Post by mikef6 on May 26, 2018 22:00:22 GMT
While it is certainly true that classic era Hollywood felt free to reuse plots, I think the situation is quite different today. (This is remembering that adapting the same novel or play several times is not a remake or necessarily a lack of imagination.) The re-doing of an older film in the past often took place under a new title with some changes made in an attempt, I believe, to slip the new film past the audience which, of course, did not have home video and could not watch any movie they wanted any time. It often worked. Neither did they use numbers for each new film (Spiderman 2 Kazillion). Most often, the “remakes” were not major “prestige” productions but “everyday” releases. An exception might be when a well known film is remade into an “A” picture musical, e.g. You Can’t Run Away From It / It Happened One Night and In The Good Old Summer Time / The Shop Around The Corner. There were series back in the old days with continuing characters but they weren’t sequels to each other and got replaced by TV – people are still watching the modern equivalent of Charlie Chan and Doctor Kildare.
In today’s world, a remake of an older film, a feature from a classic TV series (or SNL sketch but thankfully these have mostly died out), or a direct sequel is a cause for major marketing that trumpets its remake nature. These are major costly productions that can make or break a studio but that wear their remake/sequel qualities on their sleeves, making the fact a major lure into the multiplex. The “lack of imagination” is admitted and reveled in. They clog the theaters (and clog the brains).
One last comment: I realize that there are exceptions to everything I’ve said (they will be no doubt pointed out to me and that’s fine). I know I am speaking in a general fashion. Yet, as far as trends go, I think I have described the current climate.
In today’s world, a remake of an older film, a feature from a classic TV series (or SNL sketch but thankfully these have mostly died out), or a direct sequel is a cause for major marketing that trumpets its remake nature. These are major costly productions that can make or break a studio but that wear their remake/sequel qualities on their sleeves, making the fact a major lure into the multiplex. The “lack of imagination” is admitted and reveled in. They clog the theaters (and clog the brains).
One last comment: I realize that there are exceptions to everything I’ve said (they will be no doubt pointed out to me and that’s fine). I know I am speaking in a general fashion. Yet, as far as trends go, I think I have described the current climate.