...which one would that be? And why? What do you think you could add/enhance/cut and change to make it better in this day and age?
Interesting question, no?
If I had to remake one I think it'd be Ikiru. It's a classic theme, it's great, but it's too old and slow paced to be viewed by the current audiences. There are more reasons but my eyes are burning so I'll add more later.
Wait Until Dark. On stage it's claustrophobic and dark. The film is too bright and the added exterior scenes relieve the claustrophobia. Cut them.
And it should be in black and white.
But you'll need an actress and actor to match Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin.
Bell, Book and Candle. The play has a sexual element in it that's missing from the movie. The Hayes Office just couldn't let James Stewart and Kim Novak have sex, even if offstage. Remake this one and aim for an R rating.
I'm thinking many films prior to 1980 or so could use a bit of re-editing to pick up the pace. Why heck, IMO many new releases today could use the same trick -- thank god for my remote's FF scan.
I have to say, I'm not a fan of the remake. Someone has already made the film so let it stand. I know there's a big glut of remakes happening at the moment and films have always had remakes down through the years. But I just don't see the point. It's happening more and more because the studios will not take any risks with new talented writers coming through and prefer to use tried and trusted ideas.
I mean, come on, there's plenty of ideas out there to make films about why rehash the past?
Having said that, one film that I think would be nice to see updated is "Same Time Next Year" from 1978. A truly wonderful film that was let down a bit by the make-up technology at the time and some shoddy production values. But I wouldn't want to remake it.
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I have no talent.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 08, 2005 09:52 AM: Message edited by: jb. ]</font>
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Seems like someone has the same idea...If I had to remake one I think it'd be Ikiru.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">"Sheridan Helming DreamWorks' Ikiru
Source: Variety Friday, September 10, 2004
Director Jim Sheridan (In America) will helm Ikiru, the DreamWorks remake of the 1952 Akira Kurosawa film that is being crafted as a potential starring vehicle for Tom Hanks, reports Variety.
Sheridan will shoot the movie in New York. It's the story of a low-level bureaucrat who discovers that after 30 years in the same job, he's contracted stomach cancer. Determined to seek more from the remaining moments of his life, the man initially seeks out decadent pursuits before deciding he wants to leave behind something memorable.
The updated drama has been written by Freedomland author Richard Price. Sheridan will work with the writer to hone his script."
www.comingsoon.net
"Same Time Next Year"
Oh yes, I think that would be a great film to update to today's generation.
"the lord of the rings trilogy"
I'd cut out all of crap so you can watch it without getting DVT.
I would remake 'Catch Me if You Can' to make it more similar to the book and events. I still enjoyed the movie, but there was just so much more that could have been done with the material.
Yammeryammeryammer, I'm in complete agreement with you. I ran across the book after I'd seen the mildly entertaining movie and I was shocked. The book was so much better and the real life story was tremendously more interesting than the screen version.
When I watched the movie again, I was really amazed at some of the decisions the filmmakers made. It wasn't even excluded scenes that watered it down. In many scenes where the real Abagnale was clever and ingenious, the Leo character was written to be simply lucky with no good reason for the change.
Anyone who liked the movie even a little should definitely get the book/audio book which is much, much better.
Dan Rahmel
Author: "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking"
http://www.cvisual.com
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