Sometimes directors may just want to pay homage to another director. Why else would Gus Van Zandt remake (in 1998) Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), frame for frame, if not as a labour of love?
Even the music is the same.
Sometimes the director puts his own 'auteur' stamp on the story. Take Zefferelli's 1968 Romeo and Juliet which uses a romantic, muted and rich palette of colours with slow 'renaissance-style' music and costumes to transport us to the world of the C14th/C15th Italian court.
Whereas in Baz Lurhmann's 1996 version we have a very distinctive modern soundtrack, with props and costumes to match, plus overt references to and representations of, the darker sides of the story, all of which are remind us of the style of Luhrmann's other 'remake' films such as Moulin Rouge and the recent The Great Gatsby.
And finally, here's a roundup of the Top 10 best remakes
Remakes are an interesting study. Why remake a film that is already popular for instance? Well, new audiences mean new money for one thing and if there is an existing audience for the old film then they may well be interested in a new version of it. Take Alfie for example:
This is the original film trailer for the version starring Michael Caine made in 1966. This was the 'Swinging Sixties'. Mini skirts were in, the Beatles were No. 1 and there was an air of freedom and sexual revolution. However, women were not having it all their own way and this film shows some of the darker side to the times, albeit told with Caine's tongue in cheek humour to camera.
This is the trailer for the remake starring Jude Law and made in 2004.
The setting has moved to New York and the music has changed, but the humour and misogynist streak that characterise Alfie are still the same and told in the same style - to camera. This could tell us that nothing much changes except for the technology involved in the filming.
Which brings me neatly to this remake - War of the Worlds - written by H.G. Wells. This is a story of alien invasion. For the 1954 version this represented Russia - the nuclear, Communist threat.
Agreed, the technology and style are dated, but the representation of ideology and the drama is not. Here is the 2005 version starring Tom Cruise, with great special effects and a much better equipped military fighting the 'new threat' - Iraq.
Lastly, for the moment, a story from a different culture which is a classic of all time - The Seven Samurai.
Made in 1954 this is the story of seven Japanese warriors - the eponymous Samurai - who become the hired protectors of a small farming community being threatened by outsiders. In 1963 this was remade in America as The Magnificent Seven, an iconic film in its own right.
In keeping with the context of its Wild West setting and the representation of culture the Samurai have been replaced by cowboys, gunslingers who share the same aims and face the same issues as their Japanese counterparts.
In all of the remakes above improved technology has changed the style and quality of the film process but not necessarily the quality of the narrative and its impact on audience. For me, Michael Caine is a much better Alfie, the film is more relevant in its London setting and Jude Law brings nothing new to the part.
War of the Worlds scared audiences in its original version but for me, the technology available for the remake enhances the narrative tremendously and the addition of Ray Ferrier's (Tom Cruise) family, through which the narrative unfolds, provides a modern twist on the story and a relevance for the film's audience.
My last choice of remake is two versions of the same story which on first sight look nothing like each other but which are evidence that a good story can travel across cultures. The Seven Samurai in black and white are The Magnificent Seven in glorious technicolour. They have the same purpose and motive, the same squabbles and camaraderie. Yet only 10 years separates these texts, unlike the other remakes but the gap seems much wider, why? Is it the representation of the warrior, the bows and arrows, the fact that the original harks back to Japanese history which the West is largely ignorant of? Whereas Yul Brynner's men are part of the Western genre, frequently on the screens at that time and therefore familiar.
Anyway, more next time. One last thing........here's another story linked to the Seven Samurai - this time from the cult TV series.......
