Yes, it is true. ThinkFilm production bought the idea of a US remake. This little studio also released Being Julia this year, from hungarian director István Szabó.
And for a good news, Kontroll won the Cottbus filmfestival audience prize, a week ago.
how very typical of the Americans that they couldn't come up with a decent idea. instead, they'll just make a remake of this very European film for the Americans, so they can digest it too. quite sad, really.
it'd be lovely for Antal N. to win another filmfestival award in Spain. however, i doubt that this time he stands a chance against such names as Almodovar... especially not in Spain, where Pedro is a cult-figure.
we'll see.
I am an American, and I loved this film, in it's current form. I do not need it "Americanized" in order to understand it. I hate remakes as much as you do (or do u only hates ones that are made by Americans?)
I've seen plenty of non-American films that are rip offs of American films too. And plenty of American films ripping off previous American films, which were a new American ideas the first time around.
Don't lump all Americans, or even all American writers and filmmakers in with the ungodly trash that is Hollywood. There are plenty of us who have great NEW ideas for films, that we did not steal from anyone, but unfortunately, Hollywood rules this country's film world. If you don't have hollywood connections (and kiss someone's butt), or hollywood's money (by selling out your creative work and letting them chop it into unintelligent drivle to feed to the sheep-like masses), you don't get your films out there...
Be careful how you generalize and sterotype people...it tends to turn around and do the same to you, by making you sound like the stereotypical snobby European, who loves to be trendy by bashing Americans, while wearing our clothes, listening to our music, watching our films and TV shows, and trying to be as American as you can, while calling it your own culture... Funny how so many of the Europeans and Canadians I've met online talk in ebonics and listens to rap, despite living in 99% white counties...
This country has plenty to complain about (as do all), but it should be complained about by those who actually live here, and actually know something about it. Am I pro-American, not by a longshot. On the contrary, I am anti-hypocritical stereotypers, both those that are American, and those that are proudly not...
Great post, dennsylvania. I couldn't have said it better myself. Nice to know that there is a free-thinking mind out there!
I am sick to death of every European jumping on the "I hate Americans" bandwagon. It is definitely the trendy mindset nowadays. What's funny is that they don't even know how most of us live. They get all their information from our movies! And we are also always lumped in with our government! Do they really believe we all follow the party line?
99% of the movies I watch are non-American. And every time I check out a movie on IMDB, there is ALWAYS American bashing. People, give it a rest. We do not all think alike or act alike. This is a HUGE country with MANY, MANY different types of people. Do not be so ignorant as to believe everything you see on tv or in movies. We are also NOT our government. You can't stereotype a whole nation. If that were true, I could have PLENTY to say about nearly every other country. There are ignorant Americans, Germans, Mexicans, French, Peruvians, etc., etc. etc. !!!!!
I am only a 1st generation American, so I see both sides of the coin. I have roots firmly in Europe. (Lest you think that I am just a "stupid American" who has an arrogant attitude.)
Thanks for backing me up screamflickchick-1. When I saw there was a reply to my post, I figured it would be someone flaming me for telling the truth lol.
The more non-ignorant Americans we have representing us on these boards, the more people will realize that there is culture and intelligence in this country. We are not all Ghetto Gangstas, or Cowboys, or Rednecks, or loud mouth jerks, or whatever else they think we are lol.
Completely agree with dennsylvania.
share"I am sick to death of every European jumping on the "I hate Americans" bandwagon."
Now that's you making a stereotype. :D You now not all Europeans hate Amerca from the guts. Some of us have brains too. :P
To set joking aside, i'm hungarian too, just as mozirajongo, who's comment started this shoot-across-the-Pond thing :). I LOVE american movies, not all of them, but a big slice of it. Hungarian filmmaking was good even 20 years ago back to even the '30s '40s. In the last 15-20 years they made CRAP :) and in the past few years they started to make better movies. So the point is, that american movies have huge influence on the world's moviemaking, but also does japanese, french, spanish etc. cinema.
