The day the earth stood still

[Van]

Just saw the trailer on hdnet and it looks real good.

Apple - Trailers - The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day The Earth Stood Still Trailer

 

[mdonnelly]

I heard there was a remake coming. What are they gonna remake next? Casablanca ... Gone With the Wind ... The Godfather ...?

 

[Van]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UULvGwjEpuA&feature=related]YouTube - HQ The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)Trailer(GOOD TRUE HQ)[/ame] Heres the youtube long version, I'd embed it but I can never figure out how to do that and theres no clear guide on how to do it.

Well whats wrong with taking a movie thats old and doesnt fit the times and remaking it to where it does? Imagine how much better the original Starwars would have been if Lucas were to have had the special effects and cgi then that we do now. Jaws would have been even better as would of films like Logans run, A boy and his dog, Damnation allie, Battle of the planets, but there are others that shouldnt be touched such as much of what Clint Eastwood did or the God father even though I dont care for that movie.

 

[Van]

I didnt embed that, the site did it automaticly I guess.

 

[mdonnelly]

I kept waiting for Gort (the robot), and he finally showed up in the last frame.

 

[snathanb]

Well whats wrong with taking a movie thats old and doesnt fit the times and remaking it to where it does? Imagine how much better the original Starwars would have been if Lucas were to have had the special effects and cgi then that we do now. Jaws would have been even better as would of films like Logans run

Ah...Logan's Run. Yes, I am really looking to a future where we all live in the Apparel Mart at Dallas Market Center.

Logan's Run Locations

 

[TNGTony]

Better special effects NEVER - EVER makes a better movie, EVER. The special effects are there to support the story-telling and to help immerse the audience into a particular world.

If the story sucks, the special effect do nothing to help it. (the story). If the story is good, the special effects can help in the vision but are really unnecessary most of the time. Good "camera tricks" (like seeing the reaction of an actor to something that is supposed to be happening on screen that cannot be shown due to technical limitations) is good enough when done right.

Taking a classic movie which is the definition of perfection and "updating" it is rarely (not never, but rarely) a good thing. Planet of the Apes comes to mind as an example of whiz-bang special effects and make-up doing absolutely nothing to save a HORRID retelling of a classic sci-fi movie!

Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to this movie now (at first I wasn't). Now that I know that the people involved are not hacks and gold-diggers looking to cash in on a name, It could be a great movie. But Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes is still fresh in my mind.

See ya
Tony

 

[jayn_j]

I can just imagining them remaking Casablanca. Let's see, first of all nix the Nazis. Need to be Iranians now.

Second, a sidekick like Captain Renault would need a funnier accent, a physical attribute like a lisp or limp and some catchphrase to be spoken often.

Sam would be playing and dancing to Hip-hop with three girls doing back ups.

Victor would have to be a coward, not a hero. He would die during the movie, while trying to hid beneath a table.

Finally, that ending just has to go. I would suggest that Rick shoot the Nazi^h^h^h^h Al-Qiada commander between the eyes and then blow a hole in the wall of Rick's. He then grabs Ilsa around the waist, jumps through while taking out 20 tribesmen and commandeering their motorcycle. A bit more of that plastique hidden his shoe destroys the secret breeder reactor hidden in the dumpster. They then embrace and ride into the sunset.

 

[TNGTony]

ROFL!

 

[primestar31]

I sure hope it's NOT bad like the last remake of "War of the Worlds" (w/Tom Cruise). That really sucked, if you ask me. Then again, the original was SO good, I just don't think they could ever do a remake that was even equal to it.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The preview looked interesting to me.

 

[dfergie]

Have to watch last nights Nothing But Trailers I recorded and look... Trailerama should have it soon also...

 

[Van]

Well Im not a sappy romantic so they could remake casablanca with Peewee and it wouldnt bother me in the least. Special effects dont make the movie but bad effects can kill a movie regardless of how good the story line and acting, Starwars would have tanked if the wires for the ships had been visible and other effects had looked cheap. A lack of effects can go a long way to such as in Cloverfield but what killed that film was a bad ending and an obscure movie villian. Good special effects would have helped Damnation alley with the giant scorpions and the bugs and the atmospheric effects.

All Im sayin is that there are films that would do better now as first runs with todays special effects than when they were made with crappy effects and others that should be left alone either because their fine as they are or they will always suck.

 

[TNGTony]

Yes, BAD special effects can kill a movie. But the equation "Bad special effects = Bad Movie :: Good Special Effects Good movie" still does not hold water!

