Author Topic: Why does the US do remakes?  (Read 12245 times)

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #20 on: December 13, 2006, 11:53:23 pm »
I don't know why we take wonderful British shows such as "Queer as Folk", "Men Behaving Badly", "Steptoe and Son" (just to name a few) and totally destroy them. It's an awful damn shame. "Queer as Folk" might be an exception. I didn't really care for it, but obviously many other people do. "Men Behaving Badly", a brilliant British comedy was remade for US audiences back in the 1990's and the story took place in Indianapolis. It was terrible and didn't even last one full season before getting axed.

David, reading your comment stirred a memory--and this is not meant to give you an argument--but wasn't "All In the Family" adapted from a British original, too?

I suddenly find myself wondering, too, whether "British comedy" covers a wider range than U.S. comedy. I can only think of myself as an example. I hated Benny Hill, and Monty Python has always left me cold. I like "Keeping Up Appearances" and "Are You Being Served," and I love "As Time Goes By." All British comedies, but all very different. Is there as great a diversity in U.S. comedy?
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Offline starboardlight

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #21 on: December 14, 2006, 04:21:45 am »
Out of curiousity, and from the vantage point of being neither American nor British I can easily see why "Queer as folk" got remade, I think...... I've only seen the UK version and I somehow can't imagine US general audiences managing to cope blithely with that degree of explicitness at all. Maybe that's just me confusing the US general audience with the AMPAS.  ::)  Was the US version watered down in that regard, or just as explicit?

actually, QAF was on Showtime, a permium cable channel, so it was able to get away with lots of explicitness. The UK version would have been fine. The US version is just as explicit. By the way, I always wondered if the US viewers understood where the title came from.

but it's not just tv shows from over the pond that got remade. Hollywood has been remaking material from the East as well. The Magnificent Seven, with Charles Bronson, Yul Brynner, and Steve McQueen is a remake of Japan's Seven Samurai. More recent films are The Ring, The Grudge. The Departed (a remake of what was called Infernal Affairs). If anyone remember Shall We Dance with JLo and Gere, you should catch the Japanese original by the same title. It's absolutely beautiful, and Hollywood completely butchered it. I think for the most part, remaking film is just Hollywood trying to cash in on ideas rather than giving artistic integrity any credit. Their argument that American public can't deal with foreign film or subtitles has also been proven false. The mainstream success of "Crouching Tiger" and "Beautiful Life" shows that American audience are willing to see film that come from outside their culture.
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Offline Kelda

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #22 on: December 14, 2006, 05:09:46 am »
Kelda and Melissa...

Please don't give up on us Americans, okay??


oh god! I'm totally not giving up on you - some of my fave comedies are USA. As I said in my first post, you've got to get it right for the mainstream audience don't you? I'm sure there are american shows which have been adapted for here.

But The Catherine Tate Show and Little Britian are just soooooo British I just don't know how they are going to change it to appeal to the American Market. It'll be a totally different show - so why therefore base it on those shows?

Re: the background to 'queer as folk' - it comes from the expression 'there is nowt as queer as folk' which is a northern English phrase, which means "there's nothing as strange as some people", ie, whoever you were talking about just before is very strange.

Interesting that you all liked Keeping Up Appearances - did you ever see the actress playing Mrs Boo-kay - Patricia Routledge - in her other show? It was called Hetty Wainthrop Investigates. she was an OAP solving mysteries - and her side kick nt hat was a very young Dominic Monaghan. I love the theme tune for this - always wanted to oplay it as a solo in my band.

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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #23 on: December 14, 2006, 10:36:58 am »
but it's not just tv shows from over the pond that got remade. Hollywood has been remaking material from the East as well. The Magnificent Seven, with Charles Bronson, Yul Brynner, and Steve McQueen is a remake of Japan's Seven Samurai.

Just goes to show, though, that you can't make a blanket statement that "all remakes are bad." All due respect to it's being a remake of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven is considered a classic Western in most people's books.
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #24 on: December 14, 2006, 03:04:55 pm »
Just goes to show, though, that you can't make a blanket statement that "all remakes are bad." All due respect to it's being a remake of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven is considered a classic Western in most people's books.

