Our Summer of Remakes: An Epilogue

It seems there is just as much finger pointing at movie remakes as there is in this memorable image from Hitchcock’s original The Man Who Knew Too Much. Pointing out strengths and weaknesses of originals and remakes and debating the actual point (if any) of why movies need to be remade, apart from obvious box office profit, is a staple among film enthusiasts and general audiences alike. In our four-part Summer of Remakes podcast series, we tried to dig a little deeper into the question of what remakes can and should be.

The discussion, to begin with, was often typological: what type of remake are we even talking about? The rather rare case when a seasoned filmmaker decides to go back and reshoot his own hit film? Alfred Hitchcock seemed confident about the 1954 Hollywood remake of his British 1934 hit The Man Who Knew Too Much and called it “the work of a professional” (as opposed to “an amateur” in the case of the original), but isn’t it the forte of that earlier smash hit that it was fresh and cheeky and often daring, whereas the remake can seem static and sluggish and uninventive?

Or how about those many foreign language film remakes that open new audiences to a strong filmic concept often not accessible to English-language filmgoers? Our podcast baristas delved into two contrasting pairs of examples here: Whereas John Boorman’s Sorcerer is a fascinating reinterpretation and refocusing of its French original, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s still powerful and shocking Le salaire de la peur, we felt more mixed about Steven Soderbergh’s Americanization of Tarkovsky’s Solaris: how does George Clooney fare in a stylish space romance against the philosophical and often also very political visual powerhouse from the 1970s Soviet Union?

Political contexts and impact of a film not only played a big role with such heady subject manner as science philosophy but also with more popular genres like melodrama, comedy and musicals. The template that combines all three of these genres turned out to be what is commonly known as A Star is Born, and in our final episode of the summer series, we had ample time to compare all five films involved: the technical original What Price Hollywood? (1932), its quasi remake A Star is Born (1937), the Judy Garland vehicle that is 1954’s A Star is Born and the Barbara Streisand vehicle of 1976, as well as what Bradley Cooper made of the material in 2018’s film of yet again the same title.

In a way, these stars being born were the clearest insight into the machinations of remakes: a universally significant plot about the pitfalls of fame is recontextualised over and over again, tailor-made for the stars and filmmaking tastes of their respective eras of release and garnished with the visual and musical tastes of the time. As a quasi perpetuum mobile, one could imagine new versions coming out every decade or so!

In an industry beset by sequels, prequels, franchises, that at the same time always yearns for individuality and originality, remakes take up a most unenviable place of criticism from all around. The best chances might be for the ones that go under the radar and aren’t even considered remakes, even if they are: The Wizard of Oz (originally a silent film in 1925), The Maltese Falcon (remade from 1936’s Satan Met a Lady), A Fistful of Dollar (remade from the Japanese Yojimbo from 1961), Some Like It Hot (from the French Fanfare d’amour in 1935) or True Lies (made as the French La Totale! in 1991).

The best remakes, in any case, are the ones that manage to make you forget there even was an original or that transport a storyline into such a fresh context that the plot acquires new meaning and importance. It’s that rare case when original and remake can easily stand side by side and not be in constant critical competition with each other. I’m thinking of gems like Weimar-era Viktor und Viktoria opposite Blake Edward’s wonderful Victor/Victoria (1982), two films that were both fun and at the same time daring in their depiction of love across gender roles and expectations.

The discussions and debates about the value of remakes will continue, I’m sure, in our barrista collective and beyond. For those who have missed our Summer of Remakes, here’s a chance to catch up!