Mike
My top ten war films that should be remade
May 6, 2009 12:00 AM
Hollywood is all about rebooting characters at the minute. Batman got a
reboot. Then the reboot got a sequel which became one of the most
successful films of all time. Bond has been rebooted - the humour and
gadgets are gone and replaced by gritty punchy seat of your pants
action. Which went on to spawn another film. Star Trek has been rebooted, even Wolverine has been rebooted in a way.
So, I feel myself asking "Is it time to reboot the war film?". Now I
don't mean totally revamp the whole genre, but go back and look at
stories / characters / battles that have been done in the past and
bring them back to life (with the benefit of new special effects etc).
A prime example of this would have to be Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe
series. With its limited budget, I think Sharpe did great
things for the military history genre. And the fact that Sean Bean
keeps on going back despite moving on to bigger and better things shows
just how it is respected for what it has achieved. But, trying to stage
the battle of Waterloo with 25 men and 5 horses just doesn't quite cut
it.
Is it time for a big Sharpe Hollywood remake? Or, what about those classic war
films - even the oldies, in black and white, all had great plots, but
were let down by their special effects or lack there of, surely a
remake of one of these, with the full digital treatment would make for
a fantastic cinematical experience? My only worry is that, in general,
when Hollywood goes back to try and remake a film it tends to...
destroy it. So when Peter Jackson announces that he is going to remake
the Dambusters I can't help but feel a little nervous. But assuming
that Hollywood doesn't destroy them, here is my top ten films just
begging to be re-made - let me know what you would like to see!
Top 10 films that ought to be remade
Battle of Britain
The Longest Day
We Dive at Dawn
All quiet on the Western Front
Tora! Tora! Tora!
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Cruel Sea
Zulu
The Dambusters
Waterloo
This is a list of films that I think would be awesome if redone with the benefit of special effects - but, I hasten to add that many of these films remain fantastic as they are...and Pearl Harbor proved that special effects don't always result in a good film - but I would love to know what you think - are there any war films out there that you think should be remade?
COMMENTS
Many of these have already happened:
- Longest Day = (sort of) Saving Private Ryan & Band of Brothers
- Tora(x3) = Pearl Harbor
Not an improvement in case of Pearl Harbor.
I can also see that due to current political correctness climate, Zulu is not likely to hit the screen again... (we all know Four Feathers got remade into a PC version and what a piece of crap that was...)
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Battle of Britain definitely with cg period correct a/c. How about a remake of "The Hunters" with Mitchum and Wagner about F86s in Korea? A redo of one of the 8th airforce films, "Command Decision" or the classic "12oclock High"? I'd also like to see the Gary Cooper classic "Task Force" redone. "Dambusters" is a definite must. And one about the Tokyo B-29 raids from both sides. Ever see "Hiroshima" about the last days of the Japanese Empire? There was another documentary about the last B29 raid which if put together with a movie called the "Longest Day " in Japan about the attempt to prevent the emperor from recording the surrender message, it would be an interesting movie. I'd also like to see"Corvette 225" starring Randolph Scott be redone about the Canadian Corvettes and U Boats. And how about the cheesy classic, "The Tanks are Coming" with real sherman tanks. That's my list.
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Almost forgot, how about "Go For Broke".
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How about a remake of the "Desert Fox" from the begining to the end of the campaign in Africa rather than just the end. A remake of "Waterloo would also be nice but why not a remake of the silent film classic of "Napoleon"
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One thing wrong with the idea is that "special effects" for a war movie nowadays usually translates into so much blood and guts flying through the air, the movie gets lost in the body parts. The PC issue is also a problem; how do you do the Indian Wars or the Mexican War in the Age of Obama? Finally, the great war movies are great because of who made them. Not only are Duke Wayne and Henry Fonda gone, so are John Ford and Howard Hawks. It's like writing a sequel to "Gone with the Wind". ...And we know how that turned out.
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Good list, old chap, but you need to add the caveat that each film should have at least the same degree of historical accuracy as the original. I don't really want to watch Russell Crowe giving old Boney a haymaker in the bar of La Belle Alliance.
Tally Ho!
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It'll happen (the remakes, not the punch-up).
Or at least, Special Editions (in the vein of the Star Wars rereleases) will do. Sometime in the next 5 - 25 years, desk-top CGI and video editing packages will be good enough that an individual or a small team of people will take the original film and insert historically accurate effects into any shot requiring them. Redoing acting and voices may take longer, but that'll happen as well.
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