MovieChat Forums > The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2006) Discussion > Why?

Why?

posted 18 years ago by ZzAlzZ
1 reply | jump to latest

I was very pleased to hear that a Jekyll/Hyde movie was being heard. But then I saw the cast and the trailer. (If you wanna see it go to jekyllandhydemovie.com). Why did they have to americanise/modernise it?! They should have left it as a period horror because something will be lost in translation.
Why does Hollywood keep doing this? Making Excellent books into *beep* movies? Why it really pisses me off. Although I have to admit that I haven't seen the movie so I can't really judge but from what I can guess from the trailer it has something to do with monkeys and chemical testing.

[–] image-2 18 years ago

Because.

Perhaps it is because of the 35 films or so that have already been made from the Robert Louis Stevenson novella, thirty of them HAVE been period pieces, and they have all been basic retreads of each other.

The story is a powerful one. In the novella Jekyll wanted to stray from his Victorian morality and restraints and avoid the possible ensuing scandle. As a doctor in Victorian England, there were certain things one dare not do. --He wanted to be wild, stay out late, carouse and otherwise raise hell-- and he did so by creating Hyde and living through his adventures. Kind'a boring actually by today's standards.

Certainly, in today's world there are many drug transformed deviants walking the streets. The Victorian Mr. Hyde would not make much of an impact in today's world. He'd be just another creep.

If one is to make a movie based upon this powerful story, it should be relevant to today's audience. It is interesting to note that the story and events in the new film are extremely close to the original, even though it has been updated.