Thursday Movie Picks: Foreign Adaptions
1) Ringu to The Ring
The Good. This will always be one of my favorites. It's a foreign adaptation done right.
2) Oldeuboi to Oldboy
The Terrible: What the fuck were they thinking with this? The Korean Old Boy is wonderful. People need to get over their subtitle hatred and just watch it. The American version was trash, despite having a great cast.
3) Infernal Affairs to The Departed
The One I need to see: The Departed is one of my favorite movies, and I've always meant to watch Infernal Affairs to see if it packs the same punch.
Great picks :) I love the original Oldboy and would never watch the remake (sorry...), it just doesn't seem right... :/
ReplyDeleteYeah, don't. lol. It's a bad idea. I wish I skipped it.
DeleteI've never been brave enough to watch The Ring! Maybe this Halloween...
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen The Departed either but I really want to see it soon :)
- Allie
You should! It's probably the creepiest PG-13 horror movie out there.
DeleteGreat picks! I love the original Oldboy and the American version was embarrassing. I've also picked The Departed. I've seen the original and it was good, but Scorsese did even better.
ReplyDeleteI need to check Infernal Affairs, but I don't doubt Scorsese did it better. He's such a wonderful director.
DeleteLOL...The Ring is gold! Love that movie (and I love that it pretty much hand delivered Watts to the masses).
ReplyDeleteYes! I didn't know Watts before The Ring, I'm so glad it catapulted her.
DeleteI like, not love The Ring and haven't seen Ringu. Infernal Affairs is an excellent film, but The Departed is better. And Oldboy? Sigh.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Oldboy. Spike Lee should be slapped.
DeleteOh my I've only seen one out of all of these and that's The Departed. We'll have to agree to disagree on that one, sorry but I hated it.
ReplyDeleteI've always meant to see The Ring and just haven't gotten to it. Oldboy just doesn't seem like a movie for me but thanks for the warning, if I ever do watch it I'll make sure to check out the original. Great picks though.
I went for more obscure films except for my last which was a constant on cable for years and years.
Sorcerer (1977)-Four desperate men agree to transport a volatile shipment of nitro-glycerin over rugged terrain in the hopes of earning enough money to escape their present state. William Friedkin directed remake of the French classic Wages of Fear wasn’t a big success on its initial release but is a taut gritty drama. An international cast headed by Roy Scheider give intense performances. Perhaps not the equal of the original but on its own a solid suspenser.
Human Desire (1954)-Fritz Lang helmed redo of Jean Renoir’s La Bête Humaine is hampered a trifle by the Hayes Code but his great cast, in particular Broderick Crawford and Gloria Grahame, and solid direction fill in the code demanded blanks. Loaded with sexual undertones.
Intermezzo (1939)-American remake of identically named Swedish film also starring Ingrid Bergman served as her introduction to Hollywood. A world famous concert violinist becomes enamored with his daughter’s piano instructor. Feeling restless he invites her to tour with him, eventually they become involved and he leaves his family for her but soon realizes what he had originally. It’s a weepie loaded with beautiful music that’s worth catching for Ingrid’s stateside debut.
Honorable Mention-Point of No Return (1993)-Stylish, glossy remake of Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita with Bridget Fonda at the height of her brief heyday as the druggie turned government assassin. Not quite as sleek as the original but a propulsive engrossing thriller with Anne Bancroft a standout in her brief role as an etiquette teacher with an underlying fierceness.
I remember you saying you hated The Departed last year, I think I used it for something in 2015. I haven't seen any of those picks, nor have I heard of them. Thank you for sharing them!
DeleteI actually saw both 'Ringu' and 'The Ring' the same year because I loved 'The Ring' so much I wanted more RING!! I was a little disappointed with Ringu. Gore Verbanski really laid down a creepy atmosphere with the Ring. The same sense of dread wasn't via cinematography and music wasn't in the original Ringu.
ReplyDeleteI do prefer Ring to Ringu, I also saw them in the same year or close to it. I saw Ring in theaters then found Ringu in the video store. I do think Sadako was a bit more intimidating than Samara because she was so much taller.
DeleteI saw the Ring and it still freaks me out big time. It really unsettled me and that kid climbing out of the TV is freaky! I have not seen Oldboy and will skip it but I have seen The Departed which is excellent
ReplyDeleteYes, do NOT see the Oldboy remake, but do check out the Korean version.
DeleteOoh, I like your take on this theme. I have seen The Ring. Not my thing. Never saw Ringu. I've seen the original Oldboy but not the American version. Not sure I will, though I love Lee and Brolin. The Departed is brilliant, and I, like you, have been putting off Infernal Affairs for years. Great picks!
ReplyDeleteI would avoid the American version of Oldboy at all costs. It wastes it's leads in Brolin and Olsen. Infernal Affairs is on Netflix Instant now, so I guess I don't have an excuse for much longer.
DeleteLOVE this post! Saw the original Ringu not long after The Ring and thought it was good but not as good as the remake, which almost NEVER happens! The Korean Oldboy has been sitting in my Netflix queue forEVER. I'll watch it some day, along with the rest of the "Vengeance Trilogy".
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'm with Joel. Didn't much like The Departed. It was fine mostly but also REALLY obvious in a lot of spots. Scorsese could have done so much better.
Yes! Ring is one of the few examples where the remake is better. I'm struggling to think of any more where that happened at the moment.
DeleteI have seen Infernal Affairs though it's been a very long time since I've seen it as I want to re-watch it again and then compare it to The Departed. I have no interest in the remake of Oldboy.
ReplyDeleteI should've skipped it myself. I'm curious to see how Infernal Affairs handles some of my favorite scenes from The Departed.
DeleteI really have to see Oldboy, it has been on my watch list for a long time. Great picks!
ReplyDeleteI hope you mean the original. lol It's great, make sure you watch the subtitled version though. When I first saw it, I ended up with the dub and it was so distracting and kind of ruined it for me. When I saw the subtitled version, it was so much better.
DeleteI can't believe I still haven't seen The Departed.
ReplyDeleteYou need to exit the internet and go see it now. lol
DeleteGreat picks! I'm not a fan of The Ring - too much for me.
ReplyDeleteNooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I'm kidding.
DeleteNice picks! I still need to see Ringu and the American version of Oldboy - even if it's bad. Plus, I haven't seen Infernal Affairs 2 and 3, which also factored into The Departed.
ReplyDeleteSkip the Oldboy remake, do yourself a favor. lol
DeleteI've always wanted to watch Infernal Affairs too, even borrowed it a few times but still never got around to watching it.
ReplyDeleteNow that it's on Netflix here, I won't have an excuse anymore.
Delete