Kevin's Watch

Even though the film hasn't aged as well as many other films of the era, Carpenter's EFNY is an iconic film with an iconic main character.

The film is being remade with Gerald "300" Butler in the Snake Plissken role, with Len "Live Free or Die Hard" Wiesman directing. This sucks. Butler is completely wrong for the role (Plissken is an American, dammit!), and while I really enjoyed LFoDH, I question whether or not Wiseman's got the chops to handle Snake's story.

But my main concern is that EFNY isn't screaming for a remake (anymore than the rest of Carpenter's repertoire is; The Thing is next, Halloween comes out in a month). Sure the film is dated, but it still works very effectively as both an action movie and as social commentary.

the sequel wasn't all that good either. some films get it right the first time. EFNY is one such film. Russell was perfect so why mess with it? I feel the same about Capricorn One. dated but still worth watching.

See, now I could see a remake of Capricorn One if it was done right.

Been a fan of EFNY since it came out. I actually own EFLA. The sequel comes off like a clumsy remake in it's own right but I'm the forgiving sort.
Kurt Russel's Snake Plissken is indeed iconic. Replacing Russel is like replacing Mark Hammil in Star Wars or doing a remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark...how the hell do you replace Harrison Ford? EFNY doesn't need to be remade except to try to make a few more bucks for the studio. I'd like to see EFNY completely digitally remastered and maybe (to please naysayers about the look of the film) clean up the graphics and special effects. I suppose Carpenter's soundtrack also sounds pretty early 80's synth but I can't imagine dumping it for a more contemporary score.
Having said all that I'm certain I'll see the remake.
I'm already a fan of the story. Gerard Butler is great. Don't know about Wiesman but I guess I'll find out since no studio has ever asked me if I thought what they had in mind was a good idea.

I'm generally open to remakes, but things do seem to be getting a little silly, especially in regards to Carpenter. At this rate, I wonder if he'll become the most re-made/re-interpreted filmmaker in history.

I agree with aTOMiC, in that rather than spending mega millions on a remake, wouldn't it be nice if the studio could just "touch up" the original and strike a new 35 mm print for theatrical re-release? This has been done numerous times for other "classic" films, so why not EFNY? It would please fans of the film, and it would become a kind of "event" movie that might attract new people who would otherwise overlook it in a DVD rental store.

null wrote:the sequel wasn't all that good either. some films get it right the first time. EFNY is one such film. Russell was perfect so why mess with it? I feel the same about Capricorn One. dated but still worth watching.

Y'know, I quite liked the sequel. I was so nervous about it sucking, and once it started, I thought that it was. Then I started to get the joke. I don't think it was a remake of the first one, as they put a lot more SATIRE in it than they did the original. It came off goofy, and y'know...it worked for me. It didn't feel at all like the original, and that bummed me out at first, as the first had such mood to it. But it seemed for the second that they were never going to be able to top it, so they just went and had fun with it. The last scene of the movie is still a classic scene in my book, and really challenged my idea of the "benefit" of technology. I loved it. Yeah...take us back to the time before technology!

This coming from a guy who works in the technology industry. Then again, maybe that shouldn't be a surprise.

I think we should give it a chance. You never know, they might give it a new spin or add a further layer of social commentary(they'll most likely try and fit the threat of global warming in to it somewhere ). I'm also a fan of Gerald Butler. Not sure why you don't believe he wont be able to pull of an american accent, Cail.

Snake's American, Butler isn't. Other than his ability to scream, "I asked for sugar, THIS IS SPLENDAAAAHHHH!", he's completely underwhelming.

Y'know, Shia Lebouf (or however you spell that goober's name) would make a fine Atticus Finch....

I loved Escape from New York....between that and "The Thing"...as a youth, I was convinced that Kurt Russell was the coolest mofo on the entire planet.

<Ahem>

Kurt Russell is the coolest mofo on the entire planet.

Even more cool than ....dare I speak the name.....



...Mark Harmon?

There's a reason you've never seen the two of them together in a TV show or film.

The world couldn't handle it.

Cooler than the back side of Fonzie's pillow.

"Cooler than the back side of Fonzie's pillow"??!!!


Cail, had I been drinkin', my monitor would have been absolutely SOAKED. As it is, I scared my dog with my shriek of laffter.

HOOO!

Cail wrote:See, now I could see a remake of Capricorn One if it was done right.

Elliott Gould ... Robert Caulfield
James Brolin ... Col. Charles Brubaker
Brenda Vaccaro ... Kay Brubaker
Sam Waterston ... Lt. Col. Peter Willis
O.J. Simpson ... Cmdr. John Walker
Hal Holbrook ... Dr. James Kelloway
Karen Black ... Judy Drinkwater
Telly Savalas ... Albain
David Doyle ... Walter Loughlin
James Sikking ... Control Room man

hard to beat that cast.

Matrixman wrote:...rather than spending mega millions on a remake, wouldn't it be nice if the studio could just "touch up" the original...

Or just make an original movie?

I like 'em both, NY and LA. In fact, I think I saw LA first, so that was the Plissken movie for me.

I can't believe they're making a remake myself...the character should be one of the untouchables. And the movie isn't that old. Damn, they're scraping the barrel obviously.

--A