David Cronenberg stunned many with his decision to remake his own film The Fly, involving himself as writer and potentially director of Fox’s reboot effort. But this certainly isn’t a bad idea. After all, Cronenberg’s version is already a redo of Kurt Neumann’s 1958 sci-fi/horror classic of the same name, and it’s considered one of the best remakes of all time. It is very likely that he will now also deliver one of the best examples in which a director remakes his own film.
Sure, there are plenty of bad examples, especially when it’s a French filmmaker attempting to translate his hit comedy for Hollywood (see Three Fugitives and Just Visiting) or a Japanese filmmaker rehashing his own horror sequel in the States (The Grudge 2 and The Ring Two). And let’s not forget the unnecessary redundancy of Haneke’s Funny Games U.S.
But some of the greatest directors have made remakes of their own works that are at least as good, if not better than their originals. We take a look at five examples that Cronenberg could learn from — though he probably doesn’t need the help.
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I couldn’t believe that news of another Ben-Hur adaptation would appear in the trades so soon after the death of Charlton Heston, but this story indeed appeared in Variety yesterday, detailing plans for a $30 million miniseries to be directed by Christian Duguay (The Art of War) and produced by David Wyler, whose father, William Wyler, directed the 1959 classic starring Heston.
And as is common for modern versions of things, the miniseries will be targeted at a younger audience, few of whom are likely watching Turner Classic Movies for its regular showings of the the Oscar-winning 1959 version (hey, kids, it’s in color, at least), despite the existence of this very, very appealing trailer (for the similar, earlier The Ten Commandments).
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Any combination of William Wyler, Samuel Goldwyn, and Walter Huston amounts to a classic. Period. Dodsworth endures because it’s a sophisticated piece with a lot going on beneath the surface. A retired automaker goes on a European voyage with his wife of twenty years who’s going through her own midlife crisis. It’s 100 minutes of snappy, intelligent dialogue injecting humor into mature themes of infidelity and marriage.
Dodsworth is a man ready to leap into the chapter of old age and enjoying the fruit of his labor. His wife is terrified of old age and runs into the arms of any man who takes an interest in her. After this film was screened at Telluride 2006, Sam Goldwyn Jr. did the Q&A. When asked why remakes of Dodsworth have been picked up and dropped so many times, he replied there’s little sympathy for this film. We can’t help but view movies from the time we live in. Dodsworth’s wife is unsympathetic for cheating on him. Dodsworth is unsympathetic because, today, nobody understands why he doesn’t just drop her and move on.
Therein lies the beauty of Dodsworth. Much like The Secret Lives of Dentists, underpinning this darkly comic story is a man trying to endure a chapter in his marriage and hang on to the history he and his wife built together. It’s not a decision most couples make today. But it’s a mature and calculated decision reflecting incredible endurance in the man who makes it.
