The Remake Game

It is only a matter of time before your favourite film is remade for a contemporary audience. Remakes are dripping from Hollywood thick and fast forming a stagnant pool of disappointment and despair. Should we be worried, is Tinseltown so creatively dead it’s output consists of remakes and sequels (most sequels are just a rehash of its predecessors formula)?

Remakes have always been a point of contention for film fans with some embracing new interpretations while ardent puritans cry blasphemy.

When Hollywood remakes one of its own producers justify the decision by citing the generation card. A typical press release will include such clichéd lines as ‘It’s time for a new generation to experience….(fill in remake of your choice)…’ and… ‘We wanted to update the story for today’s audience’… A case in point is the recent Keanu Reeves vehicle The Day the Earth Stood Still. The ’51 original is a thinly veiled allegory for communism and the cold war whereas the remake brings global destruction on an environmental level to the foreground. Is this reason enough to remake a classic? Surely the concept can be assimilated into a different vision, a film that doesn’t have to hang on the coattails of its predecessor. Perhaps producers are hoping to garner some of the acclaim of the original for their rehash.  Acclaim was notably absent from 2003s The Italian Job. The 1969 original is an exciting thrill ride chock full of charisma with a literal cliff-hanger of an ending. It is a prime example of a classic that should be left as a solitary gem. Despite an impressive cast the remake had nothing new or inventive to offer.  What concerns some fans is the affiliation a mediocre remake such as The Italian Job can have on the original. Young audiences may not realise it is a remake and the original is at risk of falling by the wayside. It is a case of an inferior film eclipsing the original simply because the powers that be want to throw modernity into the original mix.  

Should special effects and the phenomenal advancement in CG be a further incentive to remake a film whose effects add up to little more than back projection, wobbly models and dubious prosthetics?  Although The Poseidon Adventure (1972) boasted some pretty good effects the 2006 remake Poseidon was able to utilise CGI to enhance the ship flipping tsunami. But the dull-as-dishwater narrative and one dimensional character’s meant this was a remake that should not have been remade and proof that effects alone are not valid reasons for green lighting such an undertaking. The much mooted remake of Logan’s Run, for a long time associated with director Bryan Singer, is a prime candidate for a cosmetic makeover. Despite some excellent matt paintings it has dated about as well as Joan Rivers. An interesting story suffers from a woeful wardrobe and set design that harks back to the very worst the 70’s has to offer. I’m confident this will be remade in the future with little protest from the originals fan base because it is a strong story that in cinematic terms has yet to be defined as a classic.

Modern outlooks, new perceptions, different political and social landscapes are all good reasons to remake a tired film but are filmmakers taking something away from the original especially if it’s a classic? No one in their right mind would ever remake Citizen Kane. Its place in history as a cinematic masterpiece is assured. Does a film have to achieve excellence in order to stand alone? The simple answer to that is no.

Occasionally both original and remake can be classics in their own right. The Thing from Another World (1951) and John Carpenters 1982 remake The Thing are both cinematic favourites. The Thing from Another World boasted the first on screen presence of an extra terrestrial along with decent effects (for the day) and a wonderful concluding monologue that combined cheese and menace in equal measure.  The far gorier remake created iconic visuals that still churn stomachs today and created an excellent sense of paranoia and suspense. Thirty years apart, one story, two classics. In order for a remake to have any merit it has to bring something fresh to the table. If the director, writer and producer are unable to do this then as they old adage says they should leave well enough alone.

The joy of a remake is in deciding which side of the fence you wish to be. Whether it’s praising the original or lambasting the remake or vice versa, one thing is sure, it’s fun especially when someone disagrees with you.