So pease don't think that all europeans hate you and are snobs. People are more complex than that, for example I don't like fastfood (McDonalds, Burger King) I ate in those restaurants only about ten times in my whole life, yes that few. I don't like rap or hip-hop, but i like rock music, which is not quite a hungaricum :D. As i said i like some american movies, but also like hungarian, french, HK, and japanese movies. I probably know more about american history, than you about European history (i mentioned Europe intentionally, and not Hungary, because it would be ridiculous to ask that from you :)). I dare to risk saying that i know more about American history, than a lot of americans.
The bottom line is, let's not stereotype, as you said. :)
I personally doubt an American remake. Hollywood is too focused on Japanese horror right now.
shareActually that's a MISCONCEPTION with maybe another two or three Asian horror remakes are on the way. The are MANY NUMEROUS other Asian genre type remakes being made. One will be Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" which is a remake of INFERNAL AFFAIRS. Already with an "all-star" cast such as Leonardo DiCRAPRIO and Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, etc.
woopee
Sorry that's off topic. But I can see a US remake for this. If someone where to do this I'd love to see David Lynch reinterpret this...what do you guys think? Not that it's not good on its own...just IF it were to be done...
"Actually that's a MISCONCEPTION with maybe another two or three Asian horror remakes are on the way."
Not really. Upcominghorrormovies.com lists 10 asian horror flicks up for US remaking:
The Eye
The Ghost
One Missed Call
Phone
Pulse
Shutter
Bunshinsaba: Ouija Board
Tale of Two Sisters
Tell Me Something
Turn
and their list is missing Eye 2 which was just announced.
-Mike
"Let's make some art!"
[deleted]
Thank you, dennsylvania.
shareUtter BS. It's getting annoying seeing idiot american threads shouting "US REMAKE" all over IMDB for every non-US film. WTF is wrong with you people that everything has to be put one simply way to you in order for you to understand?
sharemozirajongo, take some pills dude, and chill out.
This Hungarian "original" movie is a blatant rip-off of the Luc Besson film "Metro" that came out in 1985 and is starring C. Lambert and I. Adjani.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090095/
Same weird freaks living in the subterranean world of a European metro/subway system, same sort of freakshow characters and off-beat story, same overall mood, same type of music, and so on. Check out the Luc Besson version before you start bitching at the Americans. They never bothered to remake the French original, anyhow. Only the Hungarians did.
I understand this "Kontroll" remake garnered up some prizes for its first-time director, but really, how could this Hungarian guy pass himself off as a writer, when this movie had been made some 2 decades earlier by the French?
"Original talent?" No, so sorrry, we just don't ahve that here, folks.
[deleted]
US remakes aren't really remakes, are they? They're like "based on a true story" movies. You take an element of the original, then throw in some celebrity 'actors' and a whole lot of movie cliches, and claim that your movie is not only original, but brilliant. It will only vaguely resemble the original, but greatly resemble every other Hollywood movie with a remotely similar premise.
shareI don't think an American remake could do this movie justice. The feeling is just set too well and I think remaking would be just like how the Ring has totally become more well known than Ringu. People might start going around like, "Oh, Control was awesome. Wasn't it based off some movie from Turkey or something like that?" It would totally demean the original, unless of course Hollywood can spew forth a masterpiece that blows the original out of the water. Even so, Kontroll is on my top ten.
shareI would be sad to see a US remake; what made this film so good was its celebration of the Hungarian spirit (and language!) Nimrod Antal in an interview said that he would not be adverse to remaking the film, but I hope he tells the Hollywood studios that he would be happy to make a DIFFERENT film entirely. He is quite the director to watch; I hope he has a long career ahead of him. This was a highly original idea; it just wouldn't work as well in the New York subway.
shareCan anybody think of one reason why this movie asks to be remade? The style and setting of the film don't really require more money, just good filmaking, which it already had. The culture and humor of the flim, while technically foriegn, is still relevant to americans. I doubt theres any jokes or abstract relationship nuances that we didn't pick up on. It may be different if remade, but realisticaly, would it really be better?
shareThe answer is complicated.
