Why don't you like the Ladykillers?

JULY 2003 - FRENCH BID TO REMAKE WHISKY GALORE FILM

The current trend for remakes of classic films is set to continue with plans for a new version of arguably Scotland's finest film, Whisky Galore! The remake of the classic Ealing comedy set in the Western Isles is the brainchild of French-based media giant Canal Plus.
The original, shot on location on Barra in 1948, tells the story of a ship that runs aground off the fictitious island of Todday and the wily islanders' attempts to outwit Customs officers and salvage thousands of cases of whisky.
The film was based on a novel by Compton Mackenzie, which was inspired by the wreck of the SS Politician off Eriskay in 1941.
It is understood "advance discussions" are under way between representatives of Canal Plus and a British production company to remake the film, but no stars have been chosen yet.
Donald Manford, Western Isles councillor for Barra, welcomed the proposal.
He said: "It would be absolutely wonderful to shoot the film on Barra again, both for the economy directly and the impact the movie would have on tourism by advertising the beauty of the island.
"A remake is certainly something I would strongly encourage and we would help the film's makers in any way we can."
Mr Manford, whose grandfather was involved in the real-life drama on Eriskay more than 60 years ago, added: "People around here joke that the only politician that brought us any good is lying at the bottom of the sea. Maybe she will bring us luck again."
The original film had a large cast including the leading Scottish actors of the day such as Gordon Jackson, Duncan Macrae and James Robertson Justice.
Scottish first-time director Sandy Mackendrick and an 80-strong cast and crew sailed for Barra from Oban, and had to contend with the worst summer for 80 years.
The film went over budget and over schedule and was considered a disaster when studio boss Michael Balcon first saw it.
He wanted to cut it down and release it as a supporting film. It was re-edited, but the film still performed poorly on its original release. A sequel, called Rockets Galore!, was also shot on Barra.
Calan Plus inherited the rights to the Ealing comedies and other British films through a series of takeovers, and is keen to exploit remake rights.
Articles Courtesy of The Press and Journal 07.07.03

And if he's busy, Ellen DeGeneres could do the Alec Guiness part. He's an amazing actor.

I'll say it again the original was a materpice in so many ways. From the reviews I've seen the new version doesn't even stand up very well on it's own let alone let alone in comparison to the film it is undoutedly trying to do homage to.

oh: http://fp.martinunderwood.f9.co.uk/Ladykillers/

The trains are profoundly atmospheric.

I like Koogs' post.

yeah the colour makes me think of certain powelll and pressburger films
― de, Saturday, June 26, 2004 1:45 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this.

just watched the new studio canal series bluray last night.

good times. alec guinness as alastair sim is really quite strange

How is the blu of this? It's on my wishlist for a post-payday purchase...

looks quite nice, never saw the dvd version tho. sound seemed a bit low tho.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews49/ladykillers_blu-ray.htm

Cheers, looks pretty good - softer than a few BR transfers of classics, but that's probably the source in this case. I'm an absolute sucker for the gorgeous pastel hues which the technicolor process imparts.

yeah. i can't wait for the inevitable red shoes bluray.

alec guinness as alastair sim is really quite strange

i'd never actually thought of this but yr right. was it explicitly a tribute/homage to sim?

apparently so, according to something i read somewhere

>yeah. i can't wait for the inevitable red shoes bluray

there's a region B issue by ITV dvd, and it's absurdly beautiful. You're region A though? I recall reading something about rights problems with Sony, but that might be old news.

im pretty sure criterion will snap up the new scorsese re-issue. is that where the ITV is taken from? like the super-fancy new cleaned-up version that bowed at cannes last year

yep, the extant itv version is the cannes 2009/marty version. criterion is doing it too, i read.

the sim thing seems so obvious now that it seems i always watched that performance as sim even though i knew it was guinness.

haha!

coen brothers version is underrated imo

it is their worst film, even including Crimewave

Intolerable Cruelty might have been worse.

Intolerable Cruelty is v good and funny, it's just lit like a regular romcom instead of Deakinsish

(it is probably their third or fourth "worst", but it is in no way bad)

I just remember hating it. I don't think I could watch it again.

Intolerable Cruelty is decent-ish. It's not really funny and the romance is uninvolving, but it's watchable.

It is really funny, and shits all over Barton Fink

Nope.

the romance is uninvolving

what a flaw!

i'd say it's a flaw for a romantic comedy, sure!

The original is a work of bloody art! I'll boycott this merely to keep my money away from any production lazy enough to resurrect a classic instead of filming something new. Filthy, plutocratic, un-artistic swine!!
― Michael White (Hereward), Sunday, April 4, 2004

I just brought home a used DVD of this for $1. I apologize in advance to Michael White for even touching this, but I intend to wallow in the full measure of my iniquity and watch it this weekend. At least the money goes straight to the coffers of my local public library. The Coens won't see one cent of mine dribbling their way.

OK. Watched it. The gospel choir and soundtrack were great! The female lead character, as played by Irma P. Hall, was excellent. Also, it had a cat. That's about it for the plus side of the ledger.

On the minus side, Tom Hanks played a character that had no resemblance to any human who ever lived and even if you considered him as a cartoon character he was pretty horrible. He needed to be weirdly charming. Instead he was just creepy and repellent. All the other members of his gang were forced to follow Hanks's lead and desperately overplayed their roles. It was kind of like the original movie's plot, but reshaped as a dim echo of Home Alone.

But like I said, with some really good music!

Not fair, maybe, but I remember seeing the trailer and deciding immediately I couldn't watch a whole movie's worth of Hanks. It's the only Coen brothers film I ever relegated to the permanent never-see list. (I think there are three or four others I haven't seen but remain open to doing so.)