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In Reply to: "The Thing": 1951 Original vs 1982 Remake posted by AudioHead on October 04, 1999 at 12:36:02:
AudioHead- Thanks for a well-written and very informative comparison of the two movies. Having never read the original "Who Goes There?" I never knew that John Carpenter's remake was more faithfull to the original story. Consequently, I wonder how many of the critics and others who trashed the movie read John Campbell's story. A couple of aspects of the 1951 movie that I find interesting is the credit for direction often goes to Howard Hawks and not Nyby. Maybe the producers thought adding Hawk's name would give additional credibility to the movie. I also find the casting of James Arness as the extra-terrestrial and George Fenneman as one of the scientists, an odd twist in view of their later exploits as Matt Dillon and Groucho Marx's announcer on You Bet Your Life. I always enjoyed the original 1951 movie over the Carpenter version but the next time I'll watch with a whole new perspective.
Hi BKing,
It has been said Nyby's directorial role was relegated to that of an
apprentice observing the master, in this case, Hawks; Hawks definitely ran
the show.
Carpenter's remake was closer to Campbell's story, which I suggest you
read as I think you'd find it entertaining and enlightening. The film's effects
certainly captured the amorphic duplicative ability created in the
story.
Roger Ebert criticized "The Thing" on superficial characterization,
story plausibility and the gruesome special effects; Pauline Kael and
Leonard Maltin criticized the character depth and overwhelming effects.
Reputedly characterization was never one of Carpenter's strong points; no
matter what one thinks about the film's other aspects, it is a strikingly
visual one. I don't think "The Thing" is for everyone, especially those
who are adversely affected by the type of effects created; I think many of
the older generation like things toned down a bit, whereas the younger
people prefer the standout effects. Luckily, we all have two different
versions to pick from; as I said , I like both of them for their respective
merits.
If you want to see some indepth text and photos on the 1982 film, check
out the website: www.powerup.com.au/~vampire
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