Edward
Bartender
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- 25,082
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- London, UK
Anyway movies are not now nor have they ever been art. Thats why its called show BUSINESS.
Sure - it's the same as the music business. That's the reality, doesn't mean we have to like it.
As a filmmaker, I find subtitles to be a double edge sword. On one hand they allow you to hear the original performances of the actors (as apposed to dubbing) But on the other hand, film is a visual medium, and if I'm spending almost half of my time reading subtitles, I'm missing huge amounts of visual story telling, which is in some ways more important than the dialog.
That is actually a fair point. I suppose it depends on a case by case basis. It can also depend how well the dubbing is done - I know I've watched Nightwatch both ways (both options on the DVD), ditto Dead Snow, and you would often struggle to notice. Some dubbed stuff it's so badly done that I find that far more distracting than the subtitles.
But to be fair, the American release might very well lead some to seek out the original film out of curiosity. Its not like the situation with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, where Walt Disney bought up all the previous versions of the film and locked them away in a vault.
Yes, this can be the flipside - as long as it's not truly awful it can actually open things up to people. (One reason I remain hopeful about the forthcoming Gatsby flick.)
And also its not like the original "Girl" didn't do well. Its made a little over $100 million at the box office. Thats damn good business for an obscure $13 million dollar film with no stars.
Which might suggest that mainstream audiences aren't always as in thrall to celebrity names and some dumb happy ending as the Hollywood men think they are? ;-)
Or did both movies follow the novel so closely that they have very similar scenes?
Really I just see it as the American version of the film being for an English speaking audience, which is MUCH larger than the Swedish speaking audience.
Add to that, there is a long tradition of film remakes, that are at least as good as the original if not better. A Star Is Born is a perfect example. 12 Monkeys is another. I have no problem with remakes in principle, particularly when it is an adaption of a book.
I have mixed feeling about them. If they can bring something new to it, fair enough.... and yes, some far exceed the original. Coppola's take on Dracula, while far from perfect, was still much closer to the book than the vast majority of interpretations, and the Bogart vehicle version of the Maltese Falcon was the definitive one in my eyes. What does concern me when you start to see a whole glut of remakes and/or sequels is the lack of new ideas that suggests more broadly.
I'd rather wait and see the film for myself and see if its worth while before knocking it.
Yes, fair point.
Another thought about this particular story, is that it may have a large, but limited audience. Both the original and the American films seem to be capped at about $100 million at the box office. Sony may have over estimated the appeal of the books. They spend something like $70 million on production, and probably another $60 to $70 million on advertising. Now it will probably make up the difference on Home Video, but I think it unlikely that there will be American versions of the other two books.
Yes, it'll be interesting to see what happens there. Having seen the Swedish film, I certainly agree that even absent the language barrier it wasn't the sort of popcorn fluff that Hollywood could maximise income with. Maybe if they rewrote it extensively with Jennifer Aniston as Lisbet spending all her time thinking some guy doesn't love her and then - oh, wait - in the end he does. Or someone else who has been better all along..... ha.....