Most american remakes are made because the language barrier. While the rest of the world pretty much accepted subtitled films, the film capital's audiences don't like subtitled movies in general. It's not a big surprise after all, because the mainstream movie is around 80 percent american, i'm not counting Bollywood, or HK, because their market is mostly Asia and Africa. For Europe and the American continent it's true, i mean the percentage. :D
So a remake would be good and bad at the same time. Good because it would get to a larger audience, and it would make Nimrod and us, hungarians proud. :D
Bad because the unique hungarian side of it: ticket inspectors, people's behavior, some reference humor. It wouldn't be the same with metro-cops.
I don't know how english speaking audiences "got" the film's humor, but i read the subtitles, and it couldn't give back the humor and the sarcasm totally.
I say if they find a way to translate the essence of the film properly, then give it a try! Only for the mentioned language barrier. But honestly i don't think that it can be remade probably, or to be more realistic: they simply won't remake it. Sure it was a popular film in Hungary, plus it got a bunch of awards at important festivals. But it was not a huge blockbuster through Europe, and usually that movies are remade, like Taxi. BTW the american Taxi remake is horrible! Everyone go see the original French one! Part 2 is good too, and part 3 is ok. But trust me Taxi is a very good fun movie.
Back to Kontroll, i can always hope... :)
tschock
As I am very interested in cinema from all over the world, I have a request: Please, give me a short list of Hungarian movies you really liked. I have to chuckle, because I am from Austria, your neighbor, and if you ask me what Hungarian movies I know I can answer: "Kontroll" and that's it. So, please help me.
Any film by Istvan Szabo, (even though the languages used in them are German and English): Sunshine, Mephisto, Hanussen, Being Julia, Love Film (Szerelem); if you check out the cast and crew and filming locations, you will see a predominance of Hungarians.
Also, although this is a German-made film, "Ein Lied von Tod und Liebe (aka Gloomy Sunday), takes place in Budapest with lots of Hungarians in the lesser roles. Often Budapest is used as a "stand-in" for other cities in Europe: Paris, London...
I suspect with Nimrod Antal in Budapest, we will see more Hungarian film in the coming years, and it will be good!
I have forgotten that Szabo is Hungarian. Of course I know some of his Movies.
And I have forgotten Béla Tarr.
So, there are many different film making generations. I'll name three of them: one between the two world wars and a bit after the second, a few names: Gyula Kabos, Kálmán Latabár, Katalin Karády etc. The movies are Meseautó; Hyppolit a lakáj; Egy szoknya, egy nadrág etc. these are mainly romantic comedies.
Then there's the late fities sixties, seventies generation, with one of the best hungarian comedies ever made: A tanu (The Witness) with Ferenc Kállay in the lead role. There's Egri Csillagok (Stars of Eger), a great historic film. There are other great filmmakers just naming a few: Zoltán Fábry, Péter Tímár, Károly Makk, Péter Bacsó, Róbert Koltai (also a great actor) etc. Other significant movies from the eighties and nineties: Egészséges erotika (Healthy erotics), Sose halunk meg, Indul a bakterház, Roncsfilm etc.
And finally there's the new generation of filmmakers like: Nimród Antal, Kornél Mundruczó, Ferenc Török, Benedek Fliegauf, Iván Kapitány etc. And the movies are: Moszkva tér (Moscow square), Hukkle, Üvegtigris, Kontroll, Johanna, A miniszter félrelép (produced by Andy Vajna), Sorstalanság (Fateless) etc.
And of course there are István Szabó's movies, like Mephisto (Academy Award), Sunshine, Szembesítés, Being Julia etc.
There are many more, but i hope this list helps a bit. And by the way, you know that we call Austria/Österreich our brother-in-law, so yes, i know that you're our neighbour. :) The memory of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (We call it Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia) still survives with all the good and bad things. :)
My humble opinion is that most remakes are hopeless. They never capture the spirit of the original. Example: Vanilla Sky (lame remake of Abre los Ojos, a wonderful Spanish film; The Vanishing (even lamer remake of the excellent and creepy Dutch film Spoorlos) I could go on and on, but you get the idea....
