Published at: Feb. 7, 2002, 7:01 p.m. CST by staff
Hey folks, Harry here... I went on a rant about remakes today and someone in the talkback screamed about my hypocrisy in choosing which remakes to get excited about and which ones not to get excited about.
For me if word on a remake comes instantly attached with quality filmmakers attached that have made passionate material of the type, I get excited. Case in point, INSOMNIA. This is a remake of a BRILLIANT foriegn film of the same name. I can not recommend enough the original film INSOMNIA -- it is simply one of the most harrowingly disturbing crime thrillers that I have ever had the pleasure to see. The only reason I'm not rabidly against seeing an English language version is that Christopher "MEMENTO" Nolan is directing it as his follow-up to MEMENTO. That they have assembled a sterling cast and that Steven Soderbergh is attached as a producer.
Other cases where I get excited about a remake is when the filmmaker originates the interest in the remake. Meaning, they themselves wrote the script, developed the property and have a unique and fresh take on the material. This is how Leone took on Kurosawa, how Carpenter took on Hawks, how Hitchcock took on Hitchcock and so on.
Having said that, I would be far more interested in Christopher Nolan developing original material because I just do not believe that I will be as compelled or disturbed by the American INSOMNIA as I was the original. I can tell from the trailer alone that Stellan Skarsgård's sweaty desperate somnumbulist-like jaw-hanging performance wrought with anguish feels more honest than Pacino. But I am hoping for the best. The trailer looks like a good movie. Looks more arty than your typical Warner Brothers production, and that's a hell-of-a-good thing. Here's the link....
