Remakes ( Archived) (13)

LoL! The botox lips would be on whoever plays Ilsa...say Angelina Joli while Rick would have to be an under-the covers CIA agent to update the character to be "relevant"
There have been remakes of Casablanca and also three TV series, 1055, 1983 and 1998, the last in Spanish only from Argentina. In 1961, Spain produced a full remake, all in Spanish. Bombed. Then there was the "gay remake": Rick runs a bathhouse for gays, and meets 'Sal' at the airport, not Ilsa..."comedy version" from the US entitled Casablanca aka Gay Propaganda, I believe.
I mostly prefer originals; very few remakes "make it". Usually they are bombs. They lack the lustre, the 'magic' of connection, of 'intimacy' between the main characters never-mind the quality of the scripts or plot outlines which are usually totally different and rely too much on 'special effects' which hinders good scripts, I think.
There are some exceptions to be sure, as King Kong was mentioned; so was The Fly, though technically I would not call it a 'remake' per se, but an entirely new version. Hell, in some cases the 'X"rated versions are better as in that rambling maudlin sentimental trash On Golden Pond, was the X version In Golden Showers, turned into a farce comedy almost where people got their jollies from urinating on others , etc.
Usually, I also much prefer the books from which the movie comes from including the so-called 'Classics' as less than 10% actually follow the book as some studies and writers on films have found, especially by George MacDonald Fraser, late author of the infamously hilarious Flash man books.
I have just finished the third volume of what the movie K-Pax is based on. It has turned out to be one of my personal favourites. I wished they had made a sequel as the original actually stayed with this rather unique story; totally outside the usual Hollywood industrial films base solely on spending a lot and basic it as only a commercial hit or miss.
It's the story of special effects mediocridy versus art which most people prefer.
Since Casablanca was a real 'film-noir' perhaps any new remake will be done by a reputable European...French director, as they have had much more success with that genre. Or perhaps a 'Black' version, but set in Harlem or Watts with 'gansters' and rappers, as we have a gay version...