Remakes: Good or Bad?

And there is one particular remake in mind that I want to discuss: The Manchurian Candidate.

I love The Manchurian Candidate. I saw it in the Intro to Film class that I was a senior mentor for, and I was very much drawn into the story of Raymond Shaw and his brainwashing. It was very much a movie of its era -- fear from the Cold War and what could possibly happen, including the assassination of a presidential candidate. After seeing the film, I went out and got a copy off of Ebay.

The one scene that I absolutely love from The Manchurian Candidate is when the men believe that they are at a meeting of a women's gardening club and the camera pans 360 degrees to eventually show that they are before their enemies. What a technological advancement -- and it stands up today!

So why did they decide to remake it? I don't know -- it was such a great movie. I know that the remake includes some great contemporary actors -- Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, and Liev Schreiber (the lone reason I would even think of seeing it). But the original had Frank Sinatra (at his sweaty best!) Laurence Harvey (perfect as the uptight sargent), and Angela Lansbury (whom I will never forget as the evil mother). The supporting characters were great as well -- James Gregory as Johnny Iselin was the perfect buffoon manipulated by his wife and John McGiver as Senator Thomas, the lone vocal opposition to Iseland and his witch hunts!

Angela Lansbury also said in Entertainment Weekly about the remake:

I'm so unhappy. I'm so sorry they had to mess with something that was so perfect. I couldn't believe it when I heard they were remaking it. I said, "There's no way they would be foolish enough to walk into that trap."

(On Meryl Streep): "I have great admiration for her. She'll probably be very interesting. I just wish she hadn't chosen to do it."

From the commercials that I've seen for the remake, it looks like it's getting pretty good reviews. And apparently Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs up. And there is the worst part about a remake -- I want film critics to say that it is horrible -- especially ones like Ebert who really do appreciate classic films -- and judge it in the shadow of its predecessor. But when they say good things about it, I can't help but think that maybe it is a good movie. Perhaps not good enough for the AFI 100 Years...100 Movies list (the original is number sixty-seven!), but good enough to enjoy during the summer? I mean, after all, if it is up to par with the original, they would release it in the winter near Oscar season? You'd think so...