Foreign films remade in U.S.

[billc]

I have been listening to the radio as I drive around today, July 4th, and they have been playing an ad for the upcoming fall release of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." Of course, the original movie and its follow ups, have been available to the American public through RedBox and Netflix. I wonder, will Redbox and netflix hurt the American remakes at the box office? when there is nothing else to watch through the redbox and you pick up the foreign film to have something to watch, will that kill your desire to see the remake?

 

[rlobrecht]

Having seen the Swedish versions, and read the novels, I just can't imagine what Hollywood will do to those stories to make them US friendly.

 

[granfire]

I think the US is losing out by remaking every thing.

 

[Sukerkin]

Aye. Particularly if the remakes are pale imitations of the originals - which general seems to be the case. Any 'translation' tends to lose subtleties and atmosphere, even if the original is not all that nuanced - witness the Hollywood remakes of Japanese horror classics.

 

[granfire]

Things seem to get a plastic coating in Hollywood.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Aye. Particularly if the remakes are pale imitations of the originals - which general seems to be the case. Any 'translation' tends to lose subtleties and atmosphere, even if the original is not all that nuanced - witness the Hollywood remakes of Japanese horror classics.

On the other hand each director wants to add his own mark on the story; so, breaking away from the original is kind of the point.
Sean

 

[granfire]

True

But making a remake within a year or two of the original release has nothing to do with 'the spin'
It fits into the 'Why it's good to be European' thread.

It's the studio's decision to take a story and pretty much copy it, almost down to the exact dialog.

Check out 'Thee men and a baby', the original is French. The US remake is just about the exact same, just putting US stars in the slots.

I think the only time the remake didn't pale to the original was The Glorious Seven...but it translated it into the US context.

And I think one more movie, the French original features Alain Delon, something of the french DeNiro, the remake features Steve McQueen....

 

[Kurai]

Some American remakes stay true the the original in context. For instance, Point Of No Return, and Le Femme Nikita. Others change too much from the original, The Ring, and Ringu. Ringu made more sense than the ring. I think the biggest problem in Hollywood is a lack of ideas.

 

[Jenna]

I think the majority of movie goers are in a certain age group and interest demographic. I think while some do not, most attend a movie theatre simply to be entertained. Therefore they will likely not be put off by the fact that originals of movie flicks already exist.

On an individual basis I think being put off or not depends upon why we watch a movie. If we watch to appreciate the art then I think often the original is unsurpassed for pure authenticity (location, language, actors and scripting).

On the other hand if we watch to be entertained, then often we will not get that from original language movies because we have necessarily to employ more "brain time" to just get through to the end credits. If nothing else, Hollywood entertains us. Or tries to.

Then again, there can be something of a snob appeal to original movies too.

I suppose which we prefer depends upon our own sensibilities and where we sit on the scale of preference from art to entertainment.

 

[granfire]

I think the majority of movie goers are in a certain age group and interest demographic. I think while some do not, most attend a movie theatre simply to be entertained. Therefore they will likely not be put off by the fact that originals of movie flicks already exist.

On an individual basis I think being put off or not depends upon why we watch a movie. If we watch to appreciate the art then I think often the original is unsurpassed for pure authenticity (location, language, actors and scripting).

On the other hand if we watch to be entertained, then often we will not get that from original language movies because we have necessarily to employ more "brain time" to just get through to the end credits. If nothing else, Hollywood entertains us. Or tries to.

Then again, there can be something of a snob appeal to original movies too.

I suppose which we prefer depends upon our own sensibilities and where we sit on the scale of preference from art to entertainment.

The problem is the movie going public does not know.

In the rest of the world we happily consume Hollywood products. They are dubbed for the local market.
The US market does not get much of the choice.

 

[Ken Morgan]

It’s only the small independent theatres around here that have the European movies, with English subtitles. Sometimes we get lucky and a hit film from the UK will get wider distribution. Even Canadian films rarely get into the mainstream theatres.
It’s all about $$, Hollywood is big, flashy and market themselves and their products very, very well.
I look for a good story presented by good actors, I don’t care where it is made.

 

[Carol]

I just finished the book Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and went on to watch the movie on NetFlix. If I watch a movie made from a book, I like reading the book first and getting a vivid image in my own imagination, then going to see what the director would do with the same ideas. The book to me had a substantial atmospheric tone to it, and I really wanted to take in the local production, and hear it done in Swedish. Even though the writing and voice acting to dub a movie well is nearly an art form in itself, I don't particularly like dubbed movies. I'd rather hear the language as the writers wrote it and read the subtitles. I may be the odd one out here, I don't know.

After watching the Swedish version, it actually left me VERY curious to see what Hollywood would do. After catching a trailer on youtube, the cinematography looks fantastic. So...would watching the original quell my desire to see the American remake? Absolutely not...at least in this case. It has perhaps made me even more anxious to see it.