Bishops wife vs preachers wife.
Which do you think is better?
Milan darling Milan Edna The Increadibles
Which do you think is better?
Milan darling Milan Edna The Increadibles
Let's see......
Loretta Young vs. Whitney Houston......
Cary Grant vs. Denzel Washington.....
Robert Sherwood (screenwriter) vs. Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott cannibalizing Sherwood
David Niven vs. Courtney Vance.......
Do you really need to go on? The original with no competition.
"The Preacher's Wife" is high on my list of films for which there was no justification whatsoever.
While Whitney cannot compare acting-wise to Loretta Young, I'd have to say that the Denzel-Cary camparison is not so clear. Denzel is one of the finest actors of our generation, and in The Preacher's Wife, he is extremely handsome and charming. The attraction the wife feels for him is completely understandable.
I do think that the later movie is pretty much a load of cheese, but I do hate to see Denzel dismissed so!
He more than deserves to be dismissed when compared to Cary Grant.
shareDenzel Washington is easily one of the most overrated actors of our generation.
He's a good actor, no argument, but the fact that he's so often lauded as one of the best is a mystery to me.
He doesn't have a tenth of Grant's charm, charisma or talent.
This is a gorgeous film that didn't require a remake. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of remakes, if film makers don't have the imagination to be original then they should perhaps do something else to earn a quid.
You fill me with inertia - George Spiggott
Hi, WLH-V:
I agree with you. Loretta Young was one of the best actresses in American cinema. Too often dismissed for being a mannequin and relying only on her beauty, she didn't win an Oscar nor have two nominations for just being good-looking. It is truly hard to think of anyone better in to play Julia Brougham in "The Bishop's Wife" than Loretta Young. She played it quite understated and that only brings out the honesty that such a character would've been in real life.
To compare "The Bishop's Wife" to "The Preacher's Wife"? Such heresy :-)!
That's like comparing a 1/2 lb. Angus steak hamburger grilled to perfection and comparing it to a Quarter Pounder at McDonald's. The nerve to compare the two films :-)!
I totally agree ~ there could be NO comparison ~ so much in fact that I have never wasted my time watching "The Preacher's Wife".
"Soak it up-Every little bit I can - Enjoy all my day - Before all my days end" ~~Warren Barfield~~
Now the funniest thing is, if you go to . . . The Preacher's Wife board, the comments may seem a whee bit different. Indeed, amazing how that all works on IMdb.
shareSorry, but anything with Whitney Houston ... :/
Now, this classic on the other hand -- I love it!
I've seen both and there is no comparison. THE PREACHER'S WIFE was too much a vehicle for Whitney Houston.
shareMonument Valley is a place where John Ford made some of his best westerns. By pretty much a common consent, no director goes out there to film now..it's left as a memorial to him. There are movies that should not be touched, remade, re thunk, re done, rehashed, re warmed or even breathed on the wrong way.
THE BISHOPS WIFE is one of those films..it was nearly perfect the first time out..and nothing we could do right now could make it better...
Hey kids..you probably don't know this, but they remade IT'S A WONDERUFL LIFE. With Marlo Thomas. Think about that and shudder...(The urge to do this was not as crass as THE BISHOPS' WIFE remake..IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE wasn't on the tube at the time due to a legal glitch, and Thomas TRIED to make points about women and standing by your man and that kind of stuff..but STILL..well, you get the idea..)
In a few years from now, I think THE PREACHERS' WIFE will be the same sort of trivia question...right up there with other mistakes, like Roots II, or THE GONE WITH THE WIND sequel, or...
There are many things that make this version the one to see.
a) Cary Grant- his angel is charming, kind and believeable. His acting is also effortless so his actually suspends disbelief so that his being an angel seems almost plausible! - When I heard the remake was going to be with Denzel, I actually had HOPE... because he also has a similar charm and magnetism that could be the modern day equivalent of Cary - but then Disney (Buena Vista) just HAD to sell another friggin' soundtrack so the movie became a vehicle for Whitney.
b) Loretta Young- her sweetness is also believeable without seeming syrupy. Big plus too- she can ACT, unlike Whitney.
c) the supporting cast- everybody from Monty Wooley, Elsa Lancaster and James Gleason and Gladys Cooper are all wonderful and seem to inhabit their roles, not just speak the lines. - in the remake the weakest link besides Whitney is Courtney B. Vance. His preacher is uninspiring and not even believeable as as haggard preacher.
d) better script... they couldn't even leave that alone!
This is a better movie, hands down.
If you're looking for superficiality, singing and a lack of soul, see the remake.
If you're looking for inspiring sweetness and the kindness and joy that the season is supposed to represent, see "The Bishop's Wife." :)
'Now the funniest thing is, if you go to . . . The Preacher's Wife board, the comments may seem a whee bit different. [] Indeed, amazing how that all works on IMdb.'
lol- thats rather a good point twilightfun. personally i quite liked both preacher's wife and bishop's wife but i might prefer bishop's wife slightly more.
cheers.
I assumed that as well. So I headed over to the Preacher's Wife area and found they even hate it over there. About 50% because they know it's a remake of a superior movie and the other 40% just didn't seem to like it with quotes like:
"sorry, but I thought it was boooooring..."
"...i thought it was really boring and i had no attachment to the characters besides jeremiah..."
"I thought it was boring beyond imagination..."
"Whitney Houston is lousy!!!! The other performances were decent."
Can't always go by IMDB ratings, but they're a relatively decent barometer since good movies are usually over 7 (and that's not to say a bad one doesn't slip high onto the list, but good ones usually aren't too low). As of this writing, this movie is 7.5 while the remake is 5.2. I think that's enough of a disparity to show the difference in quality between the films.
I think both of them were awesome. I enjoyed The Preacher's Wife just as much as I enjoyed The Bishop's Wife. But I really enjoyed the music from The Preacher's Wife.
Hell To The Naw!!!!
One of my biggest film pet peeves is when hollywood does a remake of a classic. The Bishop's Wife was made right the first time, why bother throwing new actors into parts that they can't really improve?
I love The Bishop's Wife, but again, I'm slightly biased. I absolutly adore Cary Grant. I personally believe he was one of the finest actors of the 20th Century.
Hear, hear! The Bishop's Wife, hands down... I found this movie quite by accident about 15 years ago and it instantly became one of those "must see" movies at Christmas time for me... and for members of my family who were lucky enough to watch it with me when I first bought it... even after 60 years, it still holds up well and puts tears in my eyes at certain times... oh, did anyone notice that the little girl who played Debby (Karolyn Grimes) also played Zuzu Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life"?
...Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he doesn't become a monster...
I haven't really dared sit through the whole new movie.
But right off the bat - tries to be "hip" and "cool". Also, way too long.
I have no doubt I will continue to love the old movie.
The "Bishop's Wife" is a genuinely sweet movie, with a sincere message and believeable acting on every level from every character. For the record, I've tried to watch "The Preacher's Wife"... it embarrassingly paled by comparison. Maybe the plot (and title) should have been changed so it wouldn't try to compete with the original version.
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