We know. We know that with so many ongoing technical advances in special effects that there's hardly anything that can be imagined that can't be put onscreen. However, that doesn't mean it should be. It doesn't mean that films with incredible special effects, but lacking a plot, a logical script, and decent acting should be an acceptable goal. And it especially does not mean that every film from the past can be improved upon by updating it to show off "what CGI can do now".
One film I worry about getting a remake, more than any other, is The Wizard of Oz. I know there have been adaptions, like The Wiz. But, my fear is that there would be a new version of the 1939 original. Given the current trends in Hollywood, I imagine it would be something like:
*Cast Megan Fox as Dorothy. Show cleavage.
*Cast Jim Carey as the Scarecrow. Make sure he overacts.
*Cast Jack Black as the Cowardly Lion. Give him an offensive catch-phrase.
*Cast Justin Timberlake as the Tin Man. Add ballads.
It's not just that. You know the amazing silk-stocking-tornado would be replaced with CGI. The deep creepiness of the Wicked Witch would become polished and perhaps become a motion-capture character. Munchkins? Make them virtual and you can have more of them. Emerald City would be nothing but a green screen project.
Yes, it may be possible to recreate The Wizard of Oz to be eye-poppingly fantastic. But, a hands-on creativity would be lost. The images that managed to be both somehow cozy, yet frightening would be gone. Sometimes, it's best to leave things with their dated charm, their echo of a past era, their familiar homeiness. It is true magic.
[Any other films you'd add to the "Please don't remake list? Add a comment!]
Posts
Oh man. i totally agree. and I laughed very hard at the "oh-please-no" cast...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I've often wished that Hollywood would declare a 2 year moratorium on remakes, sequels, re-envisionings and other such drivel. I'd love to see what they could come up with if they spent their time creating new material instead of ruining childhood memories and strip mining every penny from classic concepts.
ReplyDeleteJust hope that Disney doesn't do it. 'Over the Rainbow' would be performed by a wailing digitally filtered R&B pop tart and there would be random plot changes just to preserve their perfect record of mangling all historical source materials.
I would want an Oz remake just so they give The Wicked Witch emotion and humanity, so I can bitch-slap people who complain about villains being three dimensional.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Karla--there is NO NEED to remake Wizard of Oz. Could I have possibly been more terrified by Flying Monkeys than I was by those in the original movie? I don't think digital effects can surpass what's there. It's a classic as is. Only wish they had left in the deleted song that's on the anniversary DVD, the title of which I cannot remember at this moment.
ReplyDeleteThe Jitterbugs?
ReplyDelete