Sadly, Hollywood's decisions about what to film for the American audiences are heavily slanted towards box office predictions, not script merit. I grew up in the film industry; it fed me and sent me to college, but I rarely see Hollywood films these days. Thank God for Netflix, which provides me with a great source of foreign and independent films I would never get to see otherwise! (And no, I don't work for Netflix....)
"Can anybody think of one reason why this movie asks to be remade?"
Sure, Greed. There is a lot of money to be made by films in the US, but Hollywood doesn't like to take chances on original ideas, they like things less risky. Remakes take something that's 'proven' so the executives and bean counters can lessen the risk. Hollywood thinks of foreign (non-US) films as test screenings.
So why not just release non-US films in the US? Because (and this is where greed come is) the sad fact is they won't earn close to the box office receipts of a remake.
First, a very large portion of the US movie-going public can't deal with subtitles. This is especially true for younger audiences. The largest demographic of movie-goers in the US is something like 16-24 year olds. If a film with a potentially large young audience isn't in English, then the distributer has already lost a majority of the potential audience. So Hollywood's response is to remake the film in english.
Second, and even a bigger factor, is that the US is a nation of celebrity. A film is going to exponentially better in ticket sales depending on the "stars" involved. That's why Hollywood stars make so much money, their very presence in a film (and name on the poster) can influence how well a movie does dramatically. So Hollywood's answer is to remake foreign films with popular American "actors".
So given the choice between an excellent film in a forein language with unknown actors and a mediocre english remake with popular celebrities the vast majority of Americans will choose the inferior film. That's not to say there aren't a lot of us who know better, but unfortunately we are in the minority.
-Mike
"Let's make some art!"
So given the choice between an excellent film in a forein language with unknown actors and a mediocre english remake with popular celebrities the vast majority of Americans will choose the inferior film.
Not only the Americans. In my country ALL movies are dubbed, but Hollywood movies are the most successful ones.
So, what do you think? Hollywood is blaming Filesharing and Pirates for their decreasing profit (Is this the right English term?). Do you think that's the only reason? To what degree do the new better HomeTVcinemas or the fact, Hollywood is mainly doing remakes many people don't want to see, influence the dropping profit?
First, I don't necessarily accept tht profits are down. I've read a couple of articles that argue this point. If it is true then I wouldn't blame file sharing, I would blame the quality of films and the ability to get folks to go to theaters to watch them. A lot of folks just want to be 'wow-ed' by multi-million dollar spectacle movies, and Hollywood has come to believe that pouring a lot of money into F/X extravaganzas are a sure thing. Then you get a few like Stealth and The Island which aren't and Hollywood looses a lot of money.
Personally I hate the whole trend in remakes, but I don't know if that goes for most people. Remakes and sequels have always been able to draw an audience. Too many folks just want to see something they liked over and over again. I think we have more remakes these days than ever before so perhaps it's just the glut of them that is turning folks off. I also think that home video/DVD, cable, and HD TV all take away from folks going to the movies. And rising ticket prices don't help.
But I do think that the quality of Hollywood studio pictures is pretty bad these days. The best American stuff is independently produced. This is probably because Hollywood is taking all art and creativity out of films and treating it as pure product. Films these days are designed by committee, cast not by acting ability but by what stars are 'hot' and tweaked in after test screenings to appeal to specific age groups. Hollywood studio films seem to all be products targeted at specific demographics rather than artistic creation that attract folks because of their quality.
