Tuesday, January 19, 2010
What is a remake?
According to the dictionary -
“v. / rēˈmāk; ˈrē-/ (past and past part. -made ) [tr.] make (something) again or differently: the bed would be more comfortable if it were remade. • n. / ˈrēˌmāk/ a movie or piece of music that has been filmed or recorded again and rereleased.” (Definition from encyclopaedia.com)
In short, a remake is something that has been made in the past and is being made again. In the film context a remake would be making an already existing film. Remakes are a type of adaptation and this could be done in a number of ways. “A remake is a kind of reading or rereading of the original.” (eds. Horton & McDougal, 1998)
Different authors have different models and concepts about the types of remakes. In his book ‘Film remakes’, Verevis (2006), mentions 4 main types of remakes; re-adaptation, updates, homage and true remakes.
Re-adaptation: This type of remakes does not give importance to earlier adaptations based on the original; instead, it is readapted as faithfully to the original as possible. For example the film versions of the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (2005)
Update: Update is in a sense the opposite of re-adaptations. Re-adaptations try to keep alive the quintessence alive, while on the other hand an update is a blatantly revised version of the original adaptation. For example, Othello was remade in Bollywood – Omkara (2006) as an Indian version of the film; i.e. how Othello’s story would be in a town in India.
Homage: Homage in its literal sense is to give special honour to a film publically. It is similar to readaptation; readaptations lead the audience to the original literary work; the homage pays tribute to the previous film version. For example: Down with Love (2003) was homage to the 1959’s quirky Pillow Talk
True remake: “While the homage renounces any claim to be better than its original, the true remake ‘deal[s] with the contradictory claims of all remakes – that they are just like their originals only better – [by combining] a focus on a cinematic original with an accommodating stance which seeks to make the original relevant by updating it’, e.g., Bob Rafelson’s 1981 remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice (Tay Garnett, 1946), and Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat (1981) as a remake of Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944).” (Verevis, 2004 p. 94)
Forrest & Koos (2002) in their book Dead ringers: The remake in theory and practice have specified and defined a few types of remakes. They have mentioned homage, true remakes and readaptations. They have merged the two categories readaptation and update to only readaptation.
Let us now have a look at the main argument of this essay – What is the point in a remake? Before I begin the argument and my views on remakes I would like to elucidate that I am not against remakes; I have some much-loved movies that are not original i.e. are remakes of previous movies like Casino Royale (2006) and Italian Job (2003).
What is the point in a Remake?
There are some reasons according to me one would like to remake a movie.
Money: There are two reasons within the element of money a producer would want to do a remake.
a) Funding: To make a movie one firstly needs money and hence this can be one of the major reasons one can decide to do a remake. As producer I believe that if one goes to an investor with an already existing and successful title, there are more chances to get funding in contrast to an un-experimented concept. For example; if I want to remake Jaws (1975); I would get investors easily and more funding than I would get if I would pitch for “Full Monty” (1997). Investors and commissioners are more pleased to invest in the tried and tested concepts. Hence, it can be also said that remakes of old films are made because there is availability of a bigger budget.
b) Profits: Not only the investors but also the public would not be sceptical to buy movie ticket King Kong. Hence, movies are remade as there is guaranteed success if there is a famous name attached to it.
Technology: Movies can be remade as they could be made better with the help on new technologies. For example, My Bloody Valentine, the 1981 Canadian ‘slasher film’(Wikipedia.com) was remade in 2009 in 3D. cnd don’t have any good concept or script also opt for remaking movies as an easy option. For example: a recent Bollywood movie Fox (2009) was an awful remake of A Murder of Crows (1999). The movie had copied every scene and even the posters were similar.
Update a story: Film can be also remade to update a story to something more relevant today. For example, ‘The shop around the corner’ (1940) was remade and updated to ‘You’ve got mail’. The earlier movie, the story is about a man and woman who hate each other in real life fall in love with each other via love letters unknowingly. In 1998, love letters were replaced by emails in ‘You’ve got mail’
Better talent availability: A movie may also be remade with the availability of better talent than that in the original film.
Revamping flop concepts: Some of the old movies that have a wonderful story but did not do very well, are also remade. “Sometimes a remake is made not because the earlier film was a success, but because it was a failure and the filmmaker thinks that he or she can improve upon it. Sometimes a recent foreign film is remade because it received limited or no distribution in the United States and producers consider it relatively unknown to the American audience; examples include the 1987 Hollywood Three men and a Baby, which remade the 1985 French Three Men and a Cradle.” (Thinking about movies: watching, questioning, enjoying, By Peter Lehman, William Luhr, Page122)
Reincarnating actors: Some movie remakes are helpful to build and uplift the careers of actors especially when the movie is famous and the characters are legendary. For example, the movie Tarzan - The wonder car (2004) was a launch pad for the actress Ayesha Takia. This movie was a remake of Christine (1983) (Singh, 2006)
Reach new audiences: Sometimes movies are remade so as to reach new audiences; either in a different country/ language or a new generation altogether. The best example for this would be the remakes of Hollywood films in Bollywood like Hitch was remade to Partner; Memento was remade in India in a regional language and was remade again in Bollywood. The main reason to remake Hollywood or other language films is to reach to audiences that might not have had the opportunity to view the original films. On the other hand one can even remake a movie to reach a new generation; a generations absolutely different from the original movie’s release.
