As someone who has watched far too many Rutger Hauer films (mainly thanks to Channel Five), I would like to add Redline to the remakes of Point Blank (co-starring the equally ridiculous Marc Dacsacos) and offer my sympathies to Kurosawa, who was still alive when Yojimbo was remade as Omega Doom.
But not all remakes are this stupid. For example: Cape Fear, Gaslight, Rio Bravo/El Dorado, LA Takedown/Heat, Traffic, Ball of Fire/A Song is Born (Howard Hawks again).
Also, let us not forget the umpteen versions of Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, Hamlet, Wutherng Heights, or Farwell, My Lovely. The point being that any remake is an adaptation of a particular source material, and what difference does it make if the original is a book, a play, a TV series or another film? If a writer or director feels they can re-present a familiar story in a strange and interesting way, this should be encouraged. If they then turn out to be a talentless, braindead, ego-driven time-killer well, then, the original is in no way cheapened and perhaps even improves in standing. |
