Spike Lee To Direct 'Oldboy' remake

[Greens]

[BLACKOUT]As far I can remember, no. There are tweaks here and there but its essentially the same. But very very end is actually different. [/BLACKOUT]

Could you tell me how far Lee goes with the torture scenes? You can describe them in detail if you want.

I haven't seen the original btw.

 

[Octoberist]

You should maybe see the original. Usually I'm not the type where 'you HAVE to see the original' but in this case, you do.

 

[Liam_H]

I dusted off my critics association membership and saw this. Loved it. Obviously its not as good as the original but I'm not that movie snob who sits here and complains how its unneccessary or how people should just watch the original. It's a damn good crazy, intense movie with great performances from Brolin, Olsen and Jackson. Copley eh not so much, he was wrong for the role. Lee shot a beautiful looking movie and I applaud him for going out of his normal range to make this. He even did the hallway fight justice. I also thought this ending hit harder and was better than the original. I say if you've seen the original try not to go in with an attitude and of you haven't seen the original definitely check this one out. 8/10

Seems you and I have opposite reactions to the movie as a whole. Although I fully agree on Copley, the way he played it did not work. Pretty terrible at times too.

 

[Liam_H]

Could you tell me how far Lee goes with the torture scenes? You can describe them in detail if you want.

I haven't seen the original btw.

Since you haven't seen the original I guess you could say [BLACKOUT]the entire beginning counts as a torture scene where he is held captive for 20 years. The only other one would be when Brolin starts cutting out strips of SLJ neck and rubs salt into it. [/BLACKOUT]

Jacobed might be able to better answer this question since I saw this like 3 months ago.

 

[jacobed]

Seems you and I have opposite reactions to the movie as a whole. Although I fully agree on Copley, the way he played it did not work. Pretty terrible at times too.

Yeah I can see why people wouldn't like it and if someone has seen the original I could see this one just making a person angry because of some not great changes they made but it grabbed a hold of me once he wakes up in the hotel and did not let go. Copley just isn't a good enough actor to play this role. he really only knows how to be over the top even in District 9 he was over the top but this role required a bit more of a subtle approach to go along with the over the top. He was just miscast. The torture, I didn't really notice anything like whoa that's too far. I suppose the hotel stuff is torture but its not like visceral.

 

[terry78]

Just got back in. The flick is very well done and actually more of an arthouse thing than anything Lee has done before to be honest. It gets pretty crazy, but you've seen similar crazy in like a QT film though. Brolin brought the anger, which he definitely showcased in his face. Olsen did what she needed, and I am actually waiting to see what she does with Wanda in Avengers now since I haven't seen too much of her indie stuff.

 

[TheVileOne]

Opening this movie on Thanksgiving weekend was a terrible idea.

Also the movie is only 97 minutes.

 

[DA_Champion]

What's the point of this remake?

Why does Hollywood keep remaking good foreign films?

 

[craigdbfan]

Apparently there was literally no point in remaking this one. Unfortunate seeing as I was looking forward to it. I'll wait once it hits DVD and even then it'll be when I'm just bored or something on a day off. Maybe.

 

[jacobed]

Of course there's a point. To bring the story over here. Some people don't have access to the original, some people don't like to watch foreign films because of subtitles and what not There's nothing wrong with that but of course the movie snobs think they're higher than everyone just because they watch a foreign film every once and a while, get off your pathetic high horse and quit complaining over nothing. It's a Damn good movie

 

[DA_Champion]

People should learn to enjoy subtitles.

 

[Bobber]

People should learn to enjoy subtitles.

If not enjoy them, then at least tolerate them. It's really no hassle. Takes no more than a split second to glance down and read, and then back up again.

 

[terry78]

By that logic, why remake anything? Some of the iconic flicks from yesteryear are remakes.

You film hipsters.

 

[DA_Champion]

By that logic, why remake anything? Some of the iconic flicks from yesteryear are remakes.

You film hipsters.

Don't remake anything unless you can make it better.

 

[terry78]

And you know this one isn't? I think we sometimes give the originals too much credit because we don't want to appear like the unwashed masses when in reality the flick actually is below par.

 

[DA_Champion]

What I see is that Hollywood has a hard time coming up with good stories, so when they know of good story that cannot break in due to foreign language or special effects being dated, they "modernise" and "Americanise" it.

 

[Tequilla]

By that logic, why remake anything? Some of the iconic flicks from yesteryear are remakes.

You film hipsters.

Is rewriting common ?

 

[Tequilla]

Of course there's a point. To bring the story over here. Some people don't have access to the original, some people don't like to watch foreign films because of subtitles and what not There's nothing wrong with that but of course the movie snobs think they're higher than everyone just because they watch a foreign film every once and a while, get off your pathetic high horse and quit complaining over nothing. It's a Damn good movie

To bring the story over ? Is there some trade embargo to the rest of the world ? There's certainly a dub for people who have problems reading.

It has nothing to do with snobbish attiudes. Is a lazy , uninspired choice to grab someones else work and simply copy it and call it his own.

Just imagine if all movies would get remade. Just imagine that. From everywhere and every single place. Copying it over and over to "bring the story over"

 

[DarKush]

I thought this was a good remake. It didn't quite grab me or definitely shock me like the original, but Spike went pretty hard even though I had an inkling of what the shocking twist would be. That being said, Spike's version makes the twist even more depraved. I barely remember the ending of the original film, but I do think the remake has a different ending and one that was perhaps appropriate.

The biggest weakness was Copley. I thought he overdid it. I wish he had played it straighter. I liked the rest of the cast though. Josh Brolin is a human wrecking ball. Really wished he had gotten to play Batman. And Elizabeth Olsen, I couldn't help but think about Avengers as I watched her scenes. I think she'll do well with that role.

I prefer both filmed versions of Old Boy to the original source material. Looking back, I couldn't imagine Spielberg and Will Smith doing this story, without massive changes to the ending. Though it would've been interesting to see Smith play a character as edgy as this.

Unfortunately I think this film is going to bomb. This was not a good release date. Perhaps they were going for counter programming, but with its dark, taboo subject matter, it's just not a good fit for the holiday season. They should've released this in September or October. Maybe January or February.

 

[Man in the Suit]

Opening this movie on Thanksgiving weekend was a terrible idea.

Also the movie is only 97 minutes.

The producers made Lee cut an hour from the movie. Hence "A Spike Lee Film" instead of "Joint".

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/s...ig-fat-turkey-at-thanksgiving-b-o-1200892692/

 

[Motown Marvel]

Lee had to cut an hour?! damn. i may skip it in theaters and just wait for a dicrectors cut on DVD, then.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

Without going into detail, is the twist the same?

 

[warhorse78]

If not enjoy them, then at least tolerate them. It's really no hassle. Takes no more than a split second to glance down and read, and then back up again.

Some people can't read the subtitles very well. My best friend and I had to walk out of Inglorious Basterds because she has Dyslexia, and she was just having a too much of a hard time catching on what was going on.

 

[DA_Champion]

Some people can't read the subtitles very well. My best friend and I had to walk out of Inglorious Basterds because she has Dyslexia, and she was just having a too much of a hard time catching on what was going on.

While a fair point in theory, in practice that's not why a lot of remakes are made, it's not because of that small market.

 

[Liam_H]

Without going into detail, is the twist the same?

[BLACKOUT]
Essentially. [/BLACKOUT]