Remakes, it’s a word you can say and get an immediate reaction from anyone. You either love them or hate them. The genre of movie remakes has become more and more popular due to the lack of new and original ideas for movies.
A lot of movie goers complain about the lack of originality in remakes.
“They’re running out of ideas to entertain the public,” sophomore Shannon Hill said. “So they redo them with new actors.”
Many people cite a lack of creativity and originality as a reason why they dislike remakes.Take for example, the remake of the classic horror film “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” The original was an iconic horror film that created one of the scariest monsters of all time. The remake just copy and pasted the best scenes from the original without adding anything new or interesting; the studio played it safe. What is the point of remaking a film if you don’t change or add anything new to the movie.
My personal gripe with remakes is when studios disrespect the original film that they are remaking. The 2001 “Plant of the Apes” remake is a good example, it focused less on the fun campieness of the original and more on big budget effects and a serious tone. It came off as dull and laughable. Although, not all people think remaking a classic movie is disrespectful.
“In general it’s a compliment,” debate coach Jared Zuckerman said. “It was so good the first time they did it over.”
The 2005 “King Kong” remake is a perfect example of Zuckerman’s point. The film kept true to the original, while adding new things to the movie. Director Peter Jackson used advanced technology to update the look of Kong and used it to flesh him out more as a character. Another example is “Scarface,” starring Al Pacino. The original was made in 1932. The remake took the premise of the original, a poor gangster climbs the ladder of success only to fall right back down it, and revamped it by putting it in the modern world. It was a creative idea and worked well.
Studios continue to remake the classics instead of coming up with new ideas and it’s all because of one reason.
“Profit,” Zuckerman said. “Directors are interested in the artistic side but the companies are in it for the profit.”
Remakes are big at the box office. The King Kong remake made $550 million internationally, and the Nightmare On Elm Street remake brought in $65 million domestically, remakes have been proven profitable. Profits aside the quality of the film counts just as much as it’s earnings.
“At the end of the day it’s all art,” Zuckerman said. “The career of acting should encourage recreation of art, yet in film if we change it people freak out, yet if we just redo the first one it’s not art.”
I personally hold hope that studio’s will keep making remakes, but learn from their past mistakes and update the originals story and characters, while keeping what made the original so good in the first place.
