new audience for it.  Bankrupt?  Maybe.  I just don't like something being dismissed out of hat, which is what I was railing against.

Maybe the temptation to play devil's advocate was too much for me, but prove me wrong.
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Scott
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« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2001, 08:16:59 AM »

Yes, I think Mofo is right about remakes in that a truely unique version can past for good entertainments. A new character added to the mix or a new twist, or better atmosphere. I think its possible, but rarely is it done.

I think INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS was a good remake and THE THING may have been a different movie than the original. Maybe Carpenter could have changed the title, so people wouldn't reflect as much on the original.
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Andrew
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« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2001, 10:41:24 AM »

I am a big fan of the new "Outer Limits" shows, though they have suffered since moving to SciFi.  "Tempest" (with those freaky spiders) and "Dead Man's Switch" are two of my favorites, though any number had great reasons to watch them.  Too bad the "finale" on Showtime sucked so bad.

Andrew
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Steve.
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« Reply #10 on: June 10, 2001, 01:19:11 PM »

I think Carpenter chose to make "The Thing" as a homage to Hawks, but I agree with Scott that comparisons would always be made. "Thing From Another World", features in "Halloween" - It's playing on TV as the brown stuff starts to hit the fan.
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Gerry
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« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2001, 11:57:03 AM »

I thought Hammer did some pretty excellent remakes.  For example, I prefer the Christopher Lee MUMMY to the Karloff MUMMY.  I also prefer the Peter Cushing CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN to the Universal FRANKENSTEIN.  I personally don't think there's anything wrong with attempting to write a new chapter on a favorite theme.  

For another example, there's currently a new version of WAR OF THE WORLDS in the works.  Note that I didn't call it a remake, because it isn't a remake of the George Pal film, it's a new movie based on H.G.Well's novel.  And anyone who has read the novel and seen the Pal film would have to admit that the two have very little in common.  I think there is ample room there to make a more faithful film version of Wells' story.

I do agree that many remake sucks the big beef burrito, but I think making a blanket statement that "all remakes are bad" is a mistake, because it is not necessarily the case.

For the record, I'm excited about PLANET OF THE APES, which isn't really a remake either, it's more a revisiting of a familiar scenario (Burton put it something like that himself).  In fact, it may be spiritually closer to Pierre Boule's original novel than the Heston POTA.
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Steve.
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« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2001, 02:28:42 PM »

There's a difference between remakes and reworkings. Hammer's version of "Dracula" is not a remake of the original Universal movie - It's just a variation of the original novel. The same goes for Coppola's bloated turkey. The Martians in Wells' novel are tripods - Pal's are "floaters" - so again the new version is not a remake Of Pal's movie.
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Sodo Mojo
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« Reply #13 on: June 13, 2001, 12:36:36 AM »

Of course "Forbidden Planet" is an adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," so I guess it's a chicken-or-egg situation.  Still, I'm sure we don't need a remake of it--what was the original lacking, fart jokes?
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