The End of Civilization: Classic Films Ruined by Hollywood

Hey, cheer up! Remakes aren't all bad. Just look at Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong, and his Lord of the Rings trilogy was far better than Ralph Bakshi's cartoon.

Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau. Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart. Both duds.

Mike

AMEN... and may I add... Only Sean Connery or Roger Moore were James Bond.

Only Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes...

John Huston (spelling aside) as Noah...

Michael Cain (Muppets Christmas Carol) or George C Scott as Scrooge...

I agree wholeheartedly. Scott was Scrooge to a Tee! You could actually believe his transformation.

I suppose a lot it's due to lousy writers, that don't have an original thought in their heads.

I agree with you - I feel like a lot of the producers in Hollywood aren't even trying trying to be creative anymore, which is why there has been (and are so many up-coming) remakes. Here is a site that lists all the upcoming movie remakes...

It also annoys me that Hollywood doesn't just ruin classic movies, but so many good books as well. I have stopped watching anything that is based on a book that I've read - it's just too upsetting when the movie sucks.

Brideshead revisited

I have a lot of sympathy with this comment. One of my favorite hates was Hollywoods remake of the Day of the Jcakal. Half the problem with remakes is inappropriate casting. It seems that Hollywood takes a top box office draw and throws him at the part. It just doesn't work. Look at any classic and you will realise that the actors were right for the part. Good casting is as important as a good story line and good acting.

Tony Lee

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Willy Wonka

Gene Wilder played an excellent Willy Wonka. Johnny Depp was just ridiculous, reminded me of Truman Capote.

I agree...I have thought for some time that Robin Williams would have been a better fit. He can pull off dark humor...Depp just seems creepy...like he got his inspiration form Michael Jackson...

Cedric the Entertainer in the "Honeymooners". Cedric is a genius but hey, when they put a pile of money in front of you it's hard to resist even if the script and concept aren't very good. Steve Martin as Clouseau? WHY? The first one was a stinker sooo they have another one coming out? WHAT?! Hitchcock remade some of his films..but they were HIS films already and they were better than the first versions. Movie versions of TV shows..Bewitched, McHale's Navy, Sgt Bilko, Get Smart, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Twilight Zone, and others are proof that Hollywood has run out of new ideas. Who signs off on these?

Who signs off on these?

Someone who needs a big tax writeoff? Or an excuse to ask for a bailout?

I look forward to writer strikes in tinsel town. Some actual talent accidentally fills in.

It is not just the remakes, What happen to all the original plots? Great action, cool effects and a plot so over processed that the caricatures seem to come out of a cookie cutter.

One more "The Universe will come to an end if we can't pull off this heroic deed" and I think I'll regurgitate. How about a good story, Subplots, Some Walter Brennan type actors. Sensationalism is fine but is is not the basis of a plot.

Commercials are even worse. Lets show something flashy to hold your attention with feel good images while we slide our insinuations for our product in by audio. Some commercials make me feel I'd become stupid just by using their product. Most are plain irritating.

Thanks for the warning about the trailer. Movies like commercials don't seem to make you think anymore they just want you to be in a vegetative state, WOWed by their magnificence.

Brad

There just movies. Nothing important there.

Shane just a movie? Was the Colossus of Rhodes just a statue? Was the Code of Hammurabi just a zoning ordinance? is the Grand Canyon just a ditch? Oh, bite your tongue.

I don't recall seeing Clint Eastwood helping to chop roots of a big old stump.

Shane wasn't a Ghost, he was a gunman passing through.

Clint Eastwood in that movie was a Ghost seeking revenge.

Louis Lamour, Zane Grey and Max Brand all wrote movies about some loner cowboy riding in and saving everyone from some Cattle baron or Railroad tycoon many times. The only thing that changes are the names and the scenery.

So I can hardly say that Pale Rider infringes on the movie Shane, which started as a book that I studied in an English class in High School.

I guess your cat never saw Star Wars? Nuff said.

What are you talking about?

Enough said.

LOL... it was subtle. Lets see if anyone else picks up on it.

Oops. Pale Rider (2nd rate movie) not Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1st rate book).

The rule of thumb is that it is better to make a movie from a short story that you are expanding, than from a novel you are contracting. Great movies typically come from neither, and are what they call Original Screen Plays. The remake of The Thin Red Line, even with Sean Penn, is pretty bad compared to the B&W original. About anybody could do a remake of The Naked and The Dead, better than the original. Mr. Kubrick made The Shinning better than the book, so it just goes to show how important the Director really is. Hell, it was a brilliant stroke for Zefferilli to cut Shakespeare when he Directed Romeo and Juliet. As a film, two sword fights of equal intensity didn't work. Far as I know, The Day The Earth Stood Still, was originally a B movie. I wouldn't really expect it to become an A movie. The Hollywood executives make remakes simply because they are a brand they own that will make some money. If you want timeless values read Tolstoy, or Faulkner, or maybe the Bible, or Aristotle, yourself. It is a threat to my way of life to not have a job. I'd rather work on a stupid remake than not work, so I have a vested interest in movies being made, whether I want to see them or not. P.S. I've been watching The Taming of the Shrew this week. Good casting with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. A little long. Awhile back we did a discussion of the ten best science fiction movies, you might find interesting.

Yes, the Burton/Taylor 'Taming' was very good. But, I also liked the Willis/Shepherd 'Moonlighting' version...

I liked the original 'Doctor Doolittle' better than the new one, the 'Annie' with Carol Burnet and the 1968 musical 'Oliver' with Ron Moody and Oliver Reed (But I didn't get to see George C Scott in the 1982 TV version).