MovieChat Forums > The Day the Earth Caught Fire Discussion > This will probably annoy a few people bu...

This will probably annoy a few people but....

posted 18 years ago by dgm82
23 replies | jump to latest

...I think with the current run of remakes in cinema it surprises me that this film has been passed over. Before you start screaming, let me just say that in my opinion, this film rates as one of the best of the sci-fi genre made during the 50s and 60s (including both British and American made films), and I'm not suggesting a journey into sacrilege with another dismal 'Hollywood Hatchet Job!'

This film owes it's success to an original approach with parallel storylines of eco disaster (using an advanced concept for it's time), and the personal struggle of the main character in a portrayal of events followed through the eyes of Fleet Street.

Considering the recent spewing and regurgitation of crappy, cliched disaster films, this would be a refreshing update if it maintained the original locale and storyline approach. And although it was concentrated on a more respectable publication at the time, it would be interesting to see if the film-makers would be brave enough to accurately represent the modern methods of today's tabloid press!

That's just my 5 mins worth...

[–] phuquit 18 years ago

You may be surprised that the first answer your post gets is from someone in agreement with you. I remember thinking after seeing the film sometime in the eighties (I think) that it was a brilliant film but looking a bit dated. This is even more true today. I'm not a great one for re-makes, I can only think of 3 examples of me finding re-makes preferable to the original - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Donald Sutherland version), Thomas Crown Affair and The Four Feathers (70's version) - but if they updated this film, without taking any liberties with the original story, I would welcome it.

[–] phoenix_wolfsun 16 years ago

I actually think this would make better material for a remake than 'when worlds collide' which is being remade as we speak.

[–] RodneyVervegard 12 years ago

I think 'When Worlds Collide' would benefit from being remade. It had a reasonable premise, but removing the '50s Hollywood nonsense (i.e. no racial or religious diversity, etc.) would help with credibility. It would be a good opportunity for improving the science as well.

But I suspect they will focus on improving the special effects in which case the movie won't be improved much, if at all.

On the other hand, I don't think The Day The Earth Caught Fire would benefit as much from an updating. It's a nice little gem of a movie - leave it alone.

[–] enochsneed 18 years ago

I think the problem with a remake would be that advances in communications technology would make it obvious something was drastically wrong from the outset. If satellites were knocked out of orbit when the earth shifted we would all know about it (in fact even in 1961 the position of the constellations would have changed in the night sky - just goes to show it doesn't pay to think too much about these things). In this film is the suspense of uncovering the truth is rather more important than the science, and that would be lost.

You could make a good 'retro' version with the latest FX (as long as we didn't end up with something like Speielberg's 'War of the Worlds').

[–] rivethead808 18 years ago

Youre right unfortunately. The immediacy of finding out the information would kinda kill the impact. There has to be a way of doing it though. Maybe if they chose a smaller place, or perhaps make it a point to highlight American stupidity along with making the initial changes more minute.

Btw, I havent seen this film yet, but intend to if I can find it. I actually came in here because I was reading the description thinking that it sounded kinda like The Day After Tomorrow (also not seen and probably never will) so I wanted to see if that was a remake of this, but apparently not or that would have been the first response the OP got.

My Collection: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=11097838

[–] 3rdrowleft 16 years ago

Actually, you could make this work in a remake, if instead of a legit newspaper, it were set in a Fox-like cable outlet. When the astronomers attempted to inform they public of the change in celestial positions, they could be 1) ignored until they tried the blogosphere, and then 2) ridiculed as alarmists. This would necessitate changes in the story. Would the protagonist be a reporter from a rival semi-reputable network, one of the astromers trying to inform the public, or the blogger attempting to make the astronomers case for them? I'll leave it to more talented writers than I. And since as of the day of my posting, the writers' strike is in progress, it would *have* to be done in Britain.

But throughout it all, my motto was "Dignity! Always dignity!".

[–] marbleann 18 years ago

I agree a good retro version would be good. I am not adverse with remakes of classics if they were not done so terribly. They all seem to be some show case for a big starlike Tom Cruise and the storys seem to get lost behind all of the new technical effects. I would love to see a studio without a lot of money to burn to do this movie. Or at least a director who appriciates a story more then the technical effects.

[–] old-georgieboy 18 years ago

this would be an excellent vehicle for a BBC remake. i was recently impressed by the remake of A for Andromeda (i can just about remember the original series), which kept the basic storyline and locations, but brought it up to date without having to dumb it down. OK, so the reality-tv generation wouldn't like it, but when the BBC attempts Sci Fi, it usually does it well.

i'm just rewatching the Val Guest production, and am pleased the movie is just as good as i remember it.

The young recruit is silly ’e thinks o’ suicide
’E’s lost ’is gutter-devil ’e ’asn’t got ’is pride

[–] marbleann 18 years ago

As long as they did not make it like a Armaggedon II. If I recall wasn't there a Twilight Zone with almost the same story?

