Remaking Foreign Films

[RalphTwice]

Originally Posted by fluffulike

Must say it depends on how it's done. If it's a re-interpretation like the departed it can be very interesting but when it's just a straight like for like remake then there is absolutely point!

I agree. There is no point in making the same movie again, all be it in a different language and set in a different country. It may reach a different audience, and if they are not aware of the original then perhaps they will be encouraged to look it up, which is great! But if it is just a copy then there is nothing much to appreciate or to provide a different movie experience.
Take 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', a great Swedish movie which is earmarked for a US remake. The good news is that David Fincher has signed up to direct, if anyone can do this justice then Fincher can. If you have read the book you'll know that there is so much more source material which could be used to make the remake a completely different film.
There are not many remakes that live up to nevermind surpass the originals - can anyone think of any?

[snakeplissken]

There are some very interesting points on here.

I dearly love The Departed, a truly wonderful film and one day I will perhaps brave the Infernal Affairs trilogy from which it has been cribbed. Again, as has already been said above, this is one of the benefits of remakes as my interest in the original source material has been piqued.

Which, again, is another point - Let The Right One In and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo are both based on books, and just because somebody in one country decides to make it first, is the source material still fair game for a different adaptation? Arguably, it takes the critical success of the foreign language remake to convince Hollywood to take the plunge - again, as has already been mentioned above.

Interestingly, a film that I like very much is Christopher Nolan's Insomnia which is a remake of a foreign film, and I would have to say that the original would have to be very good to surpass that effort. But again, only having seen the remake made me aware of, and interested in, seeing the original....

[billybairn]

What really gets my goat is the number of foreign movies being released with English titles. It is misleading and mags like Total Film should have an indication as to whether the movie's language is English, or something else with subtitles.

Even Sky is doing it now with the French Thriller "Anything for Her". Even the trailer doesn't have any words spoken, but all the titles are in English!!

New to the forum, so maybe this has been discussed already?

Rant over!

[rickyroma316]

It's not really odd and they're not trying to deceive you. Some titles, if they're in their native language, would be very hard for us to pronounce, thus reducing their marketability. So while something like La Dolce Vita roles off the tongue pretty well, Låt den rätte komma in doesn't.

However, you've touched on something that annoys me as well. Trailers that try and disguise the fact that the film is in a foreign language. Sometimes these days you see trailers that are obviously trying to skip around the fact that the film has subtitles - they don't have anyone speak at all. Unlike translating titles, this is kind of deceitful. Plus it doesn't have a lot of respect for the filmgoing public - there are lots of us that are perfectly happy to see a subtitled film and anyone you trick into going to see a film who doesn't realise it has subtitles is going to be mighty pissed off.

[Caroh]

I am always suspicious of remakes, and Hollywoods new habit of remaking foreign films so soon after the originals I think stinks a bit. If it gets people interested in seeing the original foreign language films then i guess its a good thing, but I doubt that ever really happens. It just seems like the studios believe that audiences arent interested in films in other languages, but I bet if they put a little promotion muscle behind them they would do well, I just dont see the need to completely remake them.

Just heard Hollywood is redoing the Millenium trilogy. Surprise surprise!

You have to wonder if theres enough money going in to finding new talent if so much is being spent on rehashing old films.....

[idamian79]

We did a little digging, and came up with a pretty damned comprehensive list of shorts that may have flown under the radar. Thanks to a standout performance by the hilarious Lauren Maddox as a boss from hell, Betty was just about the best of them. Narrowing her gaze at a pigtailed hopeful, Maddox comes across as a younger but just as cutting version of Meryl Streep’s fashion savvy editor in The Devil Wears Prada. Her comic timing is spot on.

[Cropsy]

It depends who gets their hands on it, eg The Departed you had Martin Scorsese and a great cast so it was going to be hard for it to be bad.

I am frightened that 'Suspiria' is being remade and the fact Dario Argento directed it originally, so i have concerns about this one being remade into trash.

The likes of 'Ringu' i dont think that the japanese version is that much better than the american, same goes for 'The Grudge', but REC should not have been remade, the original is a great film.

Films i hope never get remade, Switchblade Romance, Martyrs, Them, Battle Royale(Althought The Condemned was a very poor rip off) and Pans Labyrinth. I pray these remain as they are.

[thedude]

Originally Posted by Cropsy

Films i hope never get remade, Switchblade Romance, Martyrs, Them, Battle Royale(Althought The Condemned was a very poor rip off) and Pans Labyrinth. I pray these remain as they are.

I agree to a point, I'm ok to see a remake if it is done well and doesnt tarnish the original. Partly because I would hope that some people not aware of the original, in this case foreign language films can be a instant turn off to many casual cinema goers, and it may encourage people to see the original. I cant imagine Battle Royal would ever work outside of a Japanese setting, its kinda the point of the film, its such an emotionally and sexual suppresed country that it would lose context if it was set anywhere else. I liked the remake of REC, I actually sought out the original after watching it, and thought they were pretty much on level terms, I didnt particularly enjoy one more than the other. As a fan of Pans Labyrinth I would hate to see it remade, in any language, but Im sure there are an equal amount of people that would want to see it in an English remake.

The remake that makes my skin crawl is Akira, no need at all, it needs to be left the fuck alone.

[Cropsy]

Originally Posted by thedude

I agree to a point, I'm ok to see a remake if it is done well and doesnt tarnish the original. Partly because I would hope that some people not aware of the original, in this case foreign language films can be a instant turn off to many casual cinema goers, and it may encourage people to see the original. I cant imagine Battle Royal would ever work outside of a Japanese setting, its kinda the point of the film, its such an emotionally and sexual suppresed country that it would lose context if it was set anywhere else. I liked the remake of REC, I actually sought out the original after watching it, and thought they were pretty much on level terms, I didnt particularly enjoy one more than the other. As a fan of Pans Labyrinth I would hate to see it remade, in any language, but Im sure there are an equal amount of people that would want to see it in an English remake.

The remake that makes my skin crawl is Akira, no need at all, it needs to be left the fuck alone.

I agree, i dont even think a remake of Akira would even work, again this doesnt mean that companies wont try, The reason Akira works is probably for me because i saw it over 15 years ago and i hadnt seen any other film like it , manga, the violence the story everything just so unique and cant see how it would ever work as a remake.

[Ancient One]

Its actually been given the go ahead as a live action remake. Which could be interesting.