Blade Runner still holds up well in today's time. It's not exactly an action packed film. It's a killer story though with great acting and directing. It'd be cool if they remade it in 20 years or so with the digital 3d technology.
why?
That's the thing i don't like about remakes. To me, there's no solid justification in remaking a movie. The only reason movies are remade are, as far as i have read, are the following:
1. The director had a problem with something in the original. Example: Rob Zombie stated that he didn't like how Dr. Loomis is portrayed in the original as a guy who just pops up every so often just to yell "EEEEVIL!!!!" But in reality, who gives a ****? There's a die hard fan base for the original. People live and die for that movie. And where im not a big fan, i respect and understand and think that it's a damn good movie. With that said, i dont look at a film such as Suspiria and go "That throat cutting scene really fake looking. Someone should remake it!!!". And that's the logic alot of directors have when it comes to remaking movies. I mean, what next? A director says he wants to remake a movie because there's a goof in which a guy lights up a cigarette one scene and in the next scene the cigarette is half gone?
I mean, Cronenberg's "The Fly" and Carpenter's "The Thing" are the ONLY remakes that i've seen that i can truly consider great remakes. Hell, i don't even consider them remakes. "The Fly" comes off as if Cronenberg completely disregarded the original's existence and went "I've got this idea for a movie in which a guy mutates into a human/fly hybrid that i think would be a good movie" and the rest is history. "The Thing" is just a more faithful version to the story. The original, despite being a good movie, comes off more as a typical sci-fi movie. A vegatable monster? It doesn't really resemble the story at all, with the basic core of the plot: A group of men in an arctic research facility getting stalked by an alien creature.
Blade Runner, despite not being entirely true to the novel(unless someone can correct me. ive never read the book, but from what i've read of the history of the film, it isn't super faithful), but it's such a truly GREAT movie that a remake just to get it closer to the novel would just be stupid. The only justifiable reason to remake a movie based on a book is if the original hardly resembles the book at all. Hence why i'm anxiously awaiting someone to do a faithful adaptation of Dracula. All would have been well had Lugosi's version been filmed like the Spanish version. Even if it wasn't faithful, it would have been awsome and nothing to complain about.
Moving on...
2. Dated effects. For me, watching a movie like Escape from New York is a great time. The effects don't bother me at all. And if they look fake, so what? The logic behind wanting to remake it to update the effects just seems like a petty attempt to make money. Now, some movies deserve it. Clash of The Titans COULD use it, and that's really the only film i could say i want to be remade. But it would have to be done with the love and care that went into Lord of The Rings, and it would have to bring something new to the story. Ignore the original's existence and write a 3 hour epic movie dealing with all sorts of Greek heroes and monsters. Don't overdo it with CGI though. The Kraken and Medusa could be real people in make up and digitally imposed to make seem bigger. Maybe use to CGI to tweak it, but with the wonders of make up and camera tricks, it could be ridiculous.
But saying films like Blade Runner, Metropolis, Escape From New York and every other movie ever made up until recently should be remade becuase of dated looking effects doesn't really get me enthused. If anything, Hollywood should be making more ORIGINAL movies in the vein of those films. With all the developments research in science, one could do wonders with sci-fi films. With books loaded with folklore about monsters, one could do wonders with horror films and epic fantasy films. With all sorts of political issues, ranging from the war to abortion could do wonders for both sci-fi and horror films. With so many books out there period, someone can do wonders for all films. Instead of remaking Escape From New York because the themes are relevant to our times, why not just take those themes and make an original movie?
But no. Someone's too concerned with remaking The Day The Earth Stood Still because they saw some strings moving the space ship around.
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