Quote:
Originally Posted by ZodWallop
Remakes don't bother me. Most are bad. But then some are interesting and some improve on the original in every respect. I doubt many people would seriously argue that the original Little Shop of Horrors is better than the musical remake, or that Battlestar Galactica wasn't vastly better in remake than original 
When the remake is bad, it fades away. (snippage worth reading)
But Zack Snyder (who I am not a fan of) was able to do a remake that was worthwhile. |
Don't get me wrong. I'm not generically and adamantly opposed to remakes. In fact, the BG remake was a good idea generally. (sorry, Jon, but in terms of pure storytelling, filmography, etc. the remake was simply superior. YES, it was much darker and not light at all. Not to your tastes and the fact that you formed an attachment to BG as a teen would mean you wouldn't be really flexible later.We all get that. By the time BG aired the first time, I was already an adult working in the world, post-military, etc. so my view of it is
wildly different than yours.)
And some movies benefit amazingly from advanced technology. I mean, who would say that Jurassic Park could have been itself, 25 years earlier? Claymationing its way into history? None.
I think that believing that
RoboCop could be remade wasn't a stupid idea either--but they just fell down on understanding the camp factor. Ditto
Dredd, although the remake stood "okay" on its own as a not-campy film. And wildly different than the campy original with Stallone.
Technologically speaking, it's a better film. In other ways, not.
Yes,
Scarface,
The Maltese Falcon...many remakes became classics. That's absolutely true.
I just believe that filmmakers, being the egomaniacs and control freaks that they are (yes, James Cameron, I'm looking at you!) feel that
anything that they do will be better than the original. The idea of Johnny Depp as Nick Charles makes me throw up in my mouth a bit, and on top of that, TTM is a film of its time and
again, is ingrained in our consciousness. So too
Casablanca (although I firmly believe that
Barb Wire is a
hoot of a send-up remake--utterly hilarious).
And who here would argue that (speaking of Cameron)
Avatar isn't a remake of
Dances with Wolves? Sheesh.
It can and is done. But some films...I fall back to TPB. Who thinks that
The Princess Bride can
ever be remade? But you know somewhere, somehow, some idiot is thinking that that's a good idea.
Some films have souls of their own and shouldn't be remade. Yes, I'm sure we each have our own list. Naturally, I think
my list of Films Not To Be Remade is the right one. (And shows!)
Hitch