Class Minutes for June 20, 2002

Why redo a movie?

Money – Disney redid most of the French comedies of the 80’s and 90’s, or they bought the rights and shelved them for a while.

Ego – I can do it better.  Less than half the audience for Hollywood films is actually American.

Culture – Good story, but needs to be altered to better reach a particular culture.

Artistic interpretation – Think of the many Shakespeare filmings.

Update – Cultural icons such as Dracula, Frankenstein, Godzilla, etc.  Also, redo black and white films with color.

Technology – allows for more realistic updates and more room for artistic interpretation.

Sugar Baby – was made in Germany for a limited arthouse audience.

Baby Cakes – American adaptation, made for TV; not as artsy, because made for a wider audience.

Brian shared his films with us: Three Fugitives & Les Fugitives

We watched the scene in which K-9 cop shows up for meeting with the doctor. . . robber’s injury is discovered and he runs for it. . . little girl follows him and sits with him after he collapses.  French version uses different camera angles, different dog, and uses dog differently – American version spends more time on dog for comedic effect.  American version used more music; costumes are nearly identical as are the actors; French version focuses more on little girl than American remake.

Comparison of original Black Orpheus (1960) and its remake (1999):

Original is generally considered a French film because director (Camus) is French and a major criticism of his version is that it is a romanticized European portrayal of Rio de Janeiro.  Director of the remake wanted to address this concern in particular.  We watched the end in which Orpheus retrieves Eurydice’s body, brings it home, and is ultimately murdered:

It is raining, Eurydice is impaled in a tree. . . Orpheus holds he body and sings to her (same music as original); Orpheus has an angry, grieving mother – not found at all in original. 

The remake makes a strong socio-political statement and includes a more accurate diversity of race.  Also, Orpheus is not nearly as revered by the community as in the original.

Soft, lyrical songs of Orpheus are held over from original.  Otherwise, music is very contemporary.

The last thing we looked at was the last 15-20 minutes of What Dreams May Come, because it contains the Orpheus theme of going into hell to retrieve a lost love.

Final thought: What is it about this myth that holds such power over the human imagination?