Classic 1950's Sci-Fi> Should we redo them today?

[John in Covina]

While John Carpenter took the Thing in a whole new direction it was story telling at it's scary best. However, several remakes such as the Day the Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds seem to be lacking. The Godzilla movie wasn't quite everyones cup of tea either.

What ones would you like to redo considering the capabilities of CGI today?

I am wondering if it would be possible to make "Them" today without it being totally worthless.
Earth versus the Flying Saucers? (kind of done with Mars Attacks)

 

[ButteMT61]

Wow. Not sure about this. I love the old cheesy movies, but they weren't cheesy on purpose - it was what they had in the day. They are very "sweet" in that they're all done with passion for doing something that technology hadn't conquered yet. It would take someone maybe like Tim Burton to have a child-like mind to pull it off. OK, maybe some were cheesy on purpose, but still, I'd find it hard to do that right today.

 

[DNO]

You sure are right about the remakes. Carpenter's new look at The Thing was good but the others were, indeed, lacking. I think one of the appealing things about those films is the lack of modern polish. They seem more direct, more innocent. I suspect that is why most of the remakes fail to make the grade.

Having said that, there's a good chance that a remake of Forbidden Planet would work. It's crying out for modern cgi.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Simple NO.

 

[Worf]

I'm very wary of this. The "remake" of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was a pile of rancid mule dung. There's only one I'd like to see because it could benifit from "modern" FX. That would be "THEM". Back then they only had 5 or 6 of the fully working ants and they were from hunger. Now with CGI the big ants could be as fast and terrifying as their little cousins. Other than that, leave em alone.

Worf

 

[Atomic Age]

I do not have a problem with remakes that go back to the source material, such as The Thing did. I would not mind seeing a modern version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It would be interesting to see what someone would do with Ray Bradbury's original material for It Came From Outer Space. The Incredible Shrinking Man might be interesting with a modern take.

Of course this all depends on who's making the film. After all Alien is basically a remake of It! The Terror from Beyond Space. Philip Kaufman made an excellent remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1979.

It would however make no sense to remake some of the films such as Destination Moon, which was all speculation about the things that were to come about 10 years later.

Doug

 

[Atomic Age]

I'm very wary of this. The "remake" of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was a pile of rancid mule dung. There's only one I'd like to see because it could benifit from "modern" FX. That would be "THEM". Back then they only had 5 or 6 of the fully working ants and they were from hunger. Now with CGI the big ants could be as fast and terrifying as their little cousins. Other than that, leave em alone.

Worf

Actually they only had 2 Ants, and one of them couldn't move, it could only be shoved forward or backward.

Doug

 

[Gatsby84]

There are enough remakes being made as it is. Classics like "Them!" do not deserve to be remade as they will surely be remade poorly. What we need out of Hollywood is more original stories.

-Allen

 

[Benny Holiday]

The 50s sci-flicks are so cool. They're classics in their own right; I hope no more pathetic remakes are made.

 

[McMurdo]

It is an interesting idea, a month or so ago TCM played Them! I just had to watch it, the acting was far better than most movies in the genre. I have a feeling that remaking it would be a mistake. I am wary of remakes in general, but almost always see them eventually, my fear would be that they would get Peter Jackson to direct, which would not be that bad, however the real fear is that would cast Jack Black as Sgt. Ben Peterson.

 

[Rathdown]

It is an interesting idea, a month or so ago TCM played Them! I just had to watch it, the acting was far better than most movies in the genre. I have a feeling that remaking it would be a mistake. I am wary of remakes in general, but almost always see them eventually, my fear would be that they would get Peter Jackson to direct, which would not be that bad, however the real fear is that would cast Jack Black as Sgt. Ben Peterson.

Hi Glen-- I couldn't agree more. Probably the best (worst?) example of a remake not working was the shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. What a remake can rarely do is equal the spark of genius that has made a film an enduring classic.

Crappy films, on the other hand, can benefit from being re-done; The Maltese Falcon (1941) being vastly better than Satan Met a Lady (1936), a remake of the first version of TMF (AKA Dangerous Female) shot in 1931.

 

[William Stratford]

Absolutely not - the War of the Worlds film alone should illustrate this! *shudder*

Part of their charm is their age (*realises he is probably preaching to the choir on that one* )

 

[Doctor Strange]

No, no, a thousand times no!

 

[Vornholt]

I remember two remakes of 20,000 Leagues done for television. One was a Hallmark production, and contrary to my usual expectations of quality from them, it absolutely stunk. I recall thinking that it looked as though it had been rushed through to compete with the other remake. I'm not sure if I saw the other, though I think I did. I believe it stunk, too.

The Disney original is a personal favorite, even with the liberties it took with the novel (and Kirk Douglas singing), but I would like to see a modern-day version that tacked a bit closer to the novel.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen had a Nemo of Indian nationality, but I'm not going down that film's path. :eusa_doh:

 

[John in Covina]

I am thinking that an update on the film "Target Earth" could be done well since is actually more of a psycological thriller than Sci-FI.

How about the Day of the Triffids?

 

[John in Covina]

They recently did the Will Smith version of "The Last man on Earth" (AKA the Omega Man) and that wasn't pure dross.

 

[DNO]

I am thinking that an update on the film "Target Earth" could be done well since is actually more of a psycological thriller than Sci-FI.

How about the Day of the Triffids?

There was a recent (at least in this neck of the woods) British mini-series for the Day of the Triffids. Twas okay.

 

[Worf]

It is an interesting idea, a month or so ago TCM played Them! I just had to watch it, the acting was far better than most movies in the genre. I have a feeling that remaking it would be a mistake. I am wary of remakes in general, but almost always see them eventually, my fear would be that they would get Peter Jackson to direct, which would not be that bad, however the real fear is that would cast Jack Black as Sgt. Ben Peterson.

That is by far the most heinous, scary and frightening thing I've heard all day. Fie upon the sir for giving light to so dispicable a thought. Don't even think such things! Worse yet they'd give it to Will Ferret!

Worf

 

[Feraud]

What ones would you like to redo considering the capabilities of CGI today?

I don't consider technology a reason enough to remake a movie.

 

[scottyrocks]

They recently did the Will Smith version of "The Last man on Earth" (AKA the Omega Man) and that wasn't pure dross.

I was thinking about that film, I am Legend. I think that in order for a a remake, any remake, to work, all the stars and planets have to be aligned just so. You need the right cast, director, and especially script. Then, you have to use the technology appropriately.

One scene is particular that I thought was especially well done was when the sun went down and his dog finally turned after being bitten by one of the vampire dogs. It was a quick shot of the dog completely turning and snapping at him, and then he smothers the dog and breaks down. That shot only shows Smith from the chest up, but the whole scene almost moved me to tears (I love dogs). To me, that is an example of an effective use of CGI in a sci-fi setting.

I remember a movie called Blade, and its sequel Blade II. In one of them, there was a fight scene between Blade and the villain of the moment. Most of the fight was shown in a long shot. It was horrible in that it looked like a (bad) video game.

Super hero movies are borderline science fiction. A good example of this is The Avengers. The scene when the alien army drops out of a hole in the sky was very well done, as were the huge worm ships moving about through Manhattan. True, this movie was not a remake of anything, but it is an example of how to use CGI well to produce a desired effect in the science fiction genre.