The Wicker Man remake

[Tony Pendrey]

"Cinema Heritage" may be a little too strong a term to be applied to "The Wicker Man". Remember that it was reviled opon it's release and has only come to be appreciated in relatively recent times. I love the original but when all is said and done it is just a film. The idea of a remake doesn't fill me with horror. The original still stands, and if US film producers feel that there can be a worthwhile "remake" then good luck to them. I was pleasantly suprised at the updated US version of "The Ladykillers". They kept suprisingly faithful to the original "classic".

[smudge]

Simply vote with your feet ; let them waste their money...

I didn't even sniff the remakes of THE ITALIAN JOB, THE LADYKILLERS and ALFIE. Why bother when I can sit at home and watch the originals in whatever format I desire ? And no rip-off popcorn either !

Only one good thing came out of these remakes ; my local cineplex decided to screen the one true ITALIAN JOB as a one-off classic screening. :grin:

A week later we had the proper GET CARTER as well.

Who knows, they might do the same with WICKER MAN ? Not that it'll persuade me to see the remake.

Now MAY DAY, that's another thing entirely....

SMUDGE

[Tony Pendrey]

"I didn't even sniff the remakes of THE ITALIAN JOB, THE LADYKILLERS and ALFIE. Why bother when I can sit at home and watch the originals in whatever format I desire ?"

Sorry Smudge, but why take that attitude ? It is possible to make a good film based on what we now think of as a "classic".

I can't comment on the remakes of "Alfie" or "The Italian Job" , but I re-iterate that the Tom Hanks version of "The Ladykillers" is a really good film.

[DB7]

Originally posted by smudge@Mar 4 2005, 03:07 PM Now MAY DAY, that's another thing entirely....

Hardy could use the Doves version of Willow's Song.

[DB7]

Originally posted by Tony Pendrey@Mar 4 2005, 06:50 PM Sorry Smudge, but why take that attitude ? It is possible to make a good film based on what we now think of as a "classic".

Sit thru Stallone's Get Carter (all the way, no cheating) then come back. The Italian Job remake had the most laughabloe 'Italian' connection and could have been retitled Ocean's 11 in Mini's.

Can't comment in an unbiased fashion about Hanks because I detest his films with a passion.

[anthony chubb]

i must say a few words in defence of remakes there have been some good remakes even some better ones
pimpernel /tale of two cities/great expectations etc
just because they were first doesnt mean they were the best

the 1951 version of scrooge WAS the best even though it was not the first

things like rocky and bogey man deterioted with each remake !

[Allen Dace]

Originally posted by DB7@Mar 4 2005, 07:25 PM Sit thru Stallone's Get Carter (all the way, no cheating) then come back. The Italian Job remake had the most laughabloe 'Italian' connection and could have been retitled Ocean's 11 in Mini's. Can't comment in an unbiased fashion about Hanks because I detest his films with a passion.

Well I'm a Michael Caine completist so i had to see the 'Get Carter' remake because he's in it. Its nothing compared to the classic original but still a watchable time passer.

I haven't seen 'The Italian Job' remade.

Neither have I yet seen the Hanks 'Ladykillers' but I would hope that it has some value specifically because it was made by Joel and Ethan Coen who are always interesting film-makers.

Ditto the proposed 'Wicker Man' remake. How can one improve on the special quality of the original? I don't think you can but the director isn't some hack but Neil LaBute, one of the most innovative and stimulating playwright/directors today. I'd want to see it in the same way that I'd want to see any work he produces.

[smudge]

Originally posted by Tony Pendrey@Mar 4 2005, 06:50 PM "I didn't even sniff the remakes of THE ITALIAN JOB, THE LADYKILLERS and ALFIE. Why bother when I can sit at home and watch the originals in whatever format I desire ?" Sorry Smudge, but why take that attitude ? It is possible to make a good film based on what we now think of as a "classic". I can't comment on the remakes of "Alfie" or "The Italian Job" , but I re-iterate that the Tom Hanks version of "The Ladykillers" is a really good film.

Don't get me wrong Tony, I have occasionally tried with remakes ; particularly updates of TV shows into movies, and on the whole I have been disappointed. Personally I am not a fan of Hanks, so however good the LADYKILLERS remake might be, I won't be there. Besides, I read from reviews that it had an intolerable amount of swear words per minute. I assume that this is simply to be 'cool' to modern audiences.

