View Full Version : remakes for universal classics?
jedicow
04-15-2005, 08:49 AM
what would you think of big budget remakes of the old universal flicks? frankenstein, dracula, creature from the black lagoon, the wolfman.
i would like to see them if they still had the same basic plot and scripts were updated a little. i think that the SFX could do great things especially with CFTBL and the wolfman.
now, i know a lot of you are going to try to fry me for this thread, but i just want you to know that the old B&Ws are my favorite films of all time and i would never want to see them replaced, but i think it would be kinda cool for something like this to happen. i got really excited about "van helsing" last year, but was sorely disappointed and it left me hungry for something great to be done with those charatcers.
MichaelMyers
04-15-2005, 09:20 AM
Is nothing sacred?
lilknivesguy
04-15-2005, 09:37 AM
Let's hear Jedicow out, and consider the issue for a moment. Yes, the past few years have seen many sad and unnecessary remakes (one opens today, or so the reviews would seem to paint it as such), but I would definitely get behind a movement to re-envision (not re-make) the Universal monster movies if, and only if, good directors and cinematographers signed on and (here's my spin) agreed to use black and white. I'm thinking more Young Frankenstein than Nadja, but I hope you get my point re: use of b&w. Would, at the very least, be better than Van Helsing.
jedicow
04-15-2005, 09:47 AM
i think that if a little new life were breathed into these characters, it would be a good thing.
zwoti
04-15-2005, 10:50 AM
JC wrote a script for a remake of creature from the black lagoon
nothing happened as the budget required would have been too much
It seems like all the classic monsters have been featured in remakes of some sort. The Mummy with Brendan Fraiser, most definitely not a classic rendition, too much CGI for my taste.
Frankenstein with De niro
Dracula with Oldman
both good movies.
I guess the Wolfman and the Creature haven't been done properly.
urgeok
04-15-2005, 11:49 AM
in light of what has come since - the creature is more cool than scary ... they'd have to either vamp him up or make more play on the sympathy thing ..
i dunno .. its so dated now.
Humanoids from the Deep was kind of an updated version..
Originally posted by urgeok
Humanoids from the Deep was kind of an updated version..
Nice tits in that one.......the tent scene where the idiot is playing with his puppet and his girlfriend in naked in front of him...What an asshole.
filmmaker2
04-15-2005, 12:05 PM
I enjoyed the "Dracula" and "The Mummy" remakes to a degree, but I didn't "like" them (there's a difference). They were fun but not classics.
"The Mummy" I was especially looking forward to, because I was almost sure it was going to be a serious big action mummy movie, and not an action comedy spoof like it was. I think that one in particular had much potential to be a seriously scary, cool film.
For some reason "The Mummy Returns" sat a great deal better with me. This was pretty funny, but I thought it played a lot more smoothly overall.
urgeok
04-15-2005, 12:52 PM
Originally posted by newb
Nice tits in that one.......the tent scene where the idiot is playing with his puppet and his girlfriend in naked in front of him...What an asshole.
some good gore too .. didnt someone get their head ripped off ?
filmmaker2
04-16-2005, 02:48 PM
There were many scenes of mayhem on the pier, and one of them featured a fish guy throttling an unfortunate fellow, and there was blood tubing attached to the fish guy's arm for a quick cheap bloody ripping effect. Very nice monsters in that film!
immortalem
04-17-2005, 02:17 PM
I would like to see some of them re-made. But only if they changed very few things and left them black and white like Lilknivesguy said. I think with the special effects today these re-makes would be pretty good as long as whoever makes it does not mess it up.
With the success of Sin City I think we may be seeing a few more movies making use of Black & White to get the images they want. The stark contrast and dark mood set by the medium is undeniable.
I would love to see The Creature from the Black Lagoon updated and I will watch almost any werewolf film.
hebgbzz
05-11-2005, 07:38 PM
Originally posted by lilknivesguy
Let's hear Jedicow out, and consider the issue for a moment. Yes, the past few years have seen many sad and unnecessary remakes (one opens today, or so the reviews would seem to paint it as such), but I would definitely get behind a movement to re-envision (not re-make) the Universal monster movies if, and only if, good directors and cinematographers signed on and (here's my spin) agreed to use black and white. I'm thinking more Young Frankenstein than Nadja, but I hope you get my point re: use of b&w. Would, at the very least, be better than Van Helsing.
