Art Critic | Film and Television Remakes That Need to Be Restrained – Feelings About the New Version of “The Massacre on the Nile” – Xinhua English.news.cn

Art Critic | Film and television remakes that need restraint – I feel the new version of “The Massacre on the Nile”Fly into the homes of ordinary people

The remake of film and television dramas is actually a phenomenon of “renovation” of cultural products. The strong influence of the original work and the mature story and character blueprint will naturally attract creators and investors to develop it again.

From the perspective of investment and creative attitude, it seems that the current remakes can be divided into two categories: one is a bad shot; the other is a great shot. Bad shooters know that they are far inferior to the original in terms of art and production, but still use the IP of the original to make quick money. On the other hand, high-profile shooters are often popular directors and investment teams. They try to combine greater set production and investment with original creativity and stories to produce works with more audio-visual effects and popular star effects. On the one hand, it uses the repeatable consumption attribute of film and television to re-watch and harvest old audiences, and on the other hand, it uses the dissemination of old works to attract new audiences.

The 2022 version of “The Massacre on the Nile” is actually quite good at the North American box office, thanks to the original wonderful story of Agatha’s reasoning and the joining of a group of eye-catching traffic movie stars, coupled with the exquisite Chinese beauty of the 1930s. clothes and the beautiful scenery of Egypt. However, even with the addition of “Wonder Girl”, there was no box office miracle in mainland China. What is the reason? First of all, the new version of the traffic star is unfamiliar to most audiences in China, and compared to the “Poirot” in the old version of the movie and TV series, we have accepted that he is a laid-back and funny Belgian short fat man with a big beard , is repelling the current somewhat cool image of a World War I veteran hero. Whether it is Agatha’s original work or any version of “The Massacre on the Nile” that has been made, the main types are suspense and reasoning. In addition, the director of the film, Kenneth Branagh, also disregarded the differences between the characters and the original, and narcissistically added the characters of World War I heroes to the protagonist. For most Chinese audiences who have been spoiled by old editions or novels, the pitiful gain in the plot is the origin of Poirot’s beard. In addition, from the victim to the two murderers, there are no too classic details, which makes them look “silly and sweet”. Many viewers joked that the value of this version of the scenery film is greater than the effect of the suspense film.

In his long essay “Works of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, the famous modern literary critic Benjamin regarded films that were not long in existence as mechanically reproduced art commodities, worrying that they would bring about the disappearance of artistic “spirituality”. Although the director and starring role of the new version of “The Massacre on the Nile” are much more handsome and cool than the old movie and TV versions, we have accepted the Belgian fat detective’s leisurely solution and final reasoning, and there is no “gun smoke impression” experiment. The sudden turn of the story and “A woman’s greatest wish is to love her alone”, such a classic sigh-style summary.

The remakes of film and television classics are not without success. Especially some investors and directors who are well versed in art and technology and the psychology of public appreciation. Tsui Hark’s 3D version of the film “Taking Tiger Mountain by Wisdom” has been recognized by a considerable number of audiences, which to some extent proves the classicity of the original work. Not only that, there is a retention and deepening of the original wonderful characters and plots, as well as a look back from a new perspective, clearly telling new and old audiences that this is a tribute-style “re-interpretation across generations”. In 1987, Cheng Xiaodong’s remake of the 1960 version of “A Chinese Ghost Story” directed by Li Hanxiang also achieved similar success, but although the 2011 version of Ye Weixin also had stars to help, the word of mouth and box office were not so lucky. The suspenseful brain-burning movie “Manslaughter”, which has won more than 2 billion box office, is a remake of an Indian movie that most people are not familiar with and watched, and transplanted time and space to a country in Southeast Asia that we are relatively familiar with, but also retains a little aesthetic distance. There is no slack in the filming of the camera language and character performances. It can be said that it is thoughtful and conscientious, and Fang has created the effect of aesthetics and empathy for the Chinese audience that exceeds the original work. However, more film and television drama remakes are not so sober and hard-working, and most of them simply rely on the original story prototype and the conversion of traffic transmission to the box office or ratings. Therefore, from the color versions of the films “Spring in a Small Town” and “Love in Lushan Mountain 2010” to the new TV series “Bright Sword”, “Snow Leopard”, “Huo Yuanjia”, “Let’s Watch the Meteor Shower”, etc., the quality, texture and reputation of the remake are far from the original. far.

In fact, the overall shooting quality of the new version of “The Massacre on the Nile” is not bad. For North American audiences who haven’t watched the 1974 English, French and German version, some of the stars they are familiar with, the scenery and monuments on both sides of the Nile River in Egypt that have been deliberately beautified, and the director’s intentional increase Ethnic characters and diverse character relationships and topics are directional additions. But these obviously won’t play a big role for Chinese audiences who have buried the old version, especially the dubbed version of the god-level version, in their hearts and cannot be shaken.

The advancement of technology has greatly improved the audio-visual effects of film and television, but we are far less focused and free than previous generations of creators. Classics are rare, and remakes require consideration and caution. Film and television practitioners need to learn to refuse the temptation. They should not only have the box office value of the original work in their field of vision, but also appreciate the humanistic feelings and profound themes and character shaping in the depths of its success. When Dillon refused to remake “The True Color of Heroes”, he said: “Don’t lure me with a big red envelope, how can you find another Leslie Cheung for me?”

The birth of film and television classics is some cultural products of a specific era, and more is a giant system that shakes the human heart, at least a successful presentation of artistic creativity or story characters. It can be learned and imitated, it is difficult to be copied as it is, and it is impossible to surpass it. Familiarity with the original IP does not determine the viewing decision of most audiences.

It’s better to miss seeing each other, please be cautious about remakes. (Shi Jun)

Editor: Zhao Mei

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