A Disappointing Remake
- Sir_Galahad
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A Disappointing Remake
Over the last two night the A & E Channel has presented a remade version of on of my favorite movies, The Andromeda Strain. I was eagerly anticipating this remake to see how they have made it in comparison to the original 1970's version that starred James Olson. Despite all the new whiz-bang computer stuff and CGI stuff, this version was lacking any of the tension and urgency I remember the original version had. This version had been stretched to four hours over two nights whereas the original was something like 2 1/2 hours. I remember reading the book years ago but did not remember all the little interpersonal relationships that were thrown into this version. Even the ending was very blasé. I walked away from the TV feeling as if I had wasted four hours.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke
Perhaps the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about...
Perhaps the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about...
- peacock2121
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- Sir_Galahad
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One of my favorite remakes is The Thomas Crown Affair. Rene Russo was simply splendid.peacock2121 wrote:The only remake I can think of that I have enjoyed is The Manchurian Candidate.
Can you think of one?
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke
Perhaps the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about...
Perhaps the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about...
- earendel
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Re: A Disappointing Remake
elwing and I watched, more for historical reasons than because we were interested. Our first date was seeing the original movie, and I wondered how a remake would compare. We didn't bother to finish the first night.Sir_Galahad wrote:Over the last two night the A & E Channel has presented a remade version of on of my favorite movies, The Andromeda Strain. I was eagerly anticipating this remake to see how they have made it in comparison to the original 1970's version that starred James Olson. Despite all the new whiz-bang computer stuff and CGI stuff, this version was lacking any of the tension and urgency I remember the original version had. This version had been stretched to four hours over two nights whereas the original was something like 2 1/2 hours. I remember reading the book years ago but did not remember all the little interpersonal relationships that were thrown into this version. Even the ending was very blasé. I walked away from the TV feeling as if I had wasted four hours.
"Elen sila lumenn omentielvo...A star shines on the hour of our meeting."
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I'll agree with that but the original was better.Sir_Galahad wrote:One of my favorite remakes is The Thomas Crown Affair. Rene Russo was simply splendid.peacock2121 wrote:The only remake I can think of that I have enjoyed is The Manchurian Candidate.
Can you think of one?
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- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- The Carp
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I was looking through the guide on the digital cable last night, and got excited to see The Andromeda Strain, since I had loved the movie as a kid, and then I noticed it was a remake and passed on it. I hadn't realized it was a two-parter, so it was for the best.
It's funny how a 2-1/2 star movie can grab you like that. Westworld was the same way--I won't watch a remake.
It's funny how a 2-1/2 star movie can grab you like that. Westworld was the same way--I won't watch a remake.
Bloop bloop
- KillerTomato
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peacock2121 wrote:The only remake I can think of that I have enjoyed is The Manchurian Candidate.
Can you think of one?
There are very few that I think are worthy (and frankly, I HATED the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate"). About the only one that comes to mind is "3:10 to Yuma" at least in terms of recent remakes.
There is something wrong in a government where they who do the most have the least. There is something wrong when honesty wears a rag, and rascality a robe; when the loving, the tender, eat a crust while the infamous sit at banquets.
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- silverscreenselect
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A four hour miniseries is about three hours of television and one hour of commercials, so they padded the original by about one hour, and almost all of it was the usual "sinister government conspiracy" nonsense, with a lot of bizarre sci-fi "explanations" that didn't make a whole lot of sense.
I saw the original film when I was in college and movies played in one or two big theaters in town. It was a weekend and they oversold the theater, so people were sitting in the aisles (fire code enforcement was somewhat lax back then), and it was a very suspenseful finale.
I agree that most remakes don't work and many of them are of disastrously bad proportions. One that I am looking forward to for next wummer will be the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 directed by Tony Scott with Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
I saw the original film when I was in college and movies played in one or two big theaters in town. It was a weekend and they oversold the theater, so people were sitting in the aisles (fire code enforcement was somewhat lax back then), and it was a very suspenseful finale.
I agree that most remakes don't work and many of them are of disastrously bad proportions. One that I am looking forward to for next wummer will be the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 directed by Tony Scott with Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
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That's another one they better not mess up!silverscreenselect wrote: I agree that most remakes don't work and many of them are of disastrously bad proportions. One that I am looking forward to for next wummer will be the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 directed by Tony Scott with Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
Bless you.
I'm not worthy.
- Sir_Galahad
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Another favorite remake that I had forgotten about was Hitch's own remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Despite the "glitsch" I much preferred the Doris Day / James Stewart version over his 1930's version. There was also a remake of Psycho in the late 90's but, the funny thing about that one was it was virtually a carbon copy of the original but with different actors. And, let's face it Anthony Perkins will always be Norman Bates.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke
Perhaps the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about...