What did the original achieve ? And how many swear words are there in it ? I find such things quite pathetic - from what I read it was just swearing for its own sake. THE ITALIAN JOB I was shon 5 minutes by a friend - that was enough.

Problem is that so many modern actors have to show you how good they are at ACTING (duh) and few of them have any real character. And say what you like, I can't see how they'll possibly improve on THE WICKER MAN.

Nicholas Cage (unless he's improved greatly latterly ?) is appalling.

SMUDGE

[Tony Pendrey]

Well, the way I see it is, that a good film is based on a good story or script.. "Ladykillers" is a good story, and it made a good film in 1955 and again in 2003. "The Wicker Man" is an excellent story, I have read the book. They made an unexpectedly good film from it. I can't honestly see them trying to improve on the original. As you say, how could they ? BUT, I still think they can take the basic story and still make a good film. If it turns out to be a stinker, then so be it. It can never detract from the original. If anything a poor remake will tend to enhance the reputation of it's model, and if someone enjoys the remake they may actually be encouraged to look at what it was based on. Which can only be a good thing.

Well, that's all from me ! The sun is out and I can practically see the bloody grass growing.

[samkydd]

Originally posted by Clinton Morgan@Jan 16 2005, 01:42 PM John Waters once said, about a planned Hollywood remake of 'Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', " Why do they want to remake the good films, surely they should remake the bad ones." With that in mind maybe Nic Cage should appear in a remake of 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen' the worst British film I have ever seen. I think the writer might be Neil LaBute. There was an interview with him of the type that went..."I know it's a loved classic but it is a flawed film because blah blah blah." Not realising it is the 'imperfections'and 'idiosyncracies' that make the film. I'd rather watch that than Michael Bay's shiny bombs in 'Pearl Harbor'. No mention of a remake on Imdb or up-coming-movies so fingers crossed they might have abandoned the idea.

John Waters was spot on!

Why do film makers have the arrogance to believe that they can do a better job in remaking a once great film? It's like talentless karaoke-type pop stars doing cover versions of classic hit records, the punters will buy it because the song is familiar to them and was great all those years before! Why not just re-release the original?

[Steve Crook]

Originally posted by samkydd@Apr 25 2005, 12:07 PM John Waters was spot on! Why do film makers have the arrogance to believe that they can do a better job in remaking a once great film? It's like talentless karaoke-type pop stars doing cover versions of classic hit records, the punters will buy it because the song is familiar to them and was great all those years before! Why not just re-release the original?

I don't think it's as complex as that. They see that the film was popular and made money last time - so their instinct is to do the same thing again.

Remember that Hollywoodland (& even much of the British film industry) is run by accountants. Artistic considerations don't get a look in.

Steve

[DB7]

The Stax Report: Script Review of The Wicker Man

June 29, 2005 - Stax here with a review of the screenplay for The Wicker Man! This long-in-development project, written and to be directed by Neil LaBute (Nurse Betty), will finally go before cameras next month in Vancouver. Nicolas Cage stars. The film is based on the 1973 cult classic of the same name, although LaBute recently said that his version may be retitled simply Wicker Man. The teaser poster can be seen to your right; click on it for a larger version.


There will be some SPOILERS in this review but it's necessary when contrasting this version with the original. I'll try to be on my best behavior.

LaBute's Wicker Man screenplay is largely faithful in plot and structure to the original film but with some notable alterations to the main character and to the community he encounters. As in the 1973 film, this story follows a cop (Cage) sent to the remote island of SummerIsle to investigate the disappearance of a little girl after receiving a letter apparently from the child's mother. What the pious policeman finds is a bizzare community whose curious religious practices may be the cause of the girl's disappearance ... if she is indeed missing or dead. The cop's investigation leads to some incendiary conclusions.

That's the plot of both the original film and this remake in a nutshell. In this draft, SummerIsle (that's how it's spelled here) is no longer an isolated Scottish habitation but rather an off-limits private island in Puget Sound. The cop, named Sgt. Howie in the original, is now Edward Malus. Sgt. Howie was written by screenwriter Anthony Shaffer as a sanctimonious, sexually repressed powder keg; Howie was a virgin whose self-control and lofty convictions were tested by SummerIsle's more comely residents (namely Britt Ekland).