-Mike
"Let's make some art!"
profits are down....a couple of articles that argue this point
Do you have links? Because by reading one of our major newspapers it's like a crusade against pirates and filesharer. Hollywood is blaming these "criminals" to be the only fault that "good old Hollywood is dying" (Quote: Waterloo & Robinson) of starvation. I get more and more the feeling that the real criminal is Hollywood.
blame the quality of films
exactly
want to be 'wow-ed' by multi-million dollar spectacle movies
So do I.
pouring a lot of money into F/X extravaganzas are a sure thing
They are so wrong. For example: I have seen "Brothers Grimm" (I didn't like it). To take away the possibility that Terry Gilliam uses real props and creating "real" monsters and forests etc. with papier-mâché and cloth should be a big No-No. I am one of the few who loves his Munchhausen. But think about his Jabberwocky or the Knight in "The Fisher King". He is a genius in this.
On the other side take the CGI hell in "Constantine" it just didn't work; It was hollow.
Personally I hate the whole trend in remakes
Me too. With few exceptions.
Too many folks just want to see something they liked over and over again
It ended for me when I knew after just five minutes watching a movie how the story would develope and end (And I'm not interested in twist endings if it's the only thing a movie can offer or if it doesn't fit). Most Hollywood movies have the same scheme. I call them "tin-products" (freely translated).
we have more remakes these days than ever before
Is it so? In the past (three years ago) when I had no internet and no IMDB I just didn't know if a movie was an original or a remake. Mostly you did't hear anything about the original version. But now studying the IMDB and reading some boards I become more and more aware of the remake-fact.
glut
Wow, thanks! I learned a new English word.
Hollywood studio pictures is pretty bad these days
Was there really a better time or is it just that you only remember the good movies? When I check my DVD list I notice three things: First I own more DVDs made in the last couple of years than from the time before; Second I don't own more Hollywood movies from say 2002 than from 1992 (the years are just random picks); and third I own more Non-Hollywood movies dated after 1995 than dated between 1985 and 1995 (because of the fact that I become aware of more non-US-movies by studying the IMDB)
The best American stuff is independently produced
For example...?
I have seen "House of D" (correct me if it isn't an independent movie)which I really liked.
Hollywood is taking all art and creativity out of films
What a pity!!! In Hollywood are the best people, but they are forced to do mediocre movies. Great directors like Walter Salles or Lee Tamahori go to Hollywood and leave every sense of good moviemaking behind. I hope some day those directors go back to their countrys and do something special again or that the producers of Hollywood realise one day what they have and encourage those big talents to be creative, to be bold and do special movies again.
The rest is silence.
"Do you have links?"
Not offhand, but if I come across any of them I'll get back to you. I recall a couple of articles from around the middle of the year when a lot of studio reps were crying about profits being down that argued that it wasn't really true.
"want to be 'wow-ed' by multi-million dollar spectacle movies
So do I."
I'd rather be wow-ed by original and interesting stories, great dialog, exceptional acting and exciting direction. F/X rarely do it for me any more.
"Terry Gilliam... He is a genius in this."
Absolutely. One of the great visual directors, but he knows that visuals alone can't carry a film.
"we have more remakes these days than ever before
Is it so?"
Yes. There have been times in the past when Hollywood was sequel crazy, much mor so than today, but the remake craze has hit a new high.
"Was there really a better time or is it just that you only remember the good movies?"
I think the 70's was probably the best time in American cinema. Partially because the Hayes code was gone, but mostly because the studios just didn't understand the whole youth culture of the time and gave a lot of young directors a whole lot of freedom. Cinema being art, and art being subjective, many would disagree with me, but personally, if I were putting together a list of the best American films probably 75% of them would come from the 1970's. I believe that is because, for the reasons stated above, writers and directors at that time had creative freedom that they didn't have before and haven't had since.
"The best American stuff is independently produced
For example...? "
On a personal level some of my favorite films from the last few years were things like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Donnie Darko. Even films like Sin City and Devil's Rejects are technically independents in that they were made outside of the major studios.
Or to look at it more objectively, 4 of the 5 nominees for best picture (including the winning film) at the Academy Awards last year were independently produced. Clint Eastwood had to go out and find his own financing for Million Dollar Baby because no studio would finance it. That was a $30 mil picture, yet they'll drop $60 mil on Doom or $100 mil on Stealth or $126 mil on The Island.
-Mike
"Let's make some art!"