The thing is, we aren't talking about special effects in a new movie being what makes or breaks it. My comment came from your statement that seemed to say that because the special effects are so much better now than in '51 that it could do nothing but make the movie better. That is the statement I take issue with!

Anyone with "final Cut Pro" and a film camera can come up with better special effects than any movie made before 1980, but remaking the movie with better special effects does not make the movie better.

Another case in point:
The original release of Star Wars (which I still have and guard jealously) before Lucas "fixed" it, to me, is still better than the new tricked out one with all the "extra" effects Lucas says he always wanted in there in the first place! (and Solo Did kill Greedo without Greedo shooting first!)

See ya
Tony

 

[Van]

Well I think we can agrea to disagrea atleast on the first part of what your saying, scifi and fantasy flicks hinge not only on a good story line but the quality of the effects in them wich is why everything that the scifi channel has put out except for the modern BSG has fallen flatter than week old soda. There are ofcourse movies that dont need to be remade for better effects, one that I can think of that was a sleeper horror thriller was called shockwaves and had no special effects to speak of. Special effects did good for most all of the latest king kong except for the stampede wich was mimicked in its style in the recent indiana jones with the side by side jeep run.

Now I do agrea with you about lucas doing his fix on the original starwars and there are many of us fans who feel the same way, I have no idea what he was thinking but that was just the most F'd up thing he could have done and now its been done to the original star trek series aparently.

I have no problem with remakes as long as its done well and though I did like the remake of the war of the worlds I felt that it lost me after cruises character killed the guy in the house, I would have liked to have seen more time focused on the story after that point but that aside the effects were really good and I enjoyed it as much as I did seeing the original and reading it half a dozen times aswell.

 

[Sammy033]

Well whats wrong with taking a movie thats old and doesnt fit the times and remaking it to where it does?

In itself nothing. However in this case from what I heard they got rid of the nuclear war message and replaced it with an ecological one (boring). As we all know the intent of the original was that if we keep up are bad ways and go out into space Gort and his buds will come and destroy us. But if we screw up our planet and die it's no biggie to them since what we do with our own planet is of no concern (I forget the exact phrase). I dont see how they are going to work that part out. Also, I wonder if all the Jesus aspects will be removed due to modern sensibilities.

 

[cparker]

I still love the original The Day the Earth Stood Still and from what I've seen in that trailer, it looks like they kinda butchered the story. I love great special effects, but not at the expense of the core of the story line.

 

[dfergie]

I liked the trailer and love the updated SF/X on Season 1 of Star Trek TOS....

 

[jayn_j]

Well I think we can agrea to disagrea atleast on the first part of what your saying, scifi and fantasy flicks hinge not only on a good story line but the quality of the effects in them wich is why everything that the scifi channel has put out except for the modern BSG has fallen flatter than week old soda. There are ofcourse movies that dont need to be remade for better effects, one that I can think of that was a sleeper horror thriller was called shockwaves and had no special effects to speak of. Special effects did good for most all of the latest king kong except for the stampede wich was mimicked in its style in the recent indiana jones with the side by side jeep run.

I disagree with this as well. If the story is well written and compelling, it doesn't matter if the effects are the latest CGI or some guy wearing a fishbowl on his head.

Creature from the Black Lagoon, Forbidden Planet, On the Beach, War of the Worlds, Silent Running, Planet of the Apes, 2001, etc. All these films have inferior graphics and effects, yet they all are watchable on repeated viewings. Everyone that has been remade has been a disappointment.

A great example is The Thing/The Thing From Another Planet/Who Goes There. It has been remade several times and, in my opinion, is weaker with each retelling. Nothing touches the original for the suspense generated. Of course, nothing even comes close to the original novella for pure terror.

I think that's the key. Special effects have replaced suspense and tension as audience tools. I am an old fart, but I prefer the earlier mechanisms.

 

[Van]

Well Im standing by my beliefs and will say that if any of the above mentioned had had poor effects for the time wich when they were made they were the best possible effects then they would have bombed as well. At the time creature from the black lagoon's effects were the best they could be with the rubber suit the actor wore, 2001 had the latest special effects as well yet had they used the same effects that were used in the 60's then it wouldnt have done as well.

I do agrea that effects have been used more to replace suspence wich is why I still remember vividly films like Shockwaves and this one that I cant remember the name but it scared the jeebers out of me as a kid.