Bond 22 - Why not 'Live and Let Die?'

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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,619MI6 Agent
    I don't think, that a remake will happen. And I doubt, if they should really do it, it will set off a chain reaction. It may be quite the opposite: The box office rules!

    On the other hand, 10 years ago, noone would have really foreseen a prequel like CR was.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • thesecretagentthesecretagent CornwallPosts: 2,151MI6 Agent
    Let's be honest Casino Royale was hardly a remake. It was an adaptation of an existing novel, that had yet to be made by the official Bond team. The Casino Royale with "Jimmy Bond" and the Peter Sellers comedy were not real Bond films as we know them.

    I don't think it would be a good idea to remake the existing films. Never Say Never Again made a right hash-up of Thunderball...
    Amazon #1 Bestselling Author. If you enjoy crime, espionage, action and fast-moving thrillers follow this link:

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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,619MI6 Agent
    Let's be honest Casino Royale was hardly a remake. ...

    just incase this is a direct response to my post, please read again:
    Bondtoys wrote:
    On the other hand, 10 years ago, noone would have really foreseen a prequel like CR was.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,256MI6 Agent
    Plus with all the other remakes that have come out of HollyWoood since 1999, I have a feeling that movie goers would not be all that interested. At times it feels like for every new film that comes out, there is a remake or two coming out as well.
    Bond has always been about staying current with the times, so I say let history stand on it's own warts and all.
  • thesecretagentthesecretagent CornwallPosts: 2,151MI6 Agent
    Hollywood has been remaking a lot of films recently and none I have seen have been better than the originals. I imagine remakes of Bond films would be no better. I don't see the point of re-making films which largely strayed so far from the brilliant original stories that many were practically in title only. If they were ever going to re-make the films, then I would welcome more accurate films to the books(ie close to Casino Royale - tweaked for modern times).

    Bondtoys - yes I misinterpreted your post - you are right though, nobody saw a re-boot like that coming. And in my opinion, it worked really well.
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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,619MI6 Agent
    And in my opinion, it worked really well.

    that's why I have mentioned the prequel story - as unthinkable then - as unthinkable like a remake today pobably. And it worked well.

    But personally, I am not excited about the remake idea.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,634MI6 Agent
    I take on board everything that has been written here about character changes, possible plot ruses etc, but I don't think it would possible to "re-make" LALD as such.
    I know CR was a "re-make" of CR'67, but the Niven/Sellers version is hardly a true Bond film.
    If LALD in 1973 had been an international co-production starring Burton and Taylor, produced by Golan-Globus & directed by Andrew V. McLaglan, well, I could quite see the point for remaking it as it would have been s##t.
    However, as it stands, the film holds up remarkably well and includes many elements central to the novel: Solitaire, voodoo, the locations, the Silver Phantom, Tee Hee, Baron Samedi, the finger snapping (tho' it never happens), Bond's trip to a jazz bar, Solitaire's abduction at an airport. They are of course elaborated on.

    I agree that two of the best scenes (the gunfight at Auborus & the keel haul) are not included, while others are diluted or radically altered and the treasure-trove plot isn't used (it is updated to heroin smuggling, but using the similar trafficing methods).

    But I think too much of the novel had already been plundered for LALD, LTK and FYEO. There isn't enough left to do an effective "remake." Some elements can be utilised again, but only in a totally new scenario.

    Now if the producers of "the official James Bond franchise" take the bold step to announce a "remake" of any Bond film, the result will immediately be compared to a previous film. It will either be lauded or slated and that could effect the perception of all the other Bond films and force a whole debate about the merits of those films (which already receive criticism and praise alike).

    All films are of their time, but the consistency of Bond (and Eon productions) has meant James Bond has never been away, like, say Flash Gordon, Dracula, Invaders From Mars, The Nutty Professor etc. The films are not really up for a "remake" because they have never been substantailly forgotten. While many modern film go-ers are unlikely to have seen the '50s version of War of the Worlds, he's highly likely to have watched LALD or for that matter GF, DN and FRWL, and formed an opinion of its merits, making any remake a highly contentious debate.
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