I'd rather be wow-ed by original and interesting stories
So do I. On the one hand I love movies like "Spider-man 2", "X-Men 2" and (Dare I say it?) "Armageddon" and on the other hand I love movies like "Bin-jip", "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" or "Code inconnu". Well it seems that it always comes back to America against the rest of the world. (Beeing a bit sarcastic)
Terry Gilliam... he knows that visuals alone can't carry a film
He's my man.
Hayes code
Haven't heard of it before, so thanks again, it is very interesting (and reminds me in a way of Von Triers and Vinterbergs "Dogma 95")
http://www.artsreformation.com/a001/hays-code.html
probably 75% of them would come from the 1970's
Hmmm, have to check this.
directors at that time had creative freedom
I hope history repeats itself in this aspect, too. "You may say Im a dreamer, but I'm not the only one".
4 of the 5 nominees for best picture ...at the Academy Awards last year were independently produced
Sorry to be so ignorant, but what other independently produced movies and which not independently produced movie were nominated? I couldn't find it on the internet.
"Haven't heard of it before, so thanks again, it is very interesting (and reminds me in a way of Von Triers and Vinterbergs "Dogma 95")"
Gads! That make the Hayes code sound like a good thing. It wasn't, it was self imposed censorship. Try this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_code
"Sorry to be so ignorant, but what other independently produced movies and which not independently produced movie were nominated? I couldn't find it on the internet."
The Best Picture nominees were The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray, and Sideways. The Aviator was the only studio production.
http://www.oscar.com/nominees/nominees.html
-Mike
"Let's make some art!"
That make the Hayes code sound like a good thing.
But it is interesting nevertheless. And make no mistake: If the principles of "Dogma 95" were used universally they would be a bad thing, too. They are a kind of censorship. On the other hand perhaps the Hays-Code would be looked at as something positive if there were done only a bunch of movies using these guidelines.
I couldn't check your link yet. The wikipedia server makes trouble.
So, was this guy called Hayes or Hays? On the internet you can find both spellings.
"On the other hand perhaps the Hays-Code would be looked at as something positive if there were done only a bunch of movies using these guidelines. "
Personally I'm against censorship in films.
"I couldn't check your link yet. The wikipedia server makes trouble. "
Sorry.
The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 was called the Hays Code after Will H. Hays who was president of the MPAA at the time. Basically the conservatives and bible-belt folks were complaing about declining morality in movies, so the MPAA came up with the Hays Code and all the studios agreed to abide by it. This heinous code was in effect from 1932 to 1967. You've seen it so you know that it basically ripped a lot of valid artistic expression out of films. I'm very thankful that this was done away with.
-Mike
"Let's make some art!"
Hi
Can anybody think of one reason why this movie asks to be remade?I'll give you two:
thank god this was posted four years ago because i will kill someone if this gets remade.
shareSure, go to prison because of a movie, maybe they will make a movie out of it! :D
I am also glad that this masterpiece won't be ruined by a bad remake. Just look what happened with the french Taxi series!
I am sorry so many of you think Americans are all idiots that need a remake. I agree, much of Hollywood is complete crap, but much of the sentiment of this movie is difficult to explain to Americans as we know nothing of your land. I am very interested in Western European history, but it does not mean I would understand this movie. You hear a million comments about how Scorsese's movie wasnt as good as Internal Affairs, yet after watching a couple of times I realized what he put into it. It isnt the same movie, its a story that otherwise wouldnt have been made. Every country perceives things differently, if it is remade hopefully someone can inject the same type of attitude to it.
Americans see things in their own light because there is no influence coming in. When it does it is very often appreciated but not by the masses; I'm sure you cry when someone in your country loves an attrocious American film. So do we. Please don't generalize us all, some look forward to intelligent film.
I know where a lot of anti-American sentiment comes from, but your country plays these "crap" films. Maybe we are all part of the same group.
Seems that Hollywood won't ruin this movie in particular. I hope not to see a crappy adaptation of another "foreign" jewel.
