Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by halfnote (A) on November 01, 2005 at 21:42:10

In Reply to: "I'm afraid it's going to amount to a 'colorized version' (in the Turneresque sense) of the original and nothing more." posted by Audiophilander on November 1, 2005 at 21:02:01:

I hope you're right. And I agree that Peter Jackson is a very capable director. But sometimes more is less, and the new Kong is rumored to be running about 3 hours. We'll see if he manages to capture the poetry of the original, which shines though all of its quaintness and creakiness.

And you points with regard to Psycho are well taken. It's true that modern cinematic technology has much more to offer a King Kong than a Psycho. Yet I don't see that Psycho had to be a black and white film, even though it was intended to be. North by Northwest didn't suffer too much from being in color.

But one of the absolute WORST, and most eagerly anticipated, remakes ever made (it was SOOO bad, it qualifies as one of the worst MOVIES ever made, let alone remakes) was another classic monster thriller ...

GODZILLA. All the cinematic wizardry and sound effects couldn't stop this overstuffed turkey from falling off the bone. Now, I'll grant you that Godzilla had the feeling of a movie that was scripted in an afternoon "brainstorming session" by a couple of Hollywood marketing hot shots who could smell box office. And Jackson's handling of the Ring Trilogy might give one cause for some hope. But something seems to happen when these fragile relics of old taken out of their display cases and passed around, disected, and "improved" upon.

I wonder if there's something in the time, the ethos of the era, in which movies like Kong were made that just won't translate into our modern vernacular.

But, like so many of us, I am eagerly awaiting the release of this film. Again, I hope you're right about it, and that Jackson can succeed where almost everyone else seems to fail.