Reason's Why This Need's To Be Remade
Casting ;
Pacino was the only actor in this entire movie that was attempting to do something here, only to come off bland. Sometimes his own fault, other times because the supporting cast are so dull pacinos work is foiled.
For a remake id suggest some actors for lead and supporting gay roles like Ryan Phillippe, Kevin Zegars, Tom Sturridge, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emile Hirsch and John Robinson.
For the sole female role of any consequence id go for Elizabeth Shue.
Script ;
People often try and say 'crusing' is misunderstood. People have said it's muti layered movie. It isnt. Its crude and completely under developed.
Instead of focusing on S&M gay bars, a new script with a modern approach to gay culture and the nature of self loathing could be very cleverly written.
Instead of the ambigious ending, which leads us nowhere, a real twist could be wrote that actually surprises the viewer instead of leaving you empty.
Ryan Phillippe as menioned above would be ideal for the lead, his choice of roles have been constantly engaging, and with the right supporting cast, a clean, crisp and confident script could be easily achieved and realised.
Director ;
William Friedkin was a bad choice. His only notable movie that was well presented and directed was The French Connection, and only because the gritty presentation enhanced that picture. "what about The Exorcist" you might cry. Well, what about it ? It was a very average horror movie that was going to be seen as subversive in anybody's hands, the religious aspect and its treatment was always going to cause an outcry. I argue any director could have turned in The Exorcist as good if not in most cases better than Friedkin.
If this were to be remade, with the focus on the psychological, id say Gus Van Sant, David Cronenberg, Brad Anderson, Christopher Nolan, David Lynch, or Lodge Kerrigan would be more apt.
Demographic ;
When 'Crusing' was made, much work had still to be dont to deal with homophobic attitudes. One of this movie's main shameful points is the interpretation of 'gay culture'. Since this was made, movies with a gay theme or lead character are now able to be released to the mainstream audience without pre-conceptions attached to them. Not all gay men dress up in leather and like disco music. I believe a modern audience would respond quite well to a well wrote remake.
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that concludes my brief overview as to why i think in this instance a remake is essential. I dont normally go for remakes, often something that made the original special is lost, but here, i firmly believe only improvements can be made.