Did not know this existed until I came across it at my local shops. Was Sister My Sister, with Joely Richardson, Julie Waters & Jodhi May a remake of this movie? Can anyone help here thanks.
shareSorry I can't help with your query, but did you purchase this film? DVD or VHS? I'd love to know what you thought of it. :)
shareSister my sister wasn't a remake of this film exactly but it is based on the same play (The Maids by Jean Genet).
shareNo, the 2 movies and the play are based on a true story - the Papin case of 1933. Les Blessures Assassines/Murderous Maids (2000) is another version, and La Cérémonie (1995) is more distantly inspired by it. None of these movies seem to be based on each other.
Genet's version (the earliest) changes many details (Madame has no daughter) and ritualizes what remains. Les Blessures Assassines is probably the most faithful account, but it could never approach the greatness of Jackson and York in The Maids.
I have not seen the Movie THE MAIDS but from what I understand the biggest difference from the story its based on to the play is Genet's focus on artifice and theatrics.
Fantastic play, though I imagine the film to be excellent as well, I have my own ideas for how to adapt it for the screen...that I imagine Genet would approve of.
"The more real things get, the more like myths they become. " R.W. Fassbinder
If memory serves me right, Alain Corneau also stated that he was inspired by Genet's play when he wrote/directed "Crime D'Amour" (recently remade by Brian De Palma as "Passion"). Frankly, the two works do not have much in common except for the twisted mistress-servant relationship (the Sagnier character wants to switch roles with the Scott Thomas character and usurp her power) and the lesbian attraction angle. The French movie is actually mediocre and the American remake was knocked by the critics as well.
It's a popular story and there are many movies that paid homage to it (or were inspired by the same events), but there are only two filmed versions of the Genet play: this and a 1985 French version starring Francine Bergé (as Solange) and Dominique Blanchar (as Claire). It's interesting that Francine had previously appeared in "Les abysses" alongside her real-life sister Colette Bergé and the movie is a fictionalized retelling of the Papin murder case as well.
By the way, I heard that Isabelle Huppert and Cate Blanchett are supposed to team up fo a new stage version of this. I guess Huppert will be Solange and Blanchett will be Claire. I have much faith in the first but the latter could never give to her character the feverish charm Susannah's incarnation possessed.