And if they use B&W maybe it will spawn a revival of sorts that would get some younger viewers to watch the original classics. When I went to see the remake of Psycho, sitting behind me were two young guys, one asked, "Have you seen the first one? It's in black and white." The other guy responded, "Black and white? Hell no!" (Go figure.)
lilknivesguy
05-12-2005, 11:55 AM
Originally posted by hebgbzz
And if they use B&W maybe it will spawn a revival of sorts...
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a black and white purist by any means, but ADOM raises a point with the success of Sin City. If new technology can mimic the stark contrast of Frank Miller's b&w (and red... and other select color) illustrations on the silver screen, imagine what similar technology could do for reinterpretations of Universal's monsters.
hebgbzz
05-13-2005, 06:21 PM
Originally posted by lilknivesguy
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a black and white purist by any means, but ADOM raises a point with the success of Sin City. If new technology can mimic the stark contrast of Frank Miller's b&w (and red... and other select color) illustrations on the silver screen, imagine what similar technology could do for reinterpretations of Universal's monsters.
Couldn't agree more. Sin City was a beautiful film from a cinematic standpoint. I would love a re-telling of the old tales using the same techniques. But I guess I am a purist for original B&W, too. I hate colorization. It seems washed out and faded in one way, then unnaturally vivid in others. Plus the play of light and shadow? Don't mess with that. Fortunately there is room in cinema for all.
lilknivesguy
05-16-2005, 06:23 AM
Originally posted by hebgbzz
Couldn't agree more. Sin City was a beautiful film from a cinematic standpoint. I would love a re-telling of the old tales using the same techniques. But I guess I am a purist for original B&W, too. I hate colorization...
Oh, definitely: colorization is an abomination, and fortunately is no longer the issue it once was (Turner seemed to let it go). What I meant by b&w purist is being one of those stuffy types who think horror movies stopped being good the minute the blood dripped red (a ridiculous notion, folks). But I do think remakes of the Universal classics are possible, and could be good, using the enhanced monochromatic technique of a film like Sin City, where the movie is shot in color, then color is selectively removed.
tom-tom
06-08-2005, 01:38 AM
Originally posted by lilknivesguy
Let's hear Jedicow out, and consider the issue for a moment. Yes, the past few years have seen many sad and unnecessary remakes (one opens today, or so the reviews would seem to paint it as such), but I would definitely get behind a movement to re-envision (not re-make) the Universal monster movies if, and only if, good directors and cinematographers signed on and (here's my spin) agreed to use black and white. I'm thinking more Young Frankenstein than Nadja, but I hope you get my point re: use of b&w. Would, at the very least, be better than Van Helsing.
If that was to happen then yes...but otherwise just simply remaking the universal monster classics is a big fucking NO NO
filmmaker2
06-08-2005, 06:35 AM
Well, the problem with "Van Helsing" wasn't that it was in color. The problem had something to do with the fact that it was really atrociously bad.
alkytrio666
06-08-2005, 06:42 AM
How about this, here me out: before we hire another brainless director to remake a classic so that our future generations will be so disgusted that they won't even watch the original, why don't we try this.
Drumroll please...
We come up with some NEW ideas!
lilknivesguy
06-13-2005, 06:24 AM
Originally posted by alkytrio666
How about this, here me out: before we hire another brainless director to remake a classic so that our future generations will be so disgusted that they won't even watch the original, why don't we try this.
Drumroll please...
We come up with some NEW ideas!
No argument there, but the point of the forum was a discussion of possibly remaking Universal classics, and how/why that might be done with equal parts innovation and respect. If you don't agree that this is a topic to mine, that's cool, but to be dismissive won't further the argument.
The idea of a remake need not be heresy. Case in point: The Maltese Falcon (1941). Anyone out there wanna tell me the 1931 version was superior to John Huston's? We're playing with possibilities here. The chance is slim that a Universal classic could be remade well, but it's an intriguing proposition.