With 'Speak No Evil' in theaters this week, it's a good time to look back on the strange case of a European director who Americanized his own horror masterpiece.
Yeah, this "Speak No Evil" remake has been bugging me - I love the original an amount, but other than a little bit of non-English dialogue, it already feels to me like something marketable to U.S. audiences. I'm not sure what the purpose of the remake is - it looks, from the ads, like a Van-Sant-"Psycho" level of faithful to the original. I will probably seek out reviews that explain the differences, if any, but can't imagine actually seeing the movie.
The Danish one left me where it wanted and it took a long time to climb out from under its funk, which is great for a horror movie I suppose. I think I'm finally aging out of the stage where I can really like a world class bummer like that and I'm more likely to walk on the moon than visit people I barely met on vacation so it didn't even work as a cautionary tale. Existence feels more and more finite and cinematic cruelty isn't as naturally compelling as I once thought. I've spent way too much time reworking the ending of that one into how I imagine the remake ends (and giving credence to Haneke's opinions of us probably). McAvoy is almost enough to get me in there, but I don't think I can do it.
Saw this in the theater and I will say this for it: it was the first time I had ever seen Sandra Bullock on screen and a friend and I both fell in love with her immediately (I think we were both 18). She had a quality that leapt off the screen and her subsequent career is totally understandable.
Otherwise, yeah, that ending didn’t work even back then, when I hadn’t seen the original and Bridges (who I also love, like he was family at this point) practically had a flashing neon “WEIRDO!” sign above his head. And you almost need an explanation for what must be some personal damage that causes Travis to continue being in this situation.
With Travis, Krabbe, and Bullock mentions, this column couldn't be more early 90s if it was starting to appreciate grunge. Also realized that at times I combine Todd Graff and Todd Field, which is a horrible injustice. (Though Graff is fun in Five Corners.)
I watched Spoorloos on a bad VHS and it still hit like an icepick and I wasn't well-equipped to process it at the time. But remember the Vanishing ad on TV a lot and it included a shot of a dirt-smudged Travis saying something along the lines of "let's get this fucker" and knowing it was going to be crap. There's a special condescension that some European directors bring to dumbing things down for us American morons. Don't get me started on Haneke's smug Funny Games bullshit. Verhoeven may be the only one to really pull it off by critiquing and delivering simultaneously; possibly because he's enough of a vulgarian to also appreciate the joys of pulp cinema. I don't mind it when that attitude leads someone to pander beyond the point even the great unwashed will tolerate.
This remake was so bitterly disappointing to me at the time (not that I was surprised). I couldn’t believe he would destroy his own movie that way. I didn’t realize he was quite that old when it happened because the total failure of The Vanishing seemed to make any Hollywood career DOA. But if he wasn’t a young up and comer I suppose he may not have cared. But wow, what a contrast between the two. The ending of Spoorlos will forever haunt me (and say that as a compliment despite not being a horror fan).
Yeah, that trailer gave away entirely too much. One of my biggest pet peeves. At least when I’m watching one at home or on my phone I can shut it off when I feel it’s about to give too much away. We caught the Speak No Evil trailer in the theater, where you’re a hostage to the excessive footage that spoils the film.
At this point I just stare at my phone and try not to pay attention to trailers, but I couldn't help notice the dialogue for one of them sounded familiar, and I looked up and said "wait, did they remake Speak No Evil?"
Interesting article. I particularly likes hearing some of what the filmmakers were thinking. I remember hating this remake as much as I have ever hated a movie when it came out. It was terrible but I was more offended both that they had wrecked the original and assumed that I (as part of its North American target audience) was to stupid to get the subtly of the original.
Yeah, this "Speak No Evil" remake has been bugging me - I love the original an amount, but other than a little bit of non-English dialogue, it already feels to me like something marketable to U.S. audiences. I'm not sure what the purpose of the remake is - it looks, from the ads, like a Van-Sant-"Psycho" level of faithful to the original. I will probably seek out reviews that explain the differences, if any, but can't imagine actually seeing the movie.
The Danish one left me where it wanted and it took a long time to climb out from under its funk, which is great for a horror movie I suppose. I think I'm finally aging out of the stage where I can really like a world class bummer like that and I'm more likely to walk on the moon than visit people I barely met on vacation so it didn't even work as a cautionary tale. Existence feels more and more finite and cinematic cruelty isn't as naturally compelling as I once thought. I've spent way too much time reworking the ending of that one into how I imagine the remake ends (and giving credence to Haneke's opinions of us probably). McAvoy is almost enough to get me in there, but I don't think I can do it.
Saw this in the theater and I will say this for it: it was the first time I had ever seen Sandra Bullock on screen and a friend and I both fell in love with her immediately (I think we were both 18). She had a quality that leapt off the screen and her subsequent career is totally understandable.
Otherwise, yeah, that ending didn’t work even back then, when I hadn’t seen the original and Bridges (who I also love, like he was family at this point) practically had a flashing neon “WEIRDO!” sign above his head. And you almost need an explanation for what must be some personal damage that causes Travis to continue being in this situation.
With Travis, Krabbe, and Bullock mentions, this column couldn't be more early 90s if it was starting to appreciate grunge. Also realized that at times I combine Todd Graff and Todd Field, which is a horrible injustice. (Though Graff is fun in Five Corners.)
I watched Spoorloos on a bad VHS and it still hit like an icepick and I wasn't well-equipped to process it at the time. But remember the Vanishing ad on TV a lot and it included a shot of a dirt-smudged Travis saying something along the lines of "let's get this fucker" and knowing it was going to be crap. There's a special condescension that some European directors bring to dumbing things down for us American morons. Don't get me started on Haneke's smug Funny Games bullshit. Verhoeven may be the only one to really pull it off by critiquing and delivering simultaneously; possibly because he's enough of a vulgarian to also appreciate the joys of pulp cinema. I don't mind it when that attitude leads someone to pander beyond the point even the great unwashed will tolerate.
can someone give me a TL;DR on Haneke's two versions of Funny Games?
Pretty sure they're almost shot for shot the same.
This remake was so bitterly disappointing to me at the time (not that I was surprised). I couldn’t believe he would destroy his own movie that way. I didn’t realize he was quite that old when it happened because the total failure of The Vanishing seemed to make any Hollywood career DOA. But if he wasn’t a young up and comer I suppose he may not have cared. But wow, what a contrast between the two. The ending of Spoorlos will forever haunt me (and say that as a compliment despite not being a horror fan).
Yeah. The Dutch version is a revelation. I can see an older director being happy to take the paycheck, but as a viewer I have no interest
> Spoorloos (which I’ll call the Dutch version to avoid confusion)
I somehow read this as if you planned to write literally "the Dutch version" every time.
Turns out I have the Dutch Speak No Evil on my watchlist, though the remake trailer seems to give quite a lot away.
Yeah, that trailer gave away entirely too much. One of my biggest pet peeves. At least when I’m watching one at home or on my phone I can shut it off when I feel it’s about to give too much away. We caught the Speak No Evil trailer in the theater, where you’re a hostage to the excessive footage that spoils the film.
Same, it played before Alien Romulus.
At this point I just stare at my phone and try not to pay attention to trailers, but I couldn't help notice the dialogue for one of them sounded familiar, and I looked up and said "wait, did they remake Speak No Evil?"
Interesting article. I particularly likes hearing some of what the filmmakers were thinking. I remember hating this remake as much as I have ever hated a movie when it came out. It was terrible but I was more offended both that they had wrecked the original and assumed that I (as part of its North American target audience) was to stupid to get the subtly of the original.