Not so sucky: Remakes Blogfest

Today Ninja Captain Alex J Cavanaugh and Heather M Gardener are co-hosting the funnest blogfest on Remakes, irresistible! and I'm taking a break from poetry and jumping in.

The raison d'etre and rules  -

Remakes – most of them suck. Now and then, one comes along that is as good as, if not better, than the original. And after all of the bad ones we’ve endured, we want to know about some good ones.

On November 13, 2017, blog about your favorite remake: movie (or television show into movie and vice versa), song, or book – or all three! Post a YouTube video and links where we can find these treasures. Tell us why THIS remake doesn’t suck!

Sign up here or here. Post on November 13 and visit others on the list. Time to unearth those good remakes! 

I’m here with one script, one novel - both somewhat...ancient...and two songs, these also not exactly the latest chart-toppers. Yeah, I know. I like living in the (remote) past…

1.  From Cyprus to Meerut

It was first written as short fiction, published in 1565. Then adapted into a play by Will S (who else?) in early 17^th century, it’s never been out of circulation since. Its themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge n remorse are pretty universal. It’s been performed on stage, and in opera, ballet, and adapted for films. It’s inspired a bucket load of paintings too, but that’s another story. I’m talking about Othello.

For centuries, the ‘Moor’ has been portrayed by white actors. Only a handful of black actors have played Othello, not a surprise! Years back, a friend and I binge-watched three versions, starting with the 1965 Othello, played by Laurence Olivier. Not impressed. Dreadfully over the top. Olivier looks seriously miscast, more importantly his overacting, that special gait and that 'blackface' makeup was thoroughly off-putting - more a caricature than a tragic hero. Watch it for its historical value. Or maybe...don't bother.

One of the best remakes is the 1995 film - Laurence Fishburne played the lead, with Kenneth Branagh as Iago. Fishburne is subtle and smouldering, all the torment of Othello’s love, suspicion and jealousy is delivered understated. Branagh makes a mean Iago too. Groovy! (Though his most recent role as Poirot I found a little disappointing, David Suchet can't be beaten, tough call! and what's with all that ma cherie Katherine?? weird departure from the original, but that's another story...er...remake.) Watch the Othello trailer below and the film here.

Another great reinterpretation is Bollywood's Omkara - Othello updated and repurposed by director Vishal Bharadwaj. The setting changed from Venice and Cyprus to modern day Meerut, a small town in North India, where Omkara (Othello) is a political enforcer, a thug who aids the local politician. He chooses Kesu (Cassio) over Langra Tyagi (Iago) as his right-hand man and…

All the usual ingredients of a Bollywood potboiler - extravagant music, colourful sets, high-tension drama and all that. But this film still very cleverly blurred the line between serious cinema and the mainstream mindless.  Brilliant, contemporary and crisply on-point. Deserved all the awards and ooh-aah that happened to it around the world. Get it here.

2.  Georgian goes digital

My second contender’s not as ancient but still pretty venerable, published 1813. Among the very first romance novels written, also among those written by a woman, it marked several milestones. It continues to enthrall readers till date. The spinoffs have been legion - novels, plays, musicals, TV and films. Yup, you got it - Pride and Prejudice – one of my favourite classics, and the remake I’m pointing you to is Bridget Jones’s Diary.  

The book by Helen Fielding was released in 1998 and bagged the British Book of the Year award.  With its sequel – Bridget Jones’s Diary: The Edge of Reason, Fielding's sold 15 million copies in 40 countries.

The main character is a thirty-odd, singleton, working woman living in London, obsessed with body-image, dieting, and a romantic relationship or lack thereof in her life.  It addresses many of the same societal issues as the original – class, wealth, parenting influences, marriage and marriageability, the superficiality of contemporary life juxtaposed with the quest for self-knowledge, pride and prejudice.   It is sharp and hilariously witty, a great, fresh take on Elizabeth Bennett reinterpreted and  modernised for the digital age. Written as diary entries over a year, Bridget starts with a set of resolutions and each entry  measures her progress  -

Helen Fielding explores the challenges of Bridget’s life with a light touch but telling seriousness, and the result is just delightful. Fielding has been counted among the most influential British people. BJD has taken its place among the top ten books that define 20^th century as per The Guardian, it's also the defining text for the genre called chick lit. There are views both for and against its position on feminism, not getting into long debates here. Its impact on a certain sub-culture is not in any doubt, wherever on the feminist continuum you place it.

BJD was made into a film in 2001, with Renee Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as her caddish boss and a temporary love interest, and Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, Bridget’s true love.  All three actors got nominated for various awards in US and Europe. Very convincing and consummate performances by all parties concerned. A satirical, fun take on P&P with a HEA ending - what's not to love? Watch the trailer, and here’s a link for the whole. There are sequels too, two of 'em, yum!

3.   Cover girls

Okay I’m going to keep this bit short.  Two songs, and two covers and why they don’t suck :

Track 1  – famous track composed jointly by Serge Lama and Alice Dona, sung by Serge as part of his album of the same name in 1973. Take a listen by clicking here.

Many cover versions – Lara Fabian, Celine Dion, Richard Anthony, Thierry Amiel, and more. My fav cover is by Dalida.

Why it doesn’t suck - because Dalida’s rendition I find the most expressive of all, she rocks it better than the original, in fact. I love that she renders the song with her amazingly melodious and powerful voice as well as her eyes - pain and longing, and pure music. Respect.

Track 2 – this one was a childhood staple, I listened to it playing on All India Radio (AIR) on the Forces Request, a programme for Indian defence personnel. Composed by Lee Hazlewood and first sung by Lee and Suzi Jane Hokom in 1966. Lee sung it the following year with Nancy Sinatra again, and it remained a favourite on AIR right up to the 80’s. (For all I know, it's still popular, just that I've moved away from Delhi and AIR and radio generally, except sometimes in the car. A sea change in the ways of consuming music now)

Again, many cover versions exist, my top one is by The Corrs and Bono. Definitely not a sucky type, nope. More a sizzler...

Those then are my choices for non-sucky remakes, quite a few more I can think of, but…so many remakes, so little space…Tell me about yours.