Modern Remakes of Classic Films at the Nichols Library

Last week, this reviewer chanced to see all three full-length versions of the film classic King Kong on cablevision.  There was some skepticism regarding the remakes. Would the story still packed the psychic punch it had for 30’s audiences. Surprisingly, the story has some resonance and there were things to appreciate in the remakes, particularly Peter Jackson’s 2006 version. In any case, it got this reviewer to thinking about other notable adaptations of well-known films, which brings us to the subject of this weeks column. Here are six remakes of classic films available at the Nichols Library in Center Harbor (viewers interested in the originals can request them as interlibrary loans).

     The original King Kong, ranked in the American Film Institutes best 50 best films, has been praised as ‘one of the greatest adventure films of all time. The "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous ... neither beast nor man" captivated 30’s audiences, and Kong’s last stand atop the Empire State remains an iconic image. The 70’s remake did not fare so well (said one reviewer, it “nearly destroyed Jessica Lange's acting career before it started.”).  On the other hand, Peter Jackson's Kong marries breathtaking visual prowess with a surprising emotional depth . Naomi Watts stars in the Faye Wray role, Adrian Bordy as her love interest and Jack Black as the man who conspires to bring Kong back to civilization. Jackosn’s film is by turns “terrifying and awe-inspiring. The choreography and execution of the action set pieces is nothing short of landmark filmmaking.”  The budding attachment between beauty Ann and her  beast soul mate is tenderly and humorously drawn.

    I am Legend, featuring Will Smith, is the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic science-fiction novel.  In it, Robert Neville is the lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. In the 1971 version, The Omega Man, Charlton Heston played the Neville role, in a film that ”painted a convincing portrait of hope and despair.”  The new version somewhat alters Matheson’s central hook. Smith’s Neville becomes a military scientist charged with finding a cure for the virus that turns people into zombies. Director Francis Lawrence crafted extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal overrun by wild animals. He builds suspense by withholding images of the monsters until well into the story, and Smith gives a noteworthy performance.

     Viewers looking for lighter entertainment might enjoy the Coen Brothers adaptation of The Ladykillers. The original, in which a motley team of con men hides out in the home of a genteel lady, is still considered to be “among the greatest movie comedies ever made.” The Coen Brothers' remake moves from London to the Gulf Coast of Missippi.   It features Tom Hanks as eccentric Prof. Goldthwait Higgins Dorr, Ph.D, as the deliciously verbose flim-flam man who    rents a Church lady’s spare room, planning to tunnel from her root cellar to a casino's vault.  His unlikely crew includes a TC stunt coordinator, an exiled Vietnamese general, and a balck janitor from the casino. The Coen’s ear for American voices is delightfully in play, from Hank’s oozing to Irma Hall’s churchy righteousness to Marlon Wyans hip-hop effusions. The film also boasts a solid musical score, with several fine gospel performances.    Though less droll that the British original, it is hilarious in its own right, and Tom Hanks looks like he is having an enormous good time.        

All the Kings Men is a remake of the 1949 classic about a charismatic populist Southern politician (inspired by the real Louisiana Governor Huey Long) who belies his "man of the people" roots as he ruthlessly maneuvers, lies, and deals his way into the halls of power. That film won  Academy Awards for director Robert Rossen and actor Broderick Crawford in the title role. In the new version, Sean Penn is ‘riveting” as Louisiana governor Willie Stark, whose rise to power is ultimately doomed by corruption and betrayal.  Jude Law plays a cynical reporter who borrows into the secrets of an opposition judge played by Anthony Hopkins, and Kate Winslet is Law’s former love, who finds herself drawn to the charismatic governor.  This is 'a serious, well-crafted drama' which explores the fine between the uses and abuses of power.

            Finally, Tombstone is the latest entry in the Wyatt Earp Legend. The Earp story has been fertile ground for filmaking, from Henry Fonda's elegiac My Darling Clementine, to Burt Lancaster’s stolid but-not-quite- epic Gunfight at the O.K. Corall, and Kevin Costner’s dour Wyatt Earp. Unlike Gunfight and Clementine, Tombstone holds close to the main points of the Earp story. Unlike Costner’s film, which aimed to expose the dark side of the lawman, Tombstone celebrates the legend.  In a film marked by notable acting, Val Kilmer stands out in his ferociously eccentric take on the dying gunslinger Doc Holliday.