MovieChat Forums > Prime Cut (1972) Discussion > How GREAT would a remake be?

How GREAT would a remake be?

posted 18 years ago by steveintucson
27 replies | jump to latest

Wow! What a forgotten gem or a "got past me" gem in my case. How did I miss this movie??
After watching "Point Blank" again, for the first time since I saw it in the theaters in 1967, I realized that even though I had watched it over and over back then watching it now was a new experience. It was so much better than the movie I saw back when I was 17. I decided my own personal Lee Marvin festival was in order. BTW, the John Borman/Steven Soderberg directors commentary on Point Blank was fantastic.
I use Blockbuster online so I entered Lee Marvin and started ordering his movies; Prime Cut among them.
Well it came the other day and whoa, hey, I've been watching it about twice a day going on three days now. Two of my all time favorite actors, Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman.
I think a lot could be done in a remake of this movie. Could do a great tie in with what goes on in slaughter houses.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] ddyfad 18 years ago

If they did, Alyson Hannigan might be great in the Sissy Spacek part. Think a less cerebral version of Willow in "Buffy"!

[–] swabo 18 years ago

Why remake something that is already good?
I could understand the reason for making 'Casino Royale' because the Peter Sellers original was a disaster, but leave good movies alone!. I wouldn't let Bruce Willis anywhere near this movie especially after watching 'The Jackal'.

[–] freudified_n_funkified 18 years ago

There's no need for a remake, but I don't see anyone going near it anyway. It's perfect as it is, but is so absolutely thin plot-wise that it would appear nearly empty to a contemporary producer looking for a safe action vehicle to remake. They would actually have to write more story and dialogue to fill in and explain the unspoken pieces that modern day audiences don't have the attention span for - and spoil all the great classic and authentic pulpy tough guy posturing in the process.

It would be kind a sham anyway. Who could ever really fill Marvin or Hackman's shoes? They don't make 'em like this anymore because they can't.

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[–] thunderwing 18 years ago

Remakes are boring and pointless, if you like the movie just watch it again, I guarantee it'd be better than any crap Hollywood would dish out now.

[–] alcope2000 17 years ago

"Remakes are boring and pointless".Right on!!!! I cannot believe, despite the fact that some many of us hate them, how many people want modern classics remade!! "Hey remember what a cool movie that was back then, they could really make that cool now dude". That is the mentality of most mainstream filmgoers today.It wouldn't have the nude junkie females being sold for prositution in the barn scene. No, that is not "politicly correct." Lets cut out this remake *beep*

[–] thelastfaceyouwillsee 15 years ago

I don't get precious any more about the idea of remakes. If a remake is good then we get lucky - if it's indiferent or stinks then who cares?. The original is still around so go watch that instead.

PRIME CUT is a decent, enjoyable example of 70s gangster/action flicks but it does lack a bit of punch. The escape from the country fair just meanders and the combine harvester sequence just screams out to be better and more threatening.

More could have been made by contrasting the outward wholesomeness of the country living with the bloody and grisly side of the meat industry, the seediness of Mary Anne's activities and the possible participation of these outwardly homely countryfolks.

Also, during the escape from the fair we see a cop just watching the farmboys chase Devlin and Poppy with their guns out. More could have been made of how the cops turn a blind eye to or are even complicit with Mary Anne's crime empire.

The shotgun attack on Devlin's crew at the hotel takes place offscreen - passing up on a screen jolt that would have helped build tension towards the end of the movie.

I don't think PRIME CUT is so flawless that a remake is unthinkable. Marvin was a great screen presence but the story has potential to be opened up and given more guts and punch.

[–] stiv-7 17 years ago

A remake is utterly unnecessary. Prime Cut is a product of its time in much the same way as other classics and cult classics from the same year. Would you remake The Godfather? Deliverance? Duck, You Sucker? Harold and Maude? The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean? Last Tango in Paris? No. Leave well enough alone. Poseidon was a mess, and so would any other remake be.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] efrasnel-1 17 years ago

...unless Quentin Tarantino gives it a go. I think at this time, he is the only American director who could do it.

[–] heckchap 17 years ago

Utterly disagree.

This is "Payback" territory. (The original cut...not the rejig on DVD...please: it only showed that Gibson was actually right.)

I'd never even heard of this, and utterly melted watching it. The "wakeup and dinner" scene with Poppy was simultaneously the sexiest and most innocent thing I've seen in years.

Wow!

[–] magicphil 17 years ago

If it were remade today, which I would suggest was unnecessary, it would be emasculated almost beyond recognition. The cannibalistic parts would be lost, especially now americans believe their beef to be so pure, and the realistic violence would be turned into something "comic." Lee Marvin's portrayal of a person who deals in casual violence as a tool is astonishing, also to be seen in "Point blank," but he did go through France and into Germany in WW2 as a foot soldier. To find an actor with the same capabilities now would seem difficult, and none with the ability to refuse to make the obvious quips!