Post by doomedbloodwork on Aug 12, 2004 9:43:14 GMT -5
The affinity for remakes, I guess, will continue to be a standard in any decade. On IMDb this week, whilst looking up ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, I learned that Laurence Fishburne will take the lead in a remake of that said film, doubtlessly made for many millions, a price which the budget of the original movie could not hope to match. Will it prove to be as good as the original? Time will tell. The original ASSAULT was innovative, with tremendous use of camerawork, suspense and exceptional editing and the performances of Laurie Zimmer and Darwin Joston will have to be eclipsed for the film to stand any chance.
If you are dreading it, you can always take comfort from the example of the film I review here.
The 1978 version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, directed by Philip Kaufman and scripted by W.D. Richter, who also adapted BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (my last review on this website), is a smart psychological horror film, with some interesting ideas at it's core in the context of the classic story it was based on. Whereas the original Don Siegel movie was set in small-town America, Kaufman takes it into the post-Watergate years of the 70's in San Francisco and, like the time of the original with McCarthyism and 'The Bomb' being the thorns in the national consciousness, the time seemed ripe in 1978 to do this.
Brooke Adams is a health worker who discovers a brand-new plant growing in pavement bushes near her workplace and then takes it home. At first glance, her husband acts normal, but then begins to act strangely. She goes to work and meets up with colleague Donald Sutherland who, whilst dropping off a piece of clothing to be cleaned at the dry cleaners, is cornered by the owner who claims his wife is 'not my wife'.....
This is a different style to the original film, which used a flashback narration to drive the story along, but works without the need for one. Leonard Nimoy acquits himself well in a supporting role as an author, but one can't help wondering where his pointed ears are. Other good performances come from Veronica Cartwright and Jeff Goldblum as the wife and husband who are also drawn into the experience.
There isn't a great deal of gore in this film, which is the right tone to adopt and helps to heighten the genuine sense of paranoia that engulfs the characters and the audience as the film moves towards it's memorable conclusion. The DVD looks terrific.
If you are dreading it, you can always take comfort from the example of the film I review here.
The 1978 version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, directed by Philip Kaufman and scripted by W.D. Richter, who also adapted BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (my last review on this website), is a smart psychological horror film, with some interesting ideas at it's core in the context of the classic story it was based on. Whereas the original Don Siegel movie was set in small-town America, Kaufman takes it into the post-Watergate years of the 70's in San Francisco and, like the time of the original with McCarthyism and 'The Bomb' being the thorns in the national consciousness, the time seemed ripe in 1978 to do this.
Brooke Adams is a health worker who discovers a brand-new plant growing in pavement bushes near her workplace and then takes it home. At first glance, her husband acts normal, but then begins to act strangely. She goes to work and meets up with colleague Donald Sutherland who, whilst dropping off a piece of clothing to be cleaned at the dry cleaners, is cornered by the owner who claims his wife is 'not my wife'.....
This is a different style to the original film, which used a flashback narration to drive the story along, but works without the need for one. Leonard Nimoy acquits himself well in a supporting role as an author, but one can't help wondering where his pointed ears are. Other good performances come from Veronica Cartwright and Jeff Goldblum as the wife and husband who are also drawn into the experience.
There isn't a great deal of gore in this film, which is the right tone to adopt and helps to heighten the genuine sense of paranoia that engulfs the characters and the audience as the film moves towards it's memorable conclusion. The DVD looks terrific.