What I hate the most is that Hollywood benefits economically the most from the talent of independent filmmakers around the world.
How much money did the mediocre film called "K-Pax" that it's only a remake of the superior argentinean film "Man Facing Southeast" (Hombre mirando al sudeste). And how much money Eliseo Subiela (director and writer of the original film) did receive? Just a tiny fraction!
Vanilla Sky was a box office hit with more than 200 millions dollars, but Amenábar's "Open Your Eyes" (Abre los ojos), the movie of which Vanilla Sky it's a remake, remains unknown for most people in USA despite being a much better film.
I could name dozens of examples more. Hopefully Nimród and his work won't be raped by Hollywood.
I now have this image of Nicholas Cage running around the New York Subway earnestly confronting his demons, then finally bursting into the glorious sunshine in Times Square or some such place, and buying a pretzel from a street vendor with a beatific smile on his face.
It's a bloody nightmare.
Send the BNP back to the gutter: http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/index.php?getPage=link5h
Why? Isn't the original good enough?
Just goes to show that America is bankrupt of ideas of their own.
"I am not very successful as a little girl, when I grow up, I will probably be a mess."
[deleted]
I wouldn't say America is bankrupt of ideas, I would say corporate Hollywood is scared of new ideas. Personally I would rather see this than a remake ( Kontroll is in my netflix que). People say "Americans can't/won't read subtitles". Hmmm. When I went to the premiere of the Russian film Daywatch, the theater was packed. This was in Sacramento,not LA. Just my own 2 cents. I am Hungarian and have been wanting to see some good films from Hungary.This looks great.=)
share"I wouldn't say America is bankrupt of ideas, I would say corporate Hollywood is scared of new ideas. Personally I would rather see this than a remake ( Kontroll is in my netflix que). People say "Americans can't/won't read subtitles". Hmmm. When I went to the premiere of the Russian film Daywatch, the theater was packed. This was in Sacramento,not LA. Just my own 2 cents. I am Hungarian and have been wanting to see some good films from Hungary.This looks great.=)"
People have a far too romantic view of Hollywood and the motion picture industry. Making movies is a business and they are supposed to make money. As such, it's not that Hollywood is afraid of new ideas per se, it's more that they're afraid of losing money on something that isn't a sure thing. I guess you could say that they're afraid that potential audiences are afraid of new ideas.
I thought Memento was an extremely good movie and actually saw it in the theater three times. Lifetime gross, 40 million worldwide. I never bothered watching Titanic as it seemed too cliché and although it came out four years before Memento, it almost grossed 2 billion worldwide. It's very rare when the movies that are more recognized for their quality have people watching them repeatedly, something that hurts their potential as well. There are some exceptions of course (My Big Fat Greek Wedding at 368 million worldwide) but, those are few and far between.
And yes some Americans don't mind reading subtitles. However, I used to work as a manager at a movie theater, and the number of people who asked for refunds because they didn't know a certain movie was subtitled was disturbing. I count Daywatch as an exception to this because of the popularity of Nightwatch which I believe was due to the subject matter.
makes me ashamed to be American, honestly
shareby the way, Oldboy is being remade, and will star Will Smith
honestly, it just makes me sad at this point...it's the ultimate triumph of profit over art
There's less risk in remaking outstanding foreign films when it come to profit, but if you're like me, you've seen and enjoyed the foreign films already, and the remakes always fall short of the original
ARGH why do Present-Day Hollywood feel the need to remake EVERYTHING!?!?!
it's not just foreign cinema, but remaking old classics just to flog dead horses and leach off others successes because they lack originality.
The only point in remaking this is to make money. I am American and I am very happy with the original.
"Hey Scully, check this out. Mango Kiwi Tropical Swirl. Now we KNOW we're dealing with a madman."
i wish they would make a HD release of this film but it seems unlikely since its foreign, and like many here have said, about as far from big-time hollywood as you can get. but i can still hope once they get done releasing all of the major movies from the last 30 years in HD, there will finally be demand for these lesser gems which no one would think to do first.
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