Perhaps the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about...
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The Harrison Ford/Julia Ormand remake of Sabrina had far less ook factor than Humphrey Bogart/Audrey Hepburn, IMO.
t.
t.
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I have the old version of MWKTM, but haven't watched it for some reason. Maybe because I like Jimmy Stewart.Sir_Galahad wrote:Another favorite remake that I had forgotten about was Hitch's own remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Despite the "glitsch" I much preferred the Doris Day / James Stewart version over his 1930's version. There was also a remake of Psycho in the late 90's but, the funny thing about that one was it was virtually a carbon copy of the original but with different actors. And, let's face it Anthony Perkins will always be Norman Bates.
I haven't watched the remake of Psycho, probably because I'd be rooting for WhoeverplaysNorman to stab Anne Heche...
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- silverscreenselect
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Quality remakes:
The Departed
The Maltese Falcon
The Thing
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman version)
Casino Royale (admittedly not a fair comparison)
A Star is Born (Garland/Mason version)
King Kong
Ocean's Eleven
Hairspray (also not a perfect comparison)
Cape Fear
Assault on Precinct 13 (guilty pleasure)
The Fly
War of the Worlds
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
No Way Out
The Italian Job
Heaven Can Wait
Dawn of the Dead
Freaky Friday
The Thomas Crown Affair
The Departed
The Maltese Falcon
The Thing
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman version)
Casino Royale (admittedly not a fair comparison)
A Star is Born (Garland/Mason version)
King Kong
Ocean's Eleven
Hairspray (also not a perfect comparison)
Cape Fear
Assault on Precinct 13 (guilty pleasure)
The Fly
War of the Worlds
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
No Way Out
The Italian Job
Heaven Can Wait
Dawn of the Dead
Freaky Friday
The Thomas Crown Affair
- minimetoo26
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- peacock2121
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Yeah, but you didn't like The Postman, so what do you know?KillerTomato wrote:peacock2121 wrote:The only remake I can think of that I have enjoyed is The Manchurian Candidate.
Can you think of one?
There are very few that I think are worthy (and frankly, I HATED the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate"). About the only one that comes to mind is "3:10 to Yuma" at least in terms of recent remakes.
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I would quibble that "The Departed" belongs...I'd put translations of foreign films in a separate category. "king Kong" doesn't belong simply because both the '76 Jessica Lange/Jeff bridges debacle and the recent Peter Jackson version blew. Well, Jackson's less so, but it did basically suck.
OTOH, great calls on "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "Heaven Can Wait."
Other ones that sucked (a much longer list):
Get Carter
Sleuth
Alfie
Hmmm. I notice that all three of those have something in common...
"Psycho" also doesn't count, but if it did it would win the prize for "most pointless".
Oh and another bad one: "Poseidon".
I'm sure I'll think of more.
OTOH, great calls on "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "Heaven Can Wait."
Other ones that sucked (a much longer list):
Get Carter
Sleuth
Alfie
Hmmm. I notice that all three of those have something in common...
"Psycho" also doesn't count, but if it did it would win the prize for "most pointless".
Oh and another bad one: "Poseidon".
I'm sure I'll think of more.
There is something wrong in a government where they who do the most have the least. There is something wrong when honesty wears a rag, and rascality a robe; when the loving, the tender, eat a crust while the infamous sit at banquets.
-- Robert G. Ingersoll
-- Robert G. Ingersoll
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This one had me till the ending. I've never seen the original, so I don't know if it was the same or not, but (spoiler inserted for anyone who hasn't seen it but wants to) ...minimetoo26 wrote:I totally LOVE Heaven Can Wait,
Spoiler
... IIRC, the original character played by Warren Beatty, the one Buck Henry allows to get killed by mistake, is worse than dead at the end. His soul or whatever disappears entirely! It's like he never existed! The quarterback he gets put into is still around, but it's no longer him. I remember seeing the movie in the theater and just boggling at what happened.
BTW, it has been years since I saw it, so if my memory of the ending is flawed, I'll accept correction and appropriate chastisement.
BTW, it has been years since I saw it, so if my memory of the ending is flawed, I'll accept correction and appropriate chastisement.
I just ordered chicken and an egg from Amazon. I'll let you know.
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gsabc wrote:This one had me till the ending. I've never seen the original, so I don't know if it was the same or not, but (spoiler inserted for anyone who hasn't seen it but wants to) ...minimetoo26 wrote:I totally LOVE Heaven Can Wait,Spoiler
... IIRC, the original character played by Warren Beatty, the one Buck Henry allows to get killed by mistake, is worse than dead at the end. His soul or whatever disappears entirely! It's like he never existed! The quarterback he gets put into is still around, but it's no longer him. I remember seeing the movie in the theater and just boggling at what happened.