The original Wicker Man was essentially a cautionary tale about one religious zealot running afoul of an entire group of them. It's labeled a horror film but it was far more cerebral fare, a character study with creepy (and sometimes very trippy) elements rather than an all-out scarefest (its ending was the most gripping part). The film's tension stemmed from Sgt. Howie's fire-and-brimstone authoritarianism and stifling self-discipline contrasted with the sensual nature of the inhabitants of SummerIsle. In other words, we knew these people were getting to him and we wanted to see what effect they would have on Howie.

My problems with this draft all stem from the changes made to the main character. Malus isn't anywhere near as intense or conflicted as Howie; indeed, compared to him, Malus is a relative dork. He is allergic to bee stings and carries his bee sting kit with him when he travels to SummerIsle (along with his rosary beads and self-help tapes). He is a California cop out removed to this isolated Washington community. His very modern manner contrasts with the simplicity of the locals; think Witness but if it were remade as horror-lite.

As LaBute himself has already revealed in interviews, this protagonist is not a virgin. Apparently, contemporary audiences will believe that there is a community in North America where residents makes offerings to a giant "wicker man" but they won't buy a hero who hasn't done the deed. Maybe he's right. Unfortunately, transforming the main character into an adult version of Macauley Culkin's character from My Girl robs the story of what gave the original film so much of its impact.

Malus isn't nearly the threat to SummerIsle that Howie was, and they don't seem to get under his skin as much as the villagers did in the '73 version. Without that contrast there isn't as much tension, making the story basically a whodunit (and then later a whydunit). The biggest threat to the hero in the original film was what they were going to do to him (there are worse things than sex, Howie!). That wasn't so much the case in this draft, which was ironic considering this SummerIsle is a matriarchal society and thus there are far more women for the hero to encounter.

Lord Summerisle (played by a bewigged Christopher Lee) is now Sister SummerIsle. The residents' most important crop is honey (hence, a lot of bee imagery and Malus' allergies to them). The missing girl's name is Rowan Woodward, which makes for a nice nod to the star of the original film, Edward Woodward. Edward (Malus), (Rowan) Woodward ... get it? There's a twist to Rowan's character that goes well beyond what happened in the first movie but I won't divulge it.

Whereas the denizens of Shaffer's SummerIsle worshipped Celtic gods, these inhabitants, as LaBute has said, have more of a "Dionysian vibe." They are out to appease the gods of nature, making them more earthy crunchy rather than wanton pagans as in the original (but they retain the "wicker man" ritual).

Like the 1973 film, I found this story more interesting than chilling, more curious than creepy. However, it lacked the key ingredients that made the original film so compelling, namely the extraordinary sexual and religious tension between the cop and the townsfolk. Maybe that will be more apparent in the final film but this Wicker Man came across as a surprisingly lukewarm retelling.

[Diane Blackwell]

I now have the same debate with myself that I had when that awful version of Hitch Hiker's Guide .... was brought out - do I go and see it, and risk wasting my money, or do I wait and see what other people think of it first? As you can see, my expectations are not high - although Chris Lee is in it, so either he needs the money, or he rates it .... oh, the dilemma .....

[Jennie_Kermode]

What's the point in telling the story at all if they're going to remove the hero's virginity? That's the whole reason for his selection and the testing he has to go through; it's the reason why, in the relevant traditions, his soul is considered valuable enough that it might be a sufficient sacrifice to help the Summerisle residents out of their predicament. Changing this will ruin the eerie atmosphere which develops as the viewer realises how far-reaching and intricate the process of leading him to his doom has been.

Jennie

[smudge]

It doesn't sound too good, does it ?

If it does end up in the can, I may watch it when it arrives on SKY, simply because I shall be looking longingly at the screen when the wicker man is lit thinking, "If only.."

They seem determined to see off anything which gave the original its atmosphere and tension. It was that clash of beliefs that created Howie's spiral of doom ; what will we feel for this 'dorky' bee fearing plod ? Not a lot.

The original film cranked up the intensity as you got involved with the characters - you felt Howie's claustraphobia on the island ; you felt his frustration and (most importantly) you felt his fear.

If you can't engage with the hero, you have nothing. Save your money...

SMUDGE