Classic Film remakes
Discussion
Given the current trend for film makers to attempt to revive old films (Flight of the Phoenix etc), are there any you would like to see remade, and who would you place in leading roles? Over to you LA !
For me it would have to be Hell Drivers, a British B&W classic about a corrupt haulage firm.
My leading men would be:
Tom (our hero) was Stanley Baker, could be Ewan McGregor
Red (the baddie) was Patrick McGoohan, could be Sean Bean
Cartley (the corrupt boss) was William Hartnell, could be Robbie Coltrane or Bob Hoskins.
However, as Sean Connery had one of his first speaking roles in the original, he would probably be the ideal candidate for the boss.
Oh yes, you`d have to squeeze Rowan Atkinson in there somewhere as he holds an HGV licence and ids a bit of a closet trucker!
For me it would have to be Hell Drivers, a British B&W classic about a corrupt haulage firm.
My leading men would be:
Tom (our hero) was Stanley Baker, could be Ewan McGregor
Red (the baddie) was Patrick McGoohan, could be Sean Bean
Cartley (the corrupt boss) was William Hartnell, could be Robbie Coltrane or Bob Hoskins.
However, as Sean Connery had one of his first speaking roles in the original, he would probably be the ideal candidate for the boss.
Oh yes, you`d have to squeeze Rowan Atkinson in there somewhere as he holds an HGV licence and ids a bit of a closet trucker!
I am usuall very wary of remakes - as mostly they seem pointless and suggest a lack of original thinking on the part of the producers.
I do think that "The Six Million Dollar Man" is well overdue for a big budget blockbuster though it should be based more closely on the original book "Cyborg" which was quite dark.
I do think that "The Six Million Dollar Man" is well overdue for a big budget blockbuster though it should be based more closely on the original book "Cyborg" which was quite dark.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Yeah, I had the toys. Do you remember the plane he crashed it? It was real footage from the crash of a flying wing, being developed by NASA. It was incredibly hard to fly, apparently.
www.unrealaircraft.com/wings/M2-F2.php
The problem is many remakes aren't as good as the originals. Mostly because they keep the same storyline and characters and don't change anything, so we think we've seen it all before already and the remake is a waste of time and money. To do a proper "re-make" you need to make changes, maybe not to the core of the storyline but certainly to events, also the environment it is set and possibly the subject matter concerned without changing the plot. For Hell Drivers to work as a remake only the idea of corruption within a British haulage firm would be kept. The location, type of company, mini personal stories and finale would be altered but would keep the same essence and roughness. Thus people watching it would hopefully not be reminded of the original, it would keep them guessing over the ending, would it be the same or different...???
By the way, the remake of Flight of the Phoenix is crap.
By the way, the remake of Flight of the Phoenix is crap.
towman said:
For me it would have to be Hell Drivers, a British B&W classic about a corrupt haulage firm.
My leading men would be:
Tom (our hero) was Stanley Baker, could be Ewan McGregor
Red (the baddie) was Patrick McGoohan, could be Sean Bean
Cartley (the corrupt boss) was William Hartnell, could be Robbie Coltrane or Bob Hoskins.
However, as Sean Connery had one of his first speaking roles in the original, he would probably be the ideal candidate for the boss.
A man after me own heart!
Hell Drivers is fantastic stuff and I always try and watch it if it's on.
I think those trucks have nitrons to be driving that fast! Superb stuff ...
Seems strange to see Sean Connery in a small part before Bond ....
There's an epsiode of Mysteries of Edgar Wallace which they don't seem to show any more (used to be on Central about 20 years ago at 2 in the morning - and Michael Caine played a bank robber driving a Mk 1 Cortina (non-speaking part – probably earned about £3 ... made in about 1961 - suoerb!
The crash featured in the opening credits of "The Six Million Dollar Man" was indeed real footage of an actual crash. However, it wasn't a flying wing. In fact, it was the absolute opposite. It was a "Lifting Body" i.e. an aircraft with no wing at all.
The 'plane involved was the Martin M2-F2 and the crash occured in 1967, severly injuring pilot Bruce Peterson.
The idea behind the lifting body programme was to see if it would be feasible to combine the "blunt body" shape of the traditional space capsule of the day with a shape which would allow it to "fly" aerodynamically once it had re-entered the atmosphere. The driving force behind the research was the design and building of re-useable Space Shuttles. In the end, the Lifting Body concept was not used as the Shuttle has genuine wings. However, there is a good chance that the next generation of shuttles will be based on the Lifting Body research of the 1960s and 1970s.
