One of the most annoying things about modern movie remakes is which movies Hollywood chooses to remake. Almost always, the movies that are chosen are chosen because they were successful, so executives expect the remakes to be successful too. However, a remake of a good movie feels completely unnecessary. Just because a movie is old doesn’t mean it isn’t still good. The original Psycho, for example, is a classic and still very watchable today. Remaking it didn’t produce a better film, and that time could have been better spent on a new creative project.
The best movies to remake, in my opinion, are movies that had a strong idea but were made poorly. For example, I think The Invention of Lying would be a good movie to remake. The premise of the movie is that there is a world just like ours, except no one has ever thought of lying. The main character is the first person to do so. I think that’s a very interesting idea. Unfortunately, the way it was made was disappointing, in my opinion. Although there are some mildly funny bits, it doesn’t explore the idea very deeply. I would love to see another filmmaker take that idea and explore it.
Sometimes, I think it is reasonable to remake foreign movies. While I’m usually happy to watch foreign films, I understand why some people avoid them. Linguistic and cultural differences often make it much harder to focus on and appreciate the story. When such remakes are done well, they can make those stories accessible to entirely new audiences. For example, The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. Although I don’t necessarily agree with all of the changes made, on the whole it’s very good. By remaking it, a new audience was able to enjoy it. On the other hand, poor remakes can just be a waste of time. I certainly would have a hard time recommending the Hollywood version of The Ring over the Japanese original.
Another thing to consider is movies that use the same material as another movie but are not remaking the previous movie itself. For example, in the 1980s David Lynch adapted the Dune novels into a movie. While the movie has some entertaining elements, such as costumes and special effects, by most accounts it wasn’t a good retelling of the story. David Lynch was a poor fit as director and wasn’t given the time or resources to do the source material justice. I think most would agree that Dennis Villeneuve’s recent remakes do a much better job telling that story.
I think it would be better to teach people to enjoy classics rather than turn immediately to remakes. In recent years Disney has been making live action versions of its classics. I can’t help but feel they are completely unnecessary. The original versions of Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast are still great movies. The only advantage of the new live action versions is that Disney can cynically market them as something new to make more money.
Remakes are neither all good nor all bad. If filmmakers can add something new to the story, they can produce works with value. However, if they are made simply because the studios expect a safe profit, they are likely to be a waste of time for audiences.
Joe
Vocabulary
premise (noun) - a statement or an idea that forms the basis for a reasonable line of argument
linguistic (adjective) - connected with language or the scientific study of language
on the whole (idiom) - considering everything; in general
do something justice (idiom) - to do something as well as possible in order to show other people how good something else is
cynically (adverb) - in a way that shows the belief that people only do things to help themselves rather than for good or honest reasons
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