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Lesley's avatar

Gaslight is my "exception that proves the rule" re remakes. Opinions differ on this one. I was so comfortable with the idea that remakes are always inferior that Cukor's remake took me by surprise. the original has Anton Walbrook, and that is no small thing, but after numerous viewings I've arrived at the conclusion that the 1944 adaptation is superior in every way: tighter, more compelling, and more suspenseful. anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

sorry to hear you've been mired in stuff, glad the decks are clearing, looking forward to seeing more of you, in a regularly irregular sort of way...

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Laura Lippman's avatar

I'm so sorry about the "stuff."

Meanwhile, movies. I fear that it's banal to bring up "His Girl Friday" in a discussion of remakes because it's a) obvious and b) maybe not a remake? (Is there a category known as "re-thinking the material"?) Film Twitter and various podcasts have taught me to be humble when it comes to films; I don't feel I know enough to come charging in with opinions. So, not a rhetorical question: Does anyone argue that the original Front Page is better than His Girl Friday?

Also not a rhetorical question: Is the original A Star is Born better than the second? It's been a long time since I've seen it, and it's simply not as imprinted on me as the Garland version.

But, of course, I am missing Huston's more important point, which is that it's the misfires that deserve a second chance, and the marketplace just doesn't respect that.

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