[–] Roaddawg64 18 years ago

Yep, The Twilight Zone episode was very good. It was called "The Midnight Sun."

[–] marbleann 18 years ago

Thanks. I thought I remember seeing a Twilight Zone like that before. I wasn't sure if it was the Outrer Limits or that.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Michael22685 17 years ago

I agree...I think they should make a remake with a non-famous cast. I'd love to see a few famous faces in there, but in the smaller roles (ie the messenger boy looks alot like Josh Hartnet in a few scenes). I could see them changing around a few of the details, but in general I think it would be amazing to see the same story but with better special effects.

[–] euro4569 17 years ago

If you go back and rewatch Rod Serling's Night Gallery, "The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes", you will see at the very end that there was a scene from TDTECF. It was the sun scene flare up. In the episode, many disasters were happening because of the Sun about to go nova (earhquakes, sun spots, miracles, etc), in the chilling end, it shows the sun exploding, which was the same sun scene from the film.

[–] Daverat 17 years ago

According to the fold-out that comes with the DVD I quote "Seeing that his cautionary tale of Man's irrational impulse to destroy his own planet was just as relevant in the 90s as it was in the 60s. Guest penned an update of his original screenplay and made plans to direct a remake. The proposed remake never came to fruition, but the original remains a s timeless as ever..."

[–] icmdwilliams 17 years ago

Personally I don't feel a remake would actually bring anything to this film, part of it's attraction is they way it was made in B&W and they way the actors behave. It was made in the period it was set, it's not set in the 21st century, it's set in 1950's / 1960's London, doing it now would mean the loss of the "feel" of the time and the paranoia concerning nuclear testing and the Cold War.

Some films need a remake, this one doesn't IMHO

[–] CGMCC 17 years ago

The best thing about this film is the cast and their acting. Unfortunately, the story just doesn't live up to expectations of excellent science fiction. As one other poster noted earlier, the movement of Earth would immediately be noticed by the astronomers and they would NOT keep it a secret!

So, when a producer and director attempt to do a serious science fiction thriller, they should have the facts firmly in mind as they make the film. I can say the same about science fiction writers... it's the excellent ones like Ben Bova, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Hal Clement, and Isaac Asimov who put out terrific books. Of these, only Clarke has had two of his books successfully made into movies the way they should have been.

In this film, the story is the killer. I give it 6 out of 10. If somebody wants to do a remake, it'll need a major rewrite.

[–] projectcyclops 17 years ago

It's an interesting idea but I think it might get the kind of treatment and reception that the disasterous movie 'The Core' had. That said, The Core was not a remake, rather a woeful hollywood mish-mash. An updated version of The Day the Earth Caught Fire could easily become mired by over the top visual effects with the story involving such a grant idea of the earth heading for the sun.

If it was still set in England and had a more 'Children of Men' vibe then I'd be very interested in seeing it.

:)

[–] jmsocool 15 years ago

I wouldn't mind seeing this film remade, if it could be done right--intelligent screenplay, a director who lets the special effects serve the story, a strong cast. I don't think this film is particularly well known (I read about it in The Twilight Zone Companion, in the description of the episode "Midnight Sun"), so many people wouldn't necessarily compare it to the original. And given certain news items I've read in the past few weeks (Cuba and Velenzuala offering Russia land to keep bombers, North Korea testing missiles, etc.), the idea of nations resuming nuclear testing doesn't seem too farfetched. It could be set 2-3 years in the future, and a montage at the beginning could set up the idea of nuclear testing.

"My girlfriend sucked 37 d*cks!"
"In a row?"

[–] SteveResin 14 years ago

If they remade this film it would just be a SFX carnival, the storytelling a secondary consideration. Plus they'd move the action to New York and have Shia LaBeouf & Megan Fox as the leads. *shudder*

--------------------
God Hates Fangs!

[–] Satan2016 15 years ago

Al Gore already remade it! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497116/

[–] kingdaviduk 14 years ago

I agree that this is one of the best sci fi films ever made. But if they did a remake, they could not use all the same locations. The Daily Express newspaper has long gone from Fleet Street, although the original entrance to the building still stands, and I have seen inside it on an open day. In the film we see desks and a lift in that art deco lobby, which have long since gone, but the art deco artwork on the walls still remains.
A modern version would have to use a different media type, maybe TV or the Internet, and would be good so long as it was made intelligently, like this 1961 film. Too many Hollywood remakes are rubbish because they concentrate on special effects instead of plot and characters.
This film is so good because of the characters, the plot and the locations. I love Fleet Street and loved seeing how it used to be in this film. I also know someone who worked for the Daily Express when they filmed it, he was down in the printroom, which also appears in the film, although he himself did not get on film.

[–] jmsocool 14 years ago

If a remake happens, I hope they don't tack on a happy, hero-saves-the-day ending. Show some guts, have the world end, and the human race perish. That's why I like On the Beach, both book and movie. The story had the guts to say "this can happen, there are consequences to our actions."

"My girlfriend sucked 37 d*cks!"
"In a row?"