No disrespect to Mr Spielberg, but I can think of no good reason why he, or anyone, should remake the movie version of WEST SIDE STORY.
I am not going to see the remake - it could never be as good as the original.
TCM has announced that it will be presenting the original movie in theatres to celebrate its 60th Anniversary.
Most movie remakes are at best unnecessary and at worst an insult to the originals. Yet Hollywood continues to crank out mediocre remakes featuring actors who are inferior to the stars of the originals (I am waiting for an announcement that THE WIZARD OF OZ will be remade with Ariana Grande).
The remake of THUNDERBALL also starred Sean Connery as James Bond. While not a bad movie, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN was totally unnecessary. The sole motivation for making the movie was money – to cash in on Sean Connery returning to the role of James Bond for one last time.
Adam Sandler is no Burt Reynolds, let alone a Gary Cooper (one critic wrote, “Adam Sandler is to Gary Cooper what a gnat is to a racehorse.”). His remake of THE LONGEST YARD was totally unnecessary and his remake of MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN was a true insult to the classic original. Sandler makes movies aimed at 5th grade boys (or at least those with the sense of humor and maturity of 5th grade boys) – and both originals were made for adults.
As an aside – a good rule of thumb is to ignore any film starring, or produced by, Adam Sandler.
A literal shot-by-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO added absolutely nothing to the original.
There was even a remake of the classic Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn romantic thriller CHARADE, perhaps "the" classic film of its genre, titled THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE. One of the worst decisions ever made by Hollywood, it, rightfully so, lasted about a day and a half in the theatres.
Some remakes are not really remakes - they simply steal the title and a basic plot idea. The producers hope to boost the box office of their movie by evoking memories of a far superior film. The Steve Martin CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN films had absolutely nothing to do with the Clifton Webb original (or its sequel) other than the fact that the films are about a family with 12 children.
Don’t get me wrong. There have been remakes that have improved and expanded on the original film – though this is the exception and not the rule. In two of the best examples of this exception the remake was done by the same director. Alfred Hitchcock remade his THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH some 22 years after the original. And Frank Capra remade his 1933 film LADY FOR A DAY as POCKETFUL OF MIRALCES in 1961. Although I have not seen the original films, the remakes are certainly top-notch classic films.
KING KONG was remade twice. The 1933 original was a breakthrough masterpiece. The first remake, made in 1976, was totally unnecessary, and inferior in every way - even though I was in the film (my friend Howard Bernstein and I were among the crowd that ran across the top of the World Trade Center to avoid a falling Kong – I remember seeing Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange standing alongside what was supposed to be a dead Kong on one side of the roof). The “threemake” was better, and relatively respectful to the original. However, the casting of Jack Black was, in my opinion, a big mistake.
TAFN
