80's Remakes: Sacred Ground?

[jasonsbeer]

Since the children of the eighties have reached critical mass in purchasing abilities, it seems we've been seeing more stuff from the eighties making a comeback. I guess this happens with every generation. It started with eighties stuff on the radio. Hair metal and pop rock. Now, we're seeing 80's remakes at the theater. Do you think these things are sacred ground or do you think they can be improved?

Cases in point:

1) Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005). This was a fairly dissapointing adaptation of the Douglas Adams stories. The original BBC TV adaptation of the novels "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" was superior.

2) The A-Team (2010). Now, I told SWMBO to find a baby sitter because we're going to see this one in the theatre. We haven't been to the movies in forever, but this one I want to see. The previews look good, but we'll see if this results in a resurgence of the "kick ass and take names" genre.

3) The Neverending Story. This one is scheduled to be released in 2012. Hard to beat the awesome cheesiness of the original, which my kids love. I'm not so sure this is one that should be touched.

4) Motley Crue. Now, I love the Crue. But they are touring again. Point made.

5) Metal Mania and That Metal Show. Great shows on VH1 Classic, but the "classic" hurts my ego.

 

[Stuntman]

Being born in '61 I was 19 in 1980, so that explains why I want to buy a hot tub and more guns. I guess I was a child of the seventies.

 

[Homercidal]

Can't wait to see the A-Team. Caught the trailer month or so ago and it looked good. Caught another trailer on commercials and it looks WAY over the top in the action scenes. I have a bad feeling that the A-Team is going to be doing some very impossible, and unbelievable, things in the movie.

And I am enjoying some of the 80's comeback stuff. Some of it is cringe-worthy though.

 

[hal2814]

When I was a kid, we were doing the same thing with the 50's and 60's. American Graffiti/Happy Days, anyone? What about the boatload of covers like I Think We're Alone Now, The Loco-Motion, You Can't Hurry Love, Where Did Our Love Go, etc? The New Leave it to Beaver, The New Gidget, the cast of Gilligan's Island being guest stars in Alf? The 80's Archie and Dennis the Menace cartoons? It was the same thing just not as prevalent in the movie theaters. We sort of let go of nostalgia in the 90's for a bit, but it came back.

Personally, I like what I've seen with the A-Team. The old show would've been just as over-the-top if they had the budget. The 2005 Guide film was OK. I don't think it's fair to compare it to the novels since even the BBC series paled in comparison to the novels. As far as other 80's film revivals, I thought the the Transformers and Watchmen were great. GI Joe? Not so much. The late-90's Voltron revival was also pretty weak. The new Robotech is pretty good. It's a mixed bag. My own opinion is that if I don't want to see a remake I don't have to watch it. Nothing is sacred. It's just pop culture.

But what I'd really like to see is someone take something that didn't live up to its potential in the 80's and turn it into something good. Let's see someone bring back It's Your Move or The Keep and do a decent job with it.

 

[Homercidal]

I'm reserving judgement on the A-Team movie until I see it. Even if it is over-the-top, I will probably like it. I like bad movies, usually.

Anyone watch more than one episode of the new Knight Rider?

Yeah. Me neither.

 

[user 40839]

I'm extremely nervous about the A-Team. It was one of my favourite shows growing up as a lad, but let's face facts - Hollywood has completely and utterly shat the bed on the 80s...

Transformers? Argh!
GI Joe? Aaaargh!
I managed to make it through less than 10 minutes of the Knight Rider remake without throwing up.
I don't even want to comprehend the remake of the Karate Kid!

And I even hear they're making a TJ Hooker movie - do they MAKE cop uniforms big enough for Shatner?!

 

[billc68]

I am planning to see the A-Team and The Karate Kid next month, no expectations, i have learned to never expect anything when watching a remake. Too many whiners always go on about how it didn't to teh original justice etc... you have to completely forget about the original.

The other movies on my list in the near future are:
Red Dawn
The Smurfs (3D)
Nevereding Story (didn't know about that one until now)


And when will someone remake The Wizard of Oz? it is about time, I know not the eighties and yes there have been some half assed remakes (stariing Michael Jackson) but I mean a serious remake.

 

[Homercidal]

Karate Kid looks pretty good. One of those you really have to forget about the original. Plus it has Jackie Chan.

TJ Hooker? Uh, WHY??

I will not be watching the smurfs either. It's a long, embarrassing story, so I won't be telling it here. Suffice to say I have personal reasons for wanting the smurfs to simply FOAD.

 

[bob1852]

I'm saddened that the A-team movie will probably suck.

I mean the Dukes of Hazaard and Starsky & Hutch have set the bar really low for 80s-TV-turned-movie gig.

