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Fannish Friday: Remakes that SHOULD happen!
My continuing question: why why why do people do remakes of good movies? Why don't they do remakes of movies with good premises that didn't quite land?
Not that it's not a good thing when you have two good versions of a film--I, for one, think the original Parent Trap and the remake are both delightful and I am glad they both exist. But in general, it seems like it would be a better use of everyone's time and money to remake a didn't-quite-land film than one that is solid.
So! Today I would like to hear about films or TV shows you think should be remade. Not spinoffs or sequels, but a true remake. (And not something, like, Pride and Prejudice or A Christmas Carol, where various adaptations are part of the point--I'll ask about that another day. Films you think can be remade over and over.)
I'll start: Ella Enchanted. I adore that book so much and the movie is...well, I know some people enjoy it, but I think it's terrible in almost every single way. It doesn't retain anything I love about the book, which I think would make a fantastic movie if done right.
And here's one that I think works pretty well in its original form, but could be better: The Lady Vanishes. It has my favorite suspense premise of all time: While travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train, reads the IMDB summary, but that's understating it. The train has not stopped--the woman cannot possibly have gotten off. And no one else believes our playgirl heroine! She's being gaslit by everyone around her!
I loooove this premise, and there are things I really like about the original Hitchcock film, but I think it gets bogged down by a beginning that's totally unnecessary. This could be the greatest thriller of all time if it was just done right!
Now, I do not think that if Hollywood made a remake of this film right now, it would be any good. But imagine if it had been made in the era of the 90s that gave us The Fugitive and Speed and action/suspense films of that caliber. Or if it were made as a labor of love by some indie team who made sure the script was perfect? I dream of such a film.
And now I want to hear from y'all!
Not that it's not a good thing when you have two good versions of a film--I, for one, think the original Parent Trap and the remake are both delightful and I am glad they both exist. But in general, it seems like it would be a better use of everyone's time and money to remake a didn't-quite-land film than one that is solid.
So! Today I would like to hear about films or TV shows you think should be remade. Not spinoffs or sequels, but a true remake. (And not something, like, Pride and Prejudice or A Christmas Carol, where various adaptations are part of the point--I'll ask about that another day. Films you think can be remade over and over.)
I'll start: Ella Enchanted. I adore that book so much and the movie is...well, I know some people enjoy it, but I think it's terrible in almost every single way. It doesn't retain anything I love about the book, which I think would make a fantastic movie if done right.
And here's one that I think works pretty well in its original form, but could be better: The Lady Vanishes. It has my favorite suspense premise of all time: While travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train, reads the IMDB summary, but that's understating it. The train has not stopped--the woman cannot possibly have gotten off. And no one else believes our playgirl heroine! She's being gaslit by everyone around her!
I loooove this premise, and there are things I really like about the original Hitchcock film, but I think it gets bogged down by a beginning that's totally unnecessary. This could be the greatest thriller of all time if it was just done right!
Now, I do not think that if Hollywood made a remake of this film right now, it would be any good. But imagine if it had been made in the era of the 90s that gave us The Fugitive and Speed and action/suspense films of that caliber. Or if it were made as a labor of love by some indie team who made sure the script was perfect? I dream of such a film.
And now I want to hear from y'all!
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More seriously: this movie is . . . what it is to me because there is SO much potential in the story and the themes, but all that must have been purely accidental, because they flubbed the landing so badly! The idea of an atheist presenting stigmata is fascinating in the questions it raises about faith and grace and holiness, and while I obviously enjoy the priest romance for . . . prurient reasons, I also think it has a lot to say about how God's love manifests in human connection. But the script is so, so bad! It's bad! I wrote 45k of fanfic that was just trying to fix how bad it was! You could do so much with this premise and the seeds of something great are there, but it needs an actual good writer to bring them out.
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