BTW, it has been years since I saw it, so if my memory of the ending is flawed, I'll accept correction and appropriate chastisement.
It's been a number of years since I saw "Heaven Can Wait" but I think another interpretation of the ending is
Spoiler
Beatty's soul doesn't just disappear, it moves on to Heaven.
There is something wrong in a government where they who do the most have the least. There is something wrong when honesty wears a rag, and rascality a robe; when the loving, the tender, eat a crust while the infamous sit at banquets.
-- Robert G. Ingersoll
-- Robert G. Ingersoll
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A movie that I actually would like to see remade is The Razor's Edge. The only version I've seen was the Bill Murray version in the'80's. I've read the Maugham book and think it's a great story, but Bill Murray was so hopelessly miscast in it that it really detracted.
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The problem was that Bill Murray wrote the script too. He would only do Ghostbusters if the studio would finance The Razor's Edge first.kroxquo wrote:A movie that I actually would like to see remade is The Razor's Edge. The only version I've seen was the Bill Murray version in the'80's. I've read the Maugham book and think it's a great story, but Bill Murray was so hopelessly miscast in it that it really detracted.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- minimetoo26
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I'm slightly dissatisfied with the ending on some level, but overall I find the movie so...charming. Maybe it's the actors, but something about the whole atmosphere is sweet. I tend to like older movies because they have actual plots and dialogues and stuff other than explosions to hold your interest. How un-American of me, I know...gsabc wrote:This one had me till the ending. I've never seen the original, so I don't know if it was the same or not, but (spoiler inserted for anyone who hasn't seen it but wants to) ...minimetoo26 wrote:I totally LOVE Heaven Can Wait,Spoiler
... IIRC, the original character played by Warren Beatty, the one Buck Henry allows to get killed by mistake, is worse than dead at the end. His soul or whatever disappears entirely! It's like he never existed! The quarterback he gets put into is still around, but it's no longer him. I remember seeing the movie in the theater and just boggling at what happened.
BTW, it has been years since I saw it, so if my memory of the ending is flawed, I'll accept correction and appropriate chastisement.
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////////minimetoo26 wrote:I'm slightly dissatisfied with the ending on some level, but overall I find the movie so...charming. Maybe it's the actors, but something about the whole atmosphere is sweet. I tend to like older movies because they have actual plots and dialogues and stuff other than explosions to hold your interest. How un-American of me, I know...gsabc wrote:This one had me till the ending. I've never seen the original, so I don't know if it was the same or not, but (spoiler inserted for anyone who hasn't seen it but wants to) ...minimetoo26 wrote:I totally LOVE Heaven Can Wait,Spoiler
... IIRC, the original character played by Warren Beatty, the one Buck Henry allows to get killed by mistake, is worse than dead at the end. His soul or whatever disappears entirely! It's like he never existed! The quarterback he gets put into is still around, but it's no longer him. I remember seeing the movie in the theater and just boggling at what happened.
BTW, it has been years since I saw it, so if my memory of the ending is flawed, I'll accept correction and appropriate chastisement.
You got something against explosions? What are you, some fucking liberal pinko commie? I'm reporting you to the DHS....
AHEM!
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I liked the movie, too, right up to the ending. Again, IIRC,minimetoo26 wrote:I'm slightly dissatisfied with the ending on some level, but overall I find the movie so...charming. Maybe it's the actors, but something about the whole atmosphere is sweet.gsabc wrote:This one had me till the ending. I've never seen the original, so I don't know if it was the same or not, but (spoiler inserted for anyone who hasn't seen it but wants to) ...minimetoo26 wrote:I totally LOVE Heaven Can Wait,Spoiler
... IIRC, the original character played by Warren Beatty, the one Buck Henry allows to get killed by mistake, is worse than dead at the end. His soul or whatever disappears entirely! It's like he never existed! The quarterback he gets put into is still around, but it's no longer him. I remember seeing the movie in the theater and just boggling at what happened.
BTW, it has been years since I saw it, so if my memory of the ending is flawed, I'll accept correction and appropriate chastisement.
Spoiler
there is no mention of "moving on" or anything like that. The QB comes back to his body and becomes his old self with no recall of Julie Christie and what had occurred between them, and the Warren Beatty "persona" just goes away.
Here's the Wikipedia plot synopsis. Note the last line. Joe/Warren Beatty is just GONE!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_Can ... 1978_film)
Here's the Wikipedia plot synopsis. Note the last line. Joe/Warren Beatty is just GONE!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_Can ... 1978_film)
I just ordered chicken and an egg from Amazon. I'll let you know.