The 'plane involved was the Martin M2-F2 and the crash occured in 1967, severly injuring pilot Bruce Peterson.
The idea behind the lifting body programme was to see if it would be feasible to combine the "blunt body" shape of the traditional space capsule of the day with a shape which would allow it to "fly" aerodynamically once it had re-entered the atmosphere. The driving force behind the research was the design and building of re-useable Space Shuttles. In the end, the Lifting Body concept was not used as the Shuttle has genuine wings. However, there is a good chance that the next generation of shuttles will be based on the Lifting Body research of the 1960s and 1970s.
The original "flight of the phoenix" aircraft actually flew, and it killed its pilot on the second or third take when it crashed.
In my ever so humble opinion, remakes of classic films are doomed to failure because the story is already known, its already been told better than todays "action mad" film makers can do it. They have no real sense of "story" if that makes sense to you.
You only have to look at the recent abortion remake of the classic Italian Job.
The kids today only see explosions, car chases, suave heroes with slick choreography and snappy lines and glitz....they dont see the story behind it as the characters and indeed the actors, have no soul.
>> Edited by Deltafox on Wednesday 9th March 11:44
In my ever so humble opinion, remakes of classic films are doomed to failure because the story is already known, its already been told better than todays "action mad" film makers can do it. They have no real sense of "story" if that makes sense to you.
You only have to look at the recent abortion remake of the classic Italian Job.
The kids today only see explosions, car chases, suave heroes with slick choreography and snappy lines and glitz....they dont see the story behind it as the characters and indeed the actors, have no soul.
>> Edited by Deltafox on Wednesday 9th March 11:44
Has anyone seen the "Flight of the Phoenix" remake yet? There was an interesting article on the aircraft used (a Fairchild C-119 Packet) in "Aeroplane Monthly" a few months ago.
I still can't believe anyone can better the acting skills of the original cast. Jimmy Stewart's crusty old, jaded, captain is brilliantly played as is Hardy Kruger's arrogant German aircraft designer.
The casting of Kruger was a stroke of genius. The fact that Stewart's character would have been extremely wary of Germans (the story was written not long after WW2)and his basic dislike of the Kruger character would probably be lost on a modern, young audience, today. But it would have struck a resonance with most audiences in 1965.
It's interesting that a similar ploy is used in the 1966 film "Grand Prix" when the American driver, Pete Aron (played by James Garner) is offered a drive with the new Japanese Yamura team. The team principle (Toshiro Mifune) is concerned that Aron might have some issues seeing that both characters fought on opposite sides in the war.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Wednesday 9th March 11:55
I still can't believe anyone can better the acting skills of the original cast. Jimmy Stewart's crusty old, jaded, captain is brilliantly played as is Hardy Kruger's arrogant German aircraft designer.
The casting of Kruger was a stroke of genius. The fact that Stewart's character would have been extremely wary of Germans (the story was written not long after WW2)and his basic dislike of the Kruger character would probably be lost on a modern, young audience, today. But it would have struck a resonance with most audiences in 1965.
It's interesting that a similar ploy is used in the 1966 film "Grand Prix" when the American driver, Pete Aron (played by James Garner) is offered a drive with the new Japanese Yamura team. The team principle (Toshiro Mifune) is concerned that Aron might have some issues seeing that both characters fought on opposite sides in the war.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Wednesday 9th March 11:55
I can think of a few recent classic remakes of British films:
Day Of The Jackel -> The Jackel - DIRE
The Ladykillers - Dire
Alfie - watcheable as a film on it's own, awful compared to the original
Get Carter - shocking
The Italian Job - different film - original is classic British caper movie - remake is a glossy Hollywood heist film - enjoyed both, but should be compared only in name & mini-content.
...as for remakes I'd like to see: Flash Gordon or The Black Hole. (but then I'm a sci-fi nerd)
FourWheelDrift said:
anonymous said:[redacted]
You wish is granted. Jim Carrey as Steve Austin?
No he isn't, as of January 28th he's no longer doing it
That's a relief. However, the film version should be dark and brooding, with the lead played as a tortured soul who initially despises what has been done to him in order to save his life.
Carey gurning his way through yet another movie, particularly this one, would be a real missed opportunity and a total mistake.
Eric Mc said:
I'd like to see "Battle of Britain" and "The Dambusters" done with state of the art CGI BUT with the historical accuracy retained.
Please don`t let the yanks do it! We`ll end up wuth George Clooney and Mel Gibson single handedly (you know what i mean) saving the world from johnny foreigner.
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