tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post3197534135143035607..comments2024-03-29T04:57:26.162-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: An Homage to a Vanished Loved One: The Vanishing (1988) vs. The Vanishing (1993)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-19265966048707228852010-03-23T08:46:26.098-04:002010-03-23T08:46:26.098-04:00DLR:
Thank you for your lovely compliment, and gr...DLR:<br /><br />Thank you for your lovely compliment, and great insight (as usual) into the nature of the two films. <br /><br />I don't hate the American remake by any means...I rather enjoyed it. I agree with you that, if inevitability is sacrificed for the re-do, unpredictability is added. <br /><br />People can argue the relative value of each quality; but each film is powerful (in my opinion) and true to itself.<br /><br />Thanks!<br />JKMJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-9384212881005441102010-03-23T08:35:28.353-04:002010-03-23T08:35:28.353-04:00I actually found the original somewhat lacking. Pe...I actually found the original somewhat lacking. Perhaps preconditioned by other Euro cinema I was expecting pretty much what happened; a nasty but banal end. Overall I found it pretty cold and distancing... the horror didn't really work for me. I actually preferred the Hollywood cheese because I didn't know what would happen... would Kiefer actually die? There was always that chance in the remake (especially coming as it did from the same director), but the downer ending of the Dutch version seemed inevitable. <br /><br />Great review, as usual. Again you find interest where other critics dismiss.DLRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-23624002017618081682010-03-22T20:12:15.797-04:002010-03-22T20:12:15.797-04:00I've always wanted to see the original Dutch f...I've always wanted to see the original Dutch film, I don't hate the remake, but I can see why people do.<br /><br />Another director who was able to do remake his own film was Ole Bornedal, his Danish film called Nattevagten (1994), he remade it as Nightwatch (1997) with some good name actors. It was decent but lacks what the original had.<br /><br />Cheers from Iceland!<br />- JósefJósef Karlhttp://www.myspace.com/josefkarlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-53822608904019332862010-03-22T13:17:17.467-04:002010-03-22T13:17:17.467-04:00Steve:
You are absolutely right. Johanna Ter Stee...Steve:<br /><br />You are absolutely right. Johanna Ter Steege is -- just as you noted -- "luminous" as Saskia. <br /><br />She exudes joy, innocence, youth...all of these qualities that make us connect both to her and to Rex's quest. Well said.<br /><br />Today, we have a lot of baggage to go with Sandra Bullock, but in 1993 -- before she was a star and well-known -- she offered some of the same qualities in her portrayal of Diane. <br /><br />It's harder to see today because of everything that came after, but I would submit that it is there in Mrs Bullock too.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment,<br />JKMJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-6390095632389697852010-03-22T13:12:40.706-04:002010-03-22T13:12:40.706-04:00The first movie is certainly ingenious and terrify...The first movie is certainly ingenious and terrifying, and thanks for reminding me about details like the "Golden Egg." For me though, what makes the movie really memorable is the luminous Johanna Ter Steege, who makes the hero's obsession believable in a way that a less-obsession-worthy actress wouldn't. She was equally wonderful in Altman's "Vincent and Theo" from the same year.SteveWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313241937230776034noreply@blogger.com