MovieChat Forums > The Good German (2007) Discussion > remakes, remakes, remakes

remakes, remakes, remakes

posted 17 years ago by wickjg
11 replies | jump to latest

HEREIN BE SPOILERS:

What the heck!
If they can "replace" Jimmy Stewart with Dennis Quaid, (Flight of the Phoenix-remake) then why not replace Bogie with.......George Clooney? (Casa Blanca-The Good German)
GC couldn't even do a follow up to Val Kilmer's BATMAN,
--and yes, i am also aware that die-hard Batman fans claim that
there never was a "4th Batman Movie"--
Let's not even go to his Frank Sinatra-Oceans 11, or 12, or 13-gig....how many more?
What made them think he'd be capable of filling Bogarts's shoes.
Yes, i know....the scenarios are different, but it sure seems to me that's what they were going for.
There was one camera angle i particularly liked, entrance to bldg, pull back, framed thru car window.
BUT!

*****AND HERE'S THAT SPOILER I WARNED YOU ABOUT*****

That airport scene......what was that? Shot for shot from Casa Blanca?

have a WUNNERFUL! ™
JGW

[–] hawks_senator 17 years ago

I'm so tired of remakes and any other similar forms.
I agree with your post!

I stick my neck out for nobody.

[–] oneiros-9 17 years ago

how about: there are no new stories, only new ways to tell old ones...

to the OP...

WTF?...

WGAF?...

stop talking nonsense

The human race is a race of fools. not only do I march in that parade, I carry a banner.

[–] clmarch 17 years ago

This movie wasn't a remake of Casablanca. It was a tribute to Film Noir, of which Casablanca was a prime example. Even more so, this movie was an "updated" version of a classic style of movie. Take a look at the review titled "The Good German is an ironic comment on Good Americans", 25 November 2006. Maybe it will enlighten you.

[–] iwals 17 years ago

Yes that scene was reminiscent of Casablanca, but if you watch the movie The Third Man with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton you will find many parallels. I would recommend The Third Man over The Good German for a post-war film noir experience. The ferris wheel scene with Welles' chilling explaination of selling tainted antibiotics on the black market is classic.

Rick

[–] Lazenby 17 years ago

There is a habit of roughing out a scene based on something done previously.
and it does help to sell the concept to producers...
Yes - the end had a Casablanca vibe to it and the entire film smelled like the Third Man...
None the less I enjoyed it.

Not sure George is being Bogart - I thought he was sticking to his Cary Grant foundation with more aggression.
Either way - at least he makes an effort to act like a traditional movie star -
which I for one appreciate - wish he would wear more British cut stuff than Italian though.

"This never happened to the other fella"

[–] clmarch 17 years ago

Yes, I had meant to mention that film in my reply, but it was late and I was tired. Haha. The whole plot line with the husband hiding in the swers was the most obvious example. The Good German was a great film in it's own right. My reason for liking it so much was its relevance to the current war in Iraq and the USA'a role in the conflict. Thank you for responding!

[–] Amarillo10 17 years ago

I'd like to know how this movie, set in a totally verifiable time in history has anything, the merest scintilla, to do with the USA's role in the current Iraq conflict?

*Amarillo* --Euripides? Eumenides!

[–] Sparkicus 17 years ago

Yes, correct, this is not a remake but an homage to numerous other films. Soderbergh is of course a film-lover, not just a filmmaker. But the film this most reminds me of is "A Foreign Affair" by Billy Wilder. Not exactly, but in certain elements.

[–] dcojoc 17 years ago

Wickjg, do you even know what a remake is, you idiot? If I write a script and I include the line "I'll be back" does that make the movie a remake of Terminator, you moron?

[–] dcojoc 17 years ago

It's quite obvious you don't even know what a spoiler is, wick. For what you wrote at the end to be a spoiler Lena should have left with Emil by plane, and Jake should have killed somebody, and the freaking French chief of police should have covered it up. The only thing that actually happens in the movie is there is a plane. But it's a freaking airport so what did you expect to see, a lawn mower?

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]