You call it whatever you want; I’ll call it Ocean’s 1943.
I’m seeing a tacky teenage psychological suspense time waster: Das Boot Camp
That’s something I don’t understand; how can a 30/40/50-year old, successful production be ‘guaranteed’ to be a success today? The audience has changed, viewing habits have changed, technology has changed, possibly even the potential audience’s perception of the historical event has also changed.
Plus you’re going up against a previously successful production which must add to the pressure in the film-making process. How does a new director, who must have the previous version in his/her subconscious, make the new movie ‘their own’ with an original take on the story? You also have the rest of the cast and crew who must be wondering how their efforts are going rate against the previous production.
I suppose this happens a lot in theatre, with famous plays being remade again and again, but originality in a movie is what draws audiences’ and critics’ praise, whereas a rehash often does the opposite.
It’s something as opposed to nothing. I don’t know the stats, whether remakes historically do better than original plots and characters, but at least the remakes give an illusion of history to make a judgement on. And who knows, perhaps there IS actual data that suggests a remake is a safer investment.
I can see a re-make; it would resonate with trends today:
-we need a black member of the crew (maybe Morgan Freeman)?
-a female SS officer (to keep an eye on the subversive captain)
-a Jewish guy to run the “Enigma” coding machine -he is actually a soviet spy
-the boat sinks after being rammed by an american destroyer, but the black, Jew, and woman survive.
That’s ridiculous. The black guy never survives.
How could you forget: the captain and the female SS officer had/have something going on, but by the end of the movie, they fall in love/he kills her. Possibly both.
An original is devalued by cheap copying just as much as a fine craftsman making exquisite furniture or jewellery or weapons would be devalued by having 25 other makers churning out lesser fashioned knock-offs in exactly the same style along the same street.
To continue with furniture, whether one likes it oneself or not, the late Louis XV’s personal tastes would not be invalidated by precise copies,
**
The king loved*** pastel colors and exotically colored woods. During his reign was the golden age of French furniture, craftsmanship, refinement, curves, asymmetry, branches, flowers, shells, monkeys, dolphins, latticework, cherubs, and wreaths.*
but the effect would be cheapened, and be rather precious, when republicanized into white plastics on mass machine-wrought wood-like substance, traced with real gold™ with pink coral detailing as translated into a modern Florida bungalow; however pure the owner’s intentions.
If they can get Captain Koons from “Pulp Fiction” to command the sub, they could use Nancy Sinatra’s hit song in the background and call it:
“‘Das Boot’ was made for Walken.”
(Of course it’s awful.)
They’ve remade Casablanca in the past, at least twice that I can think of, for TV in the 1950s and … 1970s? Maybe about 1980. Laughable productions that did not tarnish the original. And don’t forget the shot-by-shot remake of Psycho, which almost immediately descended into obscurity.
EDIT: Looked it up. For Casablanca, that was 1955 and 1983, with David Soul of Starsky and Hutch fame playing Rick Blaine in the latter!
They’ve also “remade” Casablanca as a vehicle for Pam Anderson, Barb Wire, and a cheap-assed sci fi called Overdrawn at the Memory Bank*. And yet the original survives and thrives.
*Yes, OD@tMB also borrows heavily from the Varley story of the same name. As does Total Recall.But I digress.
Man, getting his watch out to countdown torpedo running times will be awkward.
Brilliant! 
It’s not pronounced “boot”! :mad:
In the silence of the deep you could hear a pun drop.
There are many movies in desperate need of a remake; this is not one of them.
If, and IF, however, this is a very *good *remake - well then, it would reintroduce a great film to a modern audience that doesn’t even know the original, so it would be good.
I forgot about Van Sant’s Psycho remake. I found that one strange because, as you point out, it is a virtual duplicate of the original. Including framing of actors, the most obvious one being the close up of the PI walking toward the camera saying “Let’s all talk about Miriam”
As for Casablanca, I didn’t even know there were any remakes. I will keep it that way.
I haven’t ruled out seeing it, but I seriously doubt I will. The only thing that might make me go is if it gets great reviews and people describe it as a “must see on the big screen to appreciate” experience. I never saw the original Das Boot on the big screen, and I regret that I never will.
I am hoping that since the same company that owns the original is doing the remake, that they will want to do it justice.
Here, this will explain it:
Dagnabbit! It’s not “boot”! :mad:
*Yosemite *Sam!!! We missed you!