But I'll still see it.

 

[user 40839]

I am planning to see the A-Team and The Karate Kid next month, no expectations, i have learned to never expect anything when watching a remake. Too many whiners always go on about how it didn't to teh original justice etc... you have to completely forget about the original.

Can't speak for the majority of the whiners, but the problem I have with most remakes isn't that they don't do the original justice, it's more down to the fact that they're more concerned about repackaging a movie as a "brand", and cram as much special effects in there to overcome a severe lack of writing. That was my beef with Transformers - it looked absolutely FANTASTIC, but my god, the story and the acting were every bit as bad as the Knight Rider TV remake!

That's my hope for the A-Team, that with Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper there'll actually be some substance to it, as opposed to a ton of CGI explosions (not that there'll be any lack of those, if the trailer's anything to go by)

I mean the Dukes of Hazaard and Starsky & Hutch have set the bar really low for 80s-TV-turned-movie gig.

I actually kinda liked Starsky and Hutch, if only they tried to do something different by making it a goofy comedy. As for Dukes of Hazzard, yeah, it was weak, but it did have...

 

[jasonsbeer]

The big one I forgot about was Miami Vice. At least Michael Mann came back to direct that one, so there was some semblance of actually being related to the original. I was never much of a Miami Vice fan. I think it was way over the top, even for the 80's.

 

[jasonsbeer]

But what I'd really like to see is someone take something that didn't live up to its potential in the 80's and turn it into something good. Let's see someone bring back It's Your Move or The Keep and do a decent job with it.

I would love to see a new version of "The Keep". The book was awesome, the movie was also awesome in its own ways. I think a lot more could have been done with it, though.

 

[JayInJersey]

Correct me if I'm wrong as 1) I am a lot and 2) I get my martial arts confused at times...

But isn't Jackie Chan Chinese?
And isn't the martial arts from China "Kung Fu"?

So how is a movie where the lead is teaching a kid about Kung Fu in Beijing called "The Karate Kid"?



....and Macchio better have at least a cameo in this travesty.

 

[bob1852]

Correct me if I'm wrong as 1) I am a lot and 2) I get my martial arts confused at times...

But isn't Jackie Chan Chinese?
And isn't the martial arts from China "Kung Fu"?

So how is a movie where the lead is teaching a kid about Kung Fu in Beijing called "The Karate Kid"?



....and Macchio better have at least a cameo in this travesty.

It was supposed to be called Kung Fu Kid (and likely will be around the world) - but in the good ol' US they decided to call it Karate Kid.....

and supposedly, Macchio was offered a cameo and passed...

 

[Beernik]

Lets be honest here. You can't do much worse with the A-Team. Remember that one episode Murdock broke out of the hostipal and irritated BA for the entire show. And then Face flirted with some girl and Hanibal brought the team back together for a montage where they built a tank-like machine and saved the day.

Yeah, that episode was great.

I agree on the BBC Hitchhiker's being better. But I think Adams didn't like it much. But I don't think he had much if any involvement in the movie.

I've heard Logan's Run is being remade. But that was 70s.

 

[Stuntman]

Anything with Jackie Chan will be good.






I love Jessica Simpson....Plus one for the "Dukes Of Hazard" movie!

 

[thataintchicken]

I've heard Logan's Run is being remade. But that was 70s.

the Director for the Logan's Run remake is a Visual Effects Wiz.
He has a incredible commercial direction background and can tell a story.
I'm looking forward to it.


There are so many 80's films getting remade for one simple reason.
The studios still own the rights.

It's about the $$$. and right now, even the Biggies -- MGM etc, are bleeding money.

There is almost no money being spent on new stories in Hollywood, and the major studios are circling like vultures around already produced independent films without distribution, or sending those vultures to feed on the corpses of old films.

 

[thataintchicken]

here's something to consider.

What if Jaws was made today?

 

[Homercidal]

Lets be honest here. You can't do much worse with the A-Team. Remember that one episode Murdock broke out of the hostipal and irritated BA for the entire show. And then Face flirted with some girl and Hanibal brought the team back together for a montage where they built a tank-like machine and saved the day.

Yeah, that episode was great.

Dude, that was my favorite!

 

[jasonsbeer]

Lets be honest here. You can't do much worse with the A-Team. Remember that one episode Murdock broke out of the hostipal and irritated BA for the entire show. And then Face flirted with some girl and Hanibal brought the team back together for a montage where they built a tank-like machine and saved the day.

That was every episode. :rockin:

 

[wildwest450]

That was every episode. :rockin:

Sarcasm is wasted on you my friend.

 

[Homercidal]

I ain't gettin on no airplane, Hannibal!

 

[JayInJersey]

That's fine BA.
On a totally unrelated note, have some of this tasty beverage that isn't doped to knock you out...




I always wanted to see the in between shows where they are all sitting around the van pissed trying to unweld/bolt/glue everything they just did to it.

 

[Shooter]

I've heard Logan's Run is being remade. But that was 70s.

Man, I love the original, right up to the point where they get into the outside world and then it becomes a snooze fest. My wife had never seen it. I let her watch it a few years back and she seemed to enjoy it, but, once they got outside, she commented on how the pace of the movie REALLY slowed down.

 

[user 40839]

That's fine BA.
On a totally unrelated note, have some of this tasty beverage that isn't doped to knock you out...

It's not doped? Phew, that's a relief, since the last 145 times you've given me something to drink at an airport, it's made me pass out.

I always wanted to see the in between shows where they are all sitting around the van pissed trying to unweld/bolt/glue everything they just did to it.

I always used to love how no matter what they did to the bad guys in terms of blowing up their vehicle, the next scene always showed the afforementioned baddies stumbling out of their destroyed jeep, staggering around but otherwise completely unscathed.

It's gotta be an age thing. When this show first came on (along with Knight Rider, Airwolf, all the other awesome good guy v bad guy adventure shows) I was a kid, and ate it all up. Now I'm older, and I look at the stuff kids watch now and think "How can you swallow ANY of this?!"

 

[bob1852]

It's not doped? Phew, that's a relief, since the last 145 times you've given me something to drink at an airport, it's made me pass out.

nope. This hamburger and gallon of milk are completely un-drugged

 

[Mermaid]

As long as they don't start remaking my beloved John Hughes movies (Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, etc.) I'm okay with Hollyweird tinkering with the A Team.

I am, however, dubious of the Crue touring.
There seem to be far too many "currently residing in the where are they now? file" Puppet Show and Spinal Tap tours going on the past few years.

 

[JayInJersey]

I think Hughes retained the rights to those movies...or you bet your ass they would have.


I'm waiting for the "Facts of Life" or "Small Wonder" movie

 

[steinsato]

Transformers was god awful.

 

[jasonsbeer]

BTW - The Scorpions are on their farewell tour. Lots of dates in North America. Check it out: http://www.the-scorpions.com/english/tourdates.asp

 

[user 40839]

BTW - The Scorpions are on their farewell tour. Lots of dates in North America. Check it out: http://www.the-scorpions.com/english/tourdates.asp

As is/was the mighty a-ha. (I wasn't aware that they were still around to even *have* a farewell tour!!)

 

[homebrewer_99]

BTW - The Scorpions are on their farewell tour. Lots of dates in North America. Check it out: http://www.the-scorpions.com/english/tourdates.asp

I saw the Scorps at Kongresshalle in Augsburg, Germany in 1977 when Uli Roth was their lead guitarist. I was 2 feet from the edge of mid stage (which was only 2 ft off the ground.

Anyone see AC/DC at CircusKrone in Munich on TV? I saw Aerosmith there in Aug 1976 and Peter Frampton on his Comes Alive tour in '76 with Gary "Dream Weaver" Wright. as well a Foreigner on their world tour with only 1 album out. They played several songs twice. Can't recall who else I saw there during 1975-1979...lots of concerts at Munich's Olympic Village too...Pink Floyd, Queen, ELO, da, da, da...:rockin:

 

[neko]

Ratt just released a new album a couple months ago! Also, it's only a matter of time before they do a Labyrinth remake.

 

[Homercidal]

Ratt just released a new album a couple months ago! Also, it's only a matter of time before they do a Labyrinth remake.

I just downloaded the old RATT CD and it rocks! They are much more talented than I thought. Back in the day I always thought of them as being too heavy. Now they are classic Hard Rock.

And there is no way that they could ever replace Miss Connelly in Labyrinth. I've had the hots for her since I first say that movie!

 

[JoeyLink]

I saw the Scorps at Kongresshalle in Augsburg, Germany in 1977 when Uli Roth was their lead guitarist. I was 2 feet from the edge of mid stage (which was only 2 ft off the ground.

Anyone see AC/DC at CircusKrone in Munich on TV? I saw Aerosmith there in Aug 1976 and Peter Frampton on his Comes Alive tour in '76 with Gary "Dream Weaver" Wright. as well a Foreigner on their world tour with only 1 album out. They played several songs twice. Can't recall who else I saw there during 1975-1979...lots of concerts at Munich's Olympic Village too...Pink Floyd, Queen, ELO, da, da, da...:rockin:

Sounds like you definitely took advantage of some great opportunities