Forum - View topic[OT] Remakes of Japanese live action.
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ShellBullet
 Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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I went to the theatre the other day and saw a preview for a new Richard Gere remake of Shall We Dance?, another Japanese movie that was remade by Hollywood in recent years was The Ring. I was wondering why people are adverse to watching foreign movies but are perfectly willing to see remakes of them done in English. In the case of Shall We Dance?, the story makes much more sense in Japan. The protaganist is a bored salaryman who uses ballroom dancing as an escape from his dreary life, which is more significant against the backdrop of work-happy Japanese society.
It is just frustrating that most people will not give Asian movies a chance unless they involve martial arts, ignoring all the other types of movies out there. |
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Maclam
 Posts: 104 |
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And there is Ju On conming out soon with sarah michlle gelar that is a remake also... it looks pretty good from the trailer.
I saw the original version in japanese, but didn't really like it But i like the ring much better in the original version Not everyone like to watch the original movie in asian because of the sub i believe 
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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I had already heard about the Richard Gere remake of Shall We Dansu? The Japanese original version is one of my all-time favourite films, and I am naturally seriously put out by the entire idea that it is necessary to remake it.
Not that the parochial Americans haven't done this sort of thing before. La Cage aux Folles, La Femme Nikita, Ringu and Abre Los Ojos spring to mind. It's the anime sub/dub issue all over - your average American viewer doesn't speak any languages besides English (and I'm being generous, at that  ). And subtitles are out - after all, that would mean having to read (O shock, O horror!).
So what they get is Richard effin' Gere. Well, serves 'em right. - abunai |
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ShellBullet
Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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Yeah, I know the subs turn off alot of people, but just look at the recent success of Hero. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15505 |
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BTW, The English subbed version of Shall We Dance? was Miramaxed. (See IMDB for details on edits.)
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JETBLACK87
 Posts: 1073 |
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I think the worse remake I heard about was Ikiru. It's gonna have Tom Hanks in it. But at least Criterion gave the original a pretty good release(as far as I know).
This is a little OT, but did anyone hear that Jackie Chan isn't going to get a US company to distribute New Police Story? I think it's because all of his other movies where edited. |
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abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Kill me now. -abunai |
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Hotaru
Posts: 481 Location: NY |
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this subject was brought up in the film class i took last semester.
basically, we as americans, can relate to the characters better if they look like us. (this isn't true for me, and i'm sure not everyone) but, it's sad. we had to watch ringu, and people actually left the class because they had to read subtitles. it's sad, but the companies will probably make more money making a whole different version...well, i don't know if that's true, but i'm sure more people will go when they see richard gere and susan sarandon instead of...*insert japanese actors* |
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ShellBullet
Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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That may be partially true, but I think language plays a bigger factor than mere appearance. It also has to be remembered that movies from other countries have styalistic differences from American movies. Many people accuse Japanese films of being "boring" because they have a tendency to be slower, taking time to observe silence and letting the viewer contemplate the events they have just witnessed. Whether or not you like that style of storytelling is up to you, but I'm afraid most Americans do not. |
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abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Yah, any movie without a car chase sequence or gunplay has already lost most of the U.S. audience - even before it hits the theaters. *grump* - abunai |
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kainzero
 Posts: 309 |
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way to generalize americans, since apparently it's not good to generalize widows but it's ok to generalize the americans and the film industry.
from what i can gather, most fans who have seen both ringu and ring are split... some like the ring better, some like ringu. some of them explained other elements of the story better. personally, i thought the ring did a VERY good job of creating a much more tense atmosphere.
not just that, but the US looks, feels, and lives a lot differently than japan. and not only will the characters relate to the audience better, but the setting will as well. i don't care who you are, that's huge. the concept of a japanese salaryman is a lot more different than the concept of the american cubicle worker, for example. i'm not an expert on american entertainment (i don't know why people watch frasier...) but it's fairly obvious that its difficult for american audiences to relate to non-american characters and settings. |
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CrackaJax
 Posts: 250 Location: Mount Olympus, Syracuse University |
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Its more an intellectual comedy, AFAIK. It was made to appeal to the more cerebreal viewer. |
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jsyxx
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Most people are idiots. Anything that is foreign is thought to be bad, so a number of lazy film makers will try to fool people into thinking their remakes were originally American. I find the whole process slightly anoying, but I don't really care that much anyways.
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abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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There's a difference in both kind and degree. I'm calling Americans parochial, not perverted - as was the case in the discussion you are alluding to.
Keep going - you're doing an excellent job of arguing my point for me.
Note that, while it cannot be truthfully said that European audiences have no such difficulty, they definitely have a more open and accepting attitude towards non-local cultures. Maybe it's the fact that, living in fractured old Europe, we are more accustomed to the idea that our neighbours aren't like ourselves. Whereas an American can happily live an entire life without leaving the fold, and having to meet someone who doesn't resemble himself. - abunai |
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CrackaJax
Posts: 250 Location: Mount Olympus, Syracuse University |
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That's why I'm doing a midterm project on Yimou Zhang. 3 other people in my Electronic Field Production class are also doing foreign directors. And these are people who I thought couldn't place USA on a map. So, more people are looking into foreign works. |
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