I wasn't trying to make a blanket statement Jeff. Not at all. There are many great remakes in this country. I cited "Queer as Folk" as one example (I don't really care for it, but many people do). But there are some pretty bad remakes included in the mix too.

You mentioned "All in the Family". I remember watching this show when I was a child. I remember hearing a toilet flush for the first time on television while watching this show. (When I was young, they never even used the word "toilet" on television, much less show a toilet or hear it flush). I loved that show and I still watch the reruns on TVLand.

I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression Jeff.
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #25 on: December 14, 2006, 03:34:18 pm »
I wasn't trying to make a blanket statement Jeff. Not at all. There are many great remakes in this country. I cited "Queer as Folk" as one example (I don't really care for it, but many people do). But there are some pretty bad remakes included in the mix too.

You mentioned "All in the Family". I remember watching this show when I was a child. I remember hearing a toilet flush for the first time on television while watching this show. (When I was young, they never even used the word "toilet" on television, much less show a toilet or hear it flush). I loved that show and I still watch the reruns on TVLand.

I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression Jeff.

Oh, by no means! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were. My intent was just to say that I think it's unwise generally to condemn remakes, and The Magnificent Seven illustrates why it's unwise--it is considered a classic in and of itself, even though it's a remake of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Sorry for any misunderstanding!

You remember watching "All in the Family" as a child? OK, now I feel ... old. ...  :-\  ;D  :laugh:
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Mikaela

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #26 on: December 14, 2006, 05:58:26 pm »
Starboardlight, thanks very much for replying to my question.  :)

Offline starboardlight

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #27 on: December 14, 2006, 08:01:34 pm »
Oh, by no means! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were. My intent was just to say that I think it's unwise generally to condemn remakes, and The Magnificent Seven illustrates why it's unwise--it is considered a classic in and of itself, even though it's a remake of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Sorry for any misunderstanding!

You remember watching "All in the Family" as a child? OK, now I feel ... old. ...  :-\  ;D  :laugh:

you're right of course. not all remakes are bad. The recent The Departed is said to be pretty good. My problem is these remakes give very little credit to the originators. Magnificent Seven became a classic, while the Kurosawa's involvement is largely unacknowledge by the American public. There's something wrong about that to me.
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #28 on: December 14, 2006, 08:19:49 pm »
you're right of course. not all remakes are bad. The recent The Departed is said to be pretty good. My problem is these remakes give very little credit to the originators. Magnificent Seven became a classic, while the Kurosawa's involvement is largely unacknowledge by the American public. There's something wrong about that to me.

I'm with Mikeala et al, who say it's not because of lack of ideas or imagination, but that the original movie/TV show concept was good but producers in the States think the comfort level would be better if the movie/TV show was Americanized.  I think the saying is, 'Well, will it play in Des Moines?'  If you can't imagine the dour Midwestern small town folk 1) able to understand the accents and 2) get the references, then perhaps that's their thinking as well.  Movie/TV producers are trying for revenue and that means numbers.  They are notorious for dumbing down and underestimating their audiences, but hey, 'The Simple Life' has been renewed for another season, so I think they come by their MO honestly.

I loved 'The Wicker Man' original as well, but it badly needed to be updated and we pagans were pretty up when we heard the news it was going to be remade, then promptly were immensely disappointed when we heard about all the changes and that the director was trying to appeal to a 'Christian' audience who didn't want a movie with a message that all religions have problems when people become fanatics.

David, as a child I very much enjoyed the reruns of America's "Steptoe and Son" aka "Sandford and Son".  :-*

Isn't Bollywood famous for their remakes?

I agree with star, it is a shame that the original works and moviemakers go unremarked because the majority of the newer generation don't realize they ARE remakes, but of course, that's been a problem since day one.  Even Kurosawa's movies I think were influenced by stories he read/heard in his own country, so I guess even his movies are 'rehashes' of original works.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Why does the US do remakes?
« Reply #29 on: December 14, 2006, 11:18:26 pm »
Magnificent Seven became a classic, while the Kurosawa's involvement is largely unacknowledge by the American public. There's something wrong about that to me.

Agreed! (Jeff nods head vigorously.) Especially the part about the lack of acknowledgment by the American public.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.