According to Ain't It Cool News, the Idiots in Charge of Hollywood are planning to remake the one untouchable film in all the annals of cinema....The Exorcist! BLASPHEMY!!!! First of all, you don't fuck with perfection, and The Exorcist is truly a work of perfection, from the screenplay to the direction to the wonderful actors, to the incredible haunting voicework of Mercedes McCambridge. Second of all, point me to another movie dealing with the same subject that has not sucked and sucked HARD! Even Exorcist III, written and directed by the original author William Peter Blatty, failed to come even close to the brilliance of William Friedkin's film. Now while I will admit a small speck of interest in the credentials of Sean Durkin, and the fact that it's going the mini-series route which will allow more time and effort in characterization. But in the end, there's no way in hell this will be able to pack the same emotional punch as the original. The devil must be laughing his ass off.
They already remade The Exorcist. A buncha times. Beyond The Door (1974), Abby (1974), Amityville II: The Possession (1982), Stigmata (1999), The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005), Exorcism: The Possession Of Gail Bowers (2006), The Last Exorcism (2010), The Rite (2011), and, The Devil Inside (2012).
Bad, bad, bad idea. Yes, I'll check it out if it gets decent reviews. But I doubt very seriously it's going to hold up to the original. Having watched the original a couple of times in the past year, I'm somewhat surprised at just how good a film it is. It's easy to get caught up in Satan's-hijinks-while-wearing-Regan-as-a-suit, but the film is well-acted, suspenseful, and even insightful. A quiet scene I really like is the two priests on the stairwell, taking a break from the ongoing exorcism. Father Karras asks "Why is he doing this to her?" And Father Merrin wisely replies "He's not doing this to her. He's doing this to us." The horror being displayed is not to harm Regan--though this is naturally a by-product--but rather to break the spirits of those who witness it. May have to spin that one again soon. I can "Tubular Bells" playing somewhere...
That's funny, I've seen the movie dozens of times and I don't remember that dialogue. But I have the original theatrical cut, so maybe it was something added in the Directors cut.
I wouldn't mind seeing a remake of 2001, as long as it remained true to the book. Exorcist? Not so much. The less said about the 2001 sequels (both the movie 2010 and the books 2010, 2061, and 3001), the better.
While the movie 2010 (and book, I guess) is now dated because of the whole US/Russia thing, I thought that the movie was pretty good, actually, for what it was; that being a true science fiction story. It's not 2001, nor was it trying to be.
Ironically, I just watched 2010 last night for the first time in years. I was surprised at how well it held up after 30 years. The FX still looked pretty damn good, especially the first spacewalk scene and maneuvering down Discovery's hull. Even the stuff with the US and Russia was still credible. Sure there's no Soviet Union anymore, but with Putin in charge over there things are less than rosy with our Russkie pals these days. 2010 is not a perfect film by any means, but as a science fiction and space adventure film it held up quite well.
2001 is a classic, but 2010 is much easier to enjoy. There's just so much I like about it: The entire very well-written exchange between Moisevitch and Floyd at the beginning... "Took you that long to steal our secrets?" "How long does it take your people to steal ours?" "Same amount of time." "I thought you were calling it the Titov." "Ah, we change last month. People fall out of favor." "How could you convince your people to let Americans go on the flight?" "It won't be easy. However, I'm pretty good. A Russian craft with a Russian crew carrying a few poor Americans who need our help. That also will look good on the front page of Pravda." Dr. Chandra: "HAL was told to lie by people who find it easy to lie. HAL doesn't know how." Floyd: "HAL, who the hell is sending this?" HAL-9000: "I'm sorry, Dr. Floyd, I don't know." Floyd: "Well, tell whoever it is that I can't take any of this seriously unless I know who I'm talking to." HAL-9000: "Dr. Floyd?" Floyd: "Yes?" HAL-9000: "The response is, 'I was David Bowman.'" (gives me a chill every damned time) HAL: "Dr. Chandra, will I dream?" Chandra: "I don't know." If the woman playing Dave Bowman's widow (whom he visits and speaks with) reminds you a little of Zoey Deschanel, it's because it's her mother, Mary Jo Deschanel.
I liked the movie when it first came out, and still think it's ok. I really missed the Chinese subplot from the book, though.