The Spanish movie ‘Abre los ojos’ (Open your eyes, 1997) was remade into a Tom Cruise starrer, ‘Vanilla Sky’. This is a movie primarily for people who never saw the original. [http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue10/reviews/vanillasky/]
Homage: Homage is a kind of remake where the production of the remake is done as a tribute or appreciation of the original film. The movie King Kong has inspired several remakes – some terrible and some outstanding; the remake by Peter Jackson King Kong (2005) was remade as a tribute to the original King Kong (1933) directed by Merian Cooper.
Sholay Synopsis
“Indian film history can be divided into Sholay BC and Sholay AD.” (Sholay, the making of a classic By Anupama Chopra, Page 6)
Sholay is the most spoken about movie in India and hence it would be difficult for anyone to talk something that has not already been spoken. “Often described as a "curry" western, Sholay became a milestone in Indian cinema with an all-star cast, cult dialogue, stylish cinematography and a soundtrack that's still enjoyable today. It's the perfect entry point for any Bollywood virgins. It's a movie that you can watch again and again, and hardcore Bollywood fans do” (Rajput, D. 2005).
Sholay tells the story of two petty crooks; Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra); who are hired by Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) an ex police officer, to capture a dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Gabbar and his abettors kill all the members of Thakur’s family (except his daughter-in-law and servant as they were away to the temple when the massacre takes place); Gabbar also cuts off Thakur’s hands when Thakur tries to take revenge for murdering his family. Gabar Singh has caused terror not only in the life of Thakut but also in the entire village of Ramgrh. Jai and Veeru, do their best to protect the village from Gabbar but things don’t go the way right way. Love flourishes between Veeru and a local Horse cart driver Basanti (Hema Malini) and Jai develops strong feelings for Thakur’s widowed daughter-in-law Radha (Jaya Bhaduri). After a journey off many ups and downs Jai and Veeru manage to capture Gabbar but it costs them Jai’s life. The director had originally shot and ending with Gabbar being killed by Thakur but the released movie ended with the cops taking the injured bandit Gabbar to jail and he gets a severe punishment. The original end was censored as it was considered too gory for a family audience. Hence the last scene had to be reshot. The movie also faced troubles due to the political scenario in India.
The movie displays the journey of the two best friend criminals as friends, lovers and as good human beings. The movie fits into many genres like action, drama, comedy, romantic, and, many more. Sholay is a very simple concept but the movie is very well written, directed and edited. It won only one award for its editing and was considered a flop by critics. When the movie was released it was considered a commercial disaster had a very poor start, but word of mouth pushed everyone to watch it. The movie ran in the theatres over a 100 theatres for 25weeks or more. The film is characterised by altering sequences of drama, comedy and action. “Sholay, which ran for five consecutive years in Bombay and continues to be re-released to full-houses, is not only significant for its tremendous commercial success, but also for its mythical status in the Bombay industry and among audiences as a pinnacle of filmmaking.” (Ganti p. 161) Many more facts about the movie can be read on http://www.citehr.com/11624-trivia-sholay.html, a brilliant compilation of facts from various books by Vikram Singh.
If one looks at the production values and narratives of Sholay, they might appear to be nothing special. Yet, conceived in the spirit of creativity and at a moment of political closure they remain the bluepint for any subsequent cinema of desire. (Bollyworld: popular Indian cinema through a transnational lens, By Raminder Kaur, Ajay J. Sinha, Page 181)
RAM GOPAL VARMA KI AAG
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (Ram Gopal Varma is the name of the director of the movie, Aag = Fire)
Ram Gopal Varma had planned to call the movie Ram Gopal Varma ke Sholay but had to face a lot of legal trouble and hence he changed the name to Ram Gopal Varmaki Aag
“The only thing good about this wretched retread of ‘Sholay’ is that it makes you remember the glorious original all over again.” (http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2007/09/02/review-ram-gopal-varma-ki-aag/)
Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag is a remake of the classic movie Sholay. It has been directed by one of the best directors in the Indian film industry Ram Gopal Varma aka RGV. The movie is the same story as Sholay but as it would be in the 21st century.
Two best friends who are criminals Heero (Ajay Devgan) and Raj (Prashant Raj Sachdev) and are hired by an ex police officer Narasimha (Mohanlal) to capture Babban (Amitabh Bachchan) an evil villain (the officer’s fingers are cut off by the dacoit instead of the hands). The roles are updated and the horse cart rider is the rickshaw (three wheel open taxi) driver instead. The love stories remain the same and so does the end; Raj (Jai in Sholay) is killed by Babban. RGV used the original ending of Sholay which is Thakur kills Gabbar and hence RGV ki Aag ended with Narasimha killing Babban.
I have later described what went wrong in RGV ki Aag from the eyes of a viewer. The movie is considered to be the biggest flop in the history of Bollywood and has been listed at the 15th position on imdb.com in the category of the Bottom 100 movies as voted by users. http://www.imdb.com/chart/bottom?tt0473310
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