Manchurian Candidate remake: thoughts?

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caballera
I'm very curious to see how this turns out! There's a trailer under "entertainment" on budweiser.com/1 . Whatcha think?

Cinemaddiction
I doubt anyone here is old enough to remember the original, or cares about a remake. Including me.

caballera
Well, the original is really very good. I don't know about the remake however.

vagaryatwill
Never saw the original and probably never will. I have enjoyed the trailer for the new one. I think Denzel normally does a pretty good job. I'll most likely see it.

caballera
Yeah, Denzel's a great actor. Unfortunately, he hasn't picked the greatest movies lately. I'm hoping this one will be different.

Cinemaddiction
Actually, I take that back. I am interested in the remake after seeing the trailer.

BTW, what bad roles has Denzel taken on as of late, other than in "Out of Time"? I think "Judgment Day" was a nice twist, and "Man on Fire" was fantastic, still doign well in the box office at $75 M plus.

caballera
I guess I was mainly talking about Out of Time (it was pretty terrible), though i didn't like Training Day either nor Antwone Fisher that much. I thought AF was average. I never saw Man on Fire b/c i thought it looked really bad and the posters annoyed me (yeah, the posters are good reason not to see the movie). But so in the end, OUT OF TIME SUCKS!

Holcomb
bump! I finally saw the trailer. This looks like a fun summer movie, I'm looking forward to it.

Myth
I want to see it. Denzel is awesome. I loved both Training Day and Man on Fire.

forumcrew
yea out of time is it.. other then that hes been doing very well

Ushgarak
My thoughts are, frankly, baaaaaaaaaaaaadness.

What possible purpose is served by a remake? There is actually no way in which the story needs updating. By putting it into a modern setting you can only worsen the point of the darn thing.

scabby mcgee
yea I was really confused when I heard they were doing a big hollywood remake of this classic. I'm not really behind the idea but the trailers so far seem to look like they haven't destroyed the story. And to be honest, the original was great but still seemed to lack some what in certain areas. So in short, there have been worse ideas.

Myth
The Ladykillers was a good remake. Haven't seen the original so I don't know how it compares but it was good. Maybe the same with Manchurian, plus there could be extra spins on it like how there was an extra spin on the Stepford Wives remake.

Ushgarak
I've not seen the new Ladykillers but I would be staggered if it is as good.

But at least it is not culturally out of place like a new Manchurian Candidate would be. Ladykillers is rather timeless.

The original depended on the paranoia of the McCarthy era (or just after anyway)- it was banned in the US for about two decades! It is rooted entirely in Communist conspiracy, and before you ask, no, the War against Terrorism is no substitute.

Myth
Like I said, I haven't seen the old Ladykillers but the new one is really funny. Btw: I would have to guess that it is culturally out of place. You have to remember, a Wayans brother is in it.

edwinian
I am actually very excited to see this. I have yet to see the first one and will be renting it before I go and see the second.

Dr. Strangelove
The new version looks pretty interesting, I probably see it.

I havent seen the old version of Manchurian Candidate but ive heard that the old version is great and its out on DVD at a pretty cheap price so I will probably pick it up.

BloomBabyGirl
i wanna see it too and i think denzel washington shuold make it good. the dont have the old manchurian cndidate at my blockbuster tho

Ushgarak
Well, I highly recommend the original to anyone.

Holcomb
I might check out the original before seeing the new one, but regardless of how you feel about remakes this looks like a good thriller.

Predator 89
I'll take your word on the original Ushgarak. The remake looks like a good thriller though.

ragesRemorse
aww man the original is a great movie. A movie that is sadly not that known. The story is an all around excellent experience. It is one of those movies where the suspense relies on your involvment in the movie. I am up for a remake. why not? Dezel is a great actor, he delivers a great performance even in a bad film like out of time and man on fire. so i am anxious to see his abilities added to this great story.

Browncoat
I bought the old version on DVD because I'd heard it was really good, and it was! There were just a couple of minor ways in which I felt the cinematic conventions of its time detracted from the story. I think it held up very well over the years.

And it's really hard to think of setting that story in any time except the Cold War period. If I were going to remake it (yeah, right!) I think I'd leave the setting back then and only update the style of telling the story.

JamalMagloire
At first I wasn't sure that a remake was the best idea but so far all of the reviews that I've read have been nothing but positive. Plus Denzel and Meryl are both terrific. The web site is pretty awesome too, check it out if you haven't already...

www.themanchuriancandidate.com

Holcomb
Where is that manchurian game I've heard about?

Silver_Chloride
I'm actually really pissed off that they're making a remake. Why make a remake of a really good thing? The original was great, and I LOVED angel lansbury in it. I don't see why they need to redo it at all. I'm totally not going to go see it. I really hope that people are going to see the original and rather than think that the new movie is the only one out there. Denzel Washing is a good actor but that doesn't mean it's going to be a good movie. I don't think Meryl Streep will ever be as awesome as Angela Lansbury was in the original though. Plus the whole irony of Lansbury's character being this really ambitious and intelligent woman and only being able to act through her idiotic husband is wonderful. I think you lose a lot of the complexity of that character when you actually make that character the senator. It's Lansbury's inability to truly act that, in some ways, perhaps drives her to behave that way. Anyway, if it gets spectacular reviews, I'll go see it; otherwise, I'd rather have the pure unadulterated original in my head. Plus, Demme's other remake (of Charade, no less, a great movie--and why in hell's name would you cast Thandy Newton (or was it Rosario Dawson?) and Mark Wahlberg as replacements for Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant?!) Charlie or whatever it was good was supposed to be utter crap so I'm not holding this one in high regards either.

JamalMagloire
So far the reviews are pretty darn good...

Crash Overload
WOW. no expression

Myth
This is one of the few movies where I like the remake more than the original. The only aspect that makes the original better, is the fact that it was "original" and this one was not an original idea.

Johnlindsey289
I own the original Manchaurian Candidate on DVD, such a classic masterpiece and satire thrown into it.

But when i heard it was going to be remade, i thought "Why? you can't fix someting that isn't broken" but then when i saw it i thought it was suprisingly good just like the remake to "Dawn of the Dead" another classic.

Denzel Washington did a good job playing Frank Sinatra's role even if he's black, in 2006 there's going to be a Back to School remake with Cedric The Entertainer taking over Rodney's role.

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