However, though I am a film buff in many other ways, I must admit a certain hesitation when it comes to automatically condemning remakes. For one thing, it's hard to determine what a remake is. After all, most of the original movies themselves were adaptations of novels or plays, so isn't this just another version of that original? Also, do we stop performing Shakespeare or Chekhov et al just because it was already performed several centuries ago? And I also share fondness for some examples of music's version of remakes; cover versions. Finally, I have to confess some of my favorite recent films are remakes, like NO WAY OUT (THE BIG CLOCK) and DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (BEDTIME STORY). (Note: foreign remakes will be covered in a different article). With that in mind, here are two remakes, Michael Cimino's DESPERATE HOURS, and Peter Hyams' NARROW MARGIN.
In the case of DESPERATE HOURS, this is a movie where they should have left well enough alone. The original film, directed by William Wyler, is a tight, taut drama, with Humphrey Bogart giving one of his best performances as a crook who, with his associates, holds a family hostage. And Frederic March is every bit his equal as the father of the family. Granted, since this is based on a play (by Joseph Hayes, who also wrote the original novel, and the screenplay for this film), so Wyler's film may seem stagey to some. Also, given how thrillers are these days, this may not seem as gripping to some. Finally, the on-screen depiction of families has also changed quite a bit, so that may date the film. Still, given all that, Wyler's film is still a much better film than Cimino's travesty.
