Yeah, point taken... These endless variations on "Ghostly Asian bints with long, dark hair doing nasty stuff" is getting somewhat tiresome..... :lol:

 

tho maybe with the bankrupcy and demise of Tartan - the pages of DVD montly will be filled up with other stuff now (tho if turns out to be all Jason Statham dtv spin-offs that dont feature Jason Statham might not be a good thing :lol: )

 

 

And, also, we tend to look upon the likes of Miike Takashi and Takeshi Kitano as being these "great visionary artists", well, that aint really how either of them are seen in Japan..... Kitano is almost a "light entertainer" in a Brucie/Des style, and Takashi is virtually a "gun for hire" in directorial terms, it just so happens that to us, his films appear totally barmy, extreme and out there because we dont really "get" Japanese culture....

 

Doesn't stop me from loving both of these guys' films, but you have to see them in a wider cultural context....

 

and Hole in the Wall should have been done like Takeshi's Castle...with original footage and comic voice over

dude, you should watch 'a tale of two sisters' if you can. amazing.

 

f*ck the remake.

watch 'the audition', too.

 

i heard they're planning on remaking that one.

watch 'the audition', too.

 

..And this is another film which is so particular to Japanese culture and society that any other nation just aint gonna translate it at all well..... Nakata's "Dark Water" and Takashi's "Audition" are both very much about how the gender roles in Japanese society are changing; Japan is very much a Patriarchal structure, more so than the West... The US remake of "Dark Water" was as instantly forgettable as the original was memorable, with a totally compromised ending (Nakata's ending was far more eerie and lingered in the mind far longer) and almost completely eshewed the complex gender-related themes of the original.... I absolutely have NO faith at all in a US remake of "Audition" simply because the complexities and themes of the original will be either completely dumbed-down or will be jettisoned entirely in favour of turning it into some pathetic piece of "torture porn"... <_<

 

Even though Miike is a bit of a "hired gun", he still manages to make damn good films, his take on "J-Horror" (Chakushin Ari - remade into "One Missed Call") was quite an amusing play on the genre conventions completely turning them on their head in the final reel... And again, this is something that will be totally missed by a remake because you're only gonna get this if you're familiar with the genre conventions, or indeed, are familiar with Japanese cultural concerns.....

 

Don't bother with the Takashi-less Japanese sequels though, they are ropey to say the least, and prime examples of the sort of trash that gets sieved out by the likes of Tartan and Optimum....

..And this is another film which is so particular to Japanese culture and society that any other nation just aint gonna translate it at all well..... Nakata's "Dark Water" and Takashi's "Audition" are both very much about how the gender roles in Japanese society are changing; Japan is very much a Patriarchal structure, more so than the West... The US remake of "Dark Water" was as instantly forgettable as the original was memorable

 

and it was directed by Walter Salles too of motorcycle diaries and central station...so maybe we shouldnt be looking at this thread about remakes of horror films by american studio but widen it to the problem of not keeping to your own culture....and bring in Oliver Hirschbiegel of downfall fame and the invasion infamy, as well as Mathieu Kassovitz of la haine fame and that double bill of Babylon A.D. / Gothika etc etc