h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Going back to Kubrick, have you ever seen Failsafe, with George Clooney? Same idea, but done seriously. It wasn't a bad film at all. Still...'no more than 10 to 20 million killed - tops'

I wanna get my hands on a copy of the film who's title I don't know starring Kurt douglas (I think - the father of the other douglas's who had the stroke) and a young Arnold Schwarnzenegger - doing what are essentially all the gags out of the road runner cartoons. (viz, glue on train tracks, fals tunels big rocks that follow you.)

That'd be "Kirk" Douglas, then...

The movie's called "The Villain".

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0080097

That's the one! Thank You!

It was easy... You go to IMDB and find one of the actors. Then you click the "in collaboration with" link and enter the second actor's name to search for projects they were both credited in...

Funny to see several people mentioning the "Dollars" trilogy - I thought of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" myself, and had actually typed it, and then thought "oh hang on, it IS a remake" - plus "Last Man Standing" was actually pretty good, IMO.

Remaking Tron today would be a bit like doing a Playstation 2 version of Manic Miner in full Renderware 3D - it wouldn't be a remake, it would be a completely different thing altogether - which is not to say I wouldn't like to see it... (imagines being sucked into the world of Grand Theft Auto 3... <shudder&gt

I can't see Jurassic Park ever getting a remake, which is good - and I agree it's a shame it got sequels...

And I'm totally with whoever was it said Jason and the Argonauts should be left alone, which of course naturally brings one on to the one I should have thought of first:

KING KONG. Too late, again, but hopefully the last remake is forgotten enough not to bother us, but remembered enough to act as a warning to anyone else considering trying it. DON'T!

Any more?

H.

OK, here's some that are acknowledged to be 'classics' that I hope nobody will want to remake.

El Cid
Ben Hur
Spartacus

I know that Fistful of Dollars was a remake of Yojimbo. It may not have been credited as such, but Clint Eastwood always admitted it in interviews. (He was a fan of Japanese Samurai films in his youth and thought it would make a good Western.) The reason I said they shouldn't remake it (I forgot about Last Man Standing, which I have never seen) is that it is, IMHO, a classic *Western*, regardless of the fact that the story was taken from a Japanese film. Not all 'classics' have to be originals.

Other films I hope they never remake because the original was so good.

Usual Suspects
L.A. Confidential

Agree with you on all of those but I have to leap in and add my voice to the shout NOT to ever even consider remaking Spartacus. Can't imagine how I forgot that one, thanks!

That guy Kubrick, again... once he's done it, there just doesn't seem any point trying to do it again, does there? (mind you, I'm frankly surprised nobody has remade A Clockwork Orange already - relocated to LA or New York, of course )

H.

Cheerful Dragon, if you only consider remakes in the same genre, then "Last Man Standing" won't bother you - it's a 1920s/30s gangster movie. It's quite good, if a little bloody.

HVL, if I was remaking "Clockwork Orange", I might set it in modern Japan, shooting it in black-and-white with a few samauri references thrown in to "complete the cycle"...

Hehe, that might be interesting!

They were talking of making ACO a couple of years back, with Ewan McGregor as Alex....

Frankly, Hollywood should have an injunction slapped on most of it's production. It should state in BIG letters;
'You will not re-make, sequalize, prequalize or produce any other form of 'tribute' to any of the following-
Any works directed, written, or starring the following, because you will get it wrong-
Capra, Kubrick, Tarkovsky, Leone, Kurasawa, Burton, Chaplin, The Hal Roach Studios, Harold Lloyd, Bogart, Fonda(H), Sirk, Truffaut, Besson, Hitchcock and a host of others.
You will nopt attempt to re-create anything you do not understand, such as Barbarella, Les Diaboliques, or Solaris.
You will not attempt to re-make works of other cultures because you think Akira would better as a live action movie.'

Oh, when talking about Kurasawa, let's not forget that Seven Samurai was iself a tribute to John Ford, so being re-made as the Magnificent Seven was probably not far off the mark.

There was a remake of the Day of The Triffids as a series by the BBC back in the early 80s. It did keep pretty close to the book and as I remember was rather good

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/tv/triffids/index.shtml

They must never,ever,ever mess with The Italion Job.

Also that Kirk Douglas Arnie film was called Cactus Jack.

Incog

I hate to tell you this, but they *are* remaking The Italian Job. It's an American production, so they're bound to ruin it. They're setting it in Los Angeles, but it's still a gold heist. The only name on the credits at the moment is Mark Wahlberg (Planet of the Apes) as Charlie Croker. Michael Caine he ain't. Mind you, they *are* sticking with Mini Coopers, 'cos they're small enough to drive on LA sidewalks. Production / release is pencilled in for 2003.

Correction. Production is scheduled for August 2002. Release is scheduled for 2003. (I wish there was a facility that allowed you to go back and edit a posting!)

Remind me not to go see that when it comes out.

What am I bid, that when it does, they'll change the ending?

Incog., apparently "Cactus Jack" was the name they used when they re-released it in the UK the following year... It's all on the IMDB page, if you follow the link I left...

The dvd is available at blackstar.
[Unsuitable URL Removed by Moderator]
I've added it to my "I really want this but lack the funds right now, thank you very much list."