"let me in" Americans remake a 2 year old film.

[filski666]

Just been watching a program on Channel 4 about the new film by the director of Cloverfield called "Let Me In"

This is a remake of the Swedish film "Let the Right One In" which is one of the best films I have ever seen.....but only came out in 2008!

Why do the yanks feel the need to remake such a recent film? Is it just because they can't read subtitles or can't they stand the fact that it is a "foreign" film?

From what I have seen from the program on channel 4 they haven't done anything special, just moved the story to America, changed the names and....Er.....deleted all the charm and engaging atmosphere of the original in favour of special fx (which the original wasn't lacking in-it wasn't some cheap student film)

So.......I guess the point of this thread is to ask, WHY? Why remake such a recent film - especially when the original is so good - is it really just the subtitles, or is it xenophobia on behalf of the septics?

P.S. if you haven't already - watch "let the right one in" it is awesome..it isn't a vampire film as such, it is about the relationship between the two kids....it is just that one is a vampire......

[RobDickinson]

They lke the premis but mainstream USA doesnt do foreign films.

Usualy the fk it up but in a hollywood drivel kinda of way ( Nikita -> The Assasin etc).

[FourWheelDrift]

They remade Rec and are remaking the girl with the dragon tattoo, im sure they been others as well. It can't be because they think their audience can't read subtitles because they always seem to subtitle "foreigners" speaking English on documentaries

[filski666]

FourWheelDrift said:

They remade Rec and are remaking the girl with the dragon tattoo, im sure they been others as well. It can't be because they think their audience can't read subtitles because they always seem to subtitle "foreigners" speaking English on documentaries

They are remaking girl with a dragon tattoo ...Er...too?
I don't see that film being any good with a Hollywood restyling

[Tiggsy]

It's being remade because they like the idea but lots of people don't want to read subtitles to see a film.....which is fair enough.

And for what it's worth.....I thought the original was dire......bored me stupid.

[Tiggsy]

It's being remade because they like the idea but lots of people don't want to read subtitles to see a film.....which is fair enough.

And for what it's worth.....I thought the original was dire......bored me stupid.

[Stu R]

$$$$s. Plain and simple.

Never heard of said film. How much do you think it made in the US?
Remake with Cloverfied chap and some recognisable 'Hollywood' in it, and you've got - if all goes to plan - rather a few million dollars profit. At the same time rights-owners to the original get more cash, and if anything the original will see a rise in sales spurred on by the new version (like the ring etc) and they'll make more.
They don't care about charm, feel or originality for the large part. Some of the people in the industry might, but the people bankrolling these things don't. They care about ROI and profit.

[RedLCRB0b]

The remake is getting some good reviews though and from the trailer it looks like it may be including some elements from the book that the original film left out. For anyone with a LoveFilm account, you can watch the original film free online at the moment.

[Mojooo]

2 years isnt that long for an english remake of a foriegn film

some of the japanese horror films were being remade quite soon a few years abck to

i odnt think it matters if the chnes are the original version wont be seen by anyone.

[boomboompow]

Tiggsy said:

It's being remade because they like the idea but lots of people don't want to read subtitles to see a film.....which is fair enough.

This; plus from all the reviews I've seen it looks like it's that rare thing of a decent remake; here's hoping Fincher does as well with Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

[Frankeh]

I loved the original. It had charm and it all felt so real.
Got to admit though, I think Chloe Mortez (hit girl) is a fantastic little actress so it should be interesting to see how it turns out.

Also worth a note that it's being sold as an adaptation from the book rather than a remake of the original film.

One thing that annoyed me was that they changed the title from the thought provoking "Let the right one in" to the assertive "Let me in".. It's so bleh.

SPOILERSSSS ---------




















I bet they never mention that the vampire is actually a guy and it's a love story about a little boy and a little transsexual boy vampire.


























End SPOLIERSSS ------

[clarkeyboy]

Americans do not do sub-titled films, plain and simple.It's a "why would I want to read my film" mentailty. let the Right One In is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in ages, and to remake it so soon does seem to put a finger up to the director etc. I just hope the remake keeps some of the emotional connection between the two children.

Secondly, I also loved Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and was gutted when I heard they were doing a english version remake.Then I heard David Fincher was on board, problem solved,not worried.If ANY director can make improvements on the story, its Fincher.

[RedLCRB0b]

I saw Let Me In last night and was very impressed with it, I would say it was at least as good as the original. The young actors gave great performances.

[filski666]

RedLCRB0b said:

I saw Let Me In last night and was very impressed with it, I would say it was at least as good as the original. The young actors gave great performances.

but did it add anything or improve on the original? (apart from swapping Swedish language with subtitles for American language)

[Tiggsy]

filski666 said:

RedLCRB0b said:

I saw Let Me In last night and was very impressed with it, I would say it was at least as good as the original. The young actors gave great performances.

but did it add anything or improve on the original? (apart from swapping Swedish language with subtitles for American language)

Given how important understanding the words are to any film....you cant dismiss adding english as being so minor!

[filski666]

Tiggsy said:

filski666 said:

RedLCRB0b said:

I saw Let Me In last night and was very impressed with it, I would say it was at least as good as the original. The young actors gave great performances.

but did it add anything or improve on the original? (apart from swapping Swedish language with subtitles for American language)

Given how important understanding the words are to any film....you cant dismiss adding english as being so minor!

I am not dismissing it as being minor, I just wanted to know if they have added anything to the story over and above the change of base language (which is a given)

[Legend83]

filski666 said:

Tiggsy said:

filski666 said:

RedLCRB0b said:

I saw Let Me In last night and was very impressed with it, I would say it was at least as good as the original. The young actors gave great performances.

but did it add anything or improve on the original? (apart from swapping Swedish language with subtitles for American language)

Given how important understanding the words are to any film....you cant dismiss adding english as being so minor!

I am not dismissing it as being minor, I just wanted to know if they have added anything to the story over and above the change of base language (which is a given)

Not seen it, but IIRC the director wanted to make the film more in line with the book, which was more gruesome and scary than the Swedish adaptation.

So I would expect it to be a bit more horror, a little less friendship tale with a bit of blood thrown in.

[RedLCRB0b]

filski666 said:

Tiggsy said:

filski666 said:

RedLCRB0b said:

I saw Let Me In last night and was very impressed with it, I would say it was at least as good as the original. The young actors gave great performances.

but did it add anything or improve on the original? (apart from swapping Swedish language with subtitles for American language)

Given how important understanding the words are to any film....you cant dismiss adding english as being so minor!

I am not dismissing it as being minor, I just wanted to know if they have added anything to the story over and above the change of base language (which is a given)

Sort of It pretty much removed the other characters (the drunk swedes) and concentrated purely on Owen (Oskar), Abi (Eli), the policeman and the boys that bullied Owen. So they removed something, but by doing so I think they managed to give a better feeling for the relationship between the two leads - but only fractionally more than the original.

I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed it, but then I can quite easily watch films that I like lots of times so watching a very good remake of an already very good film isn't a problem.

One thing that did surprise me was how much snow and ice they showed in New Mexico (Los Alamos), as it isn't somewhere that you would naturally assume that people can play ice hockey on a frozen lake.

[AJB88]

11 year thread bump but just watched this on TV thought it was ok, going to try watch the original now.

[smithyithy]

They remade Old Boy too, one of the best Korean films ever made, as expected it added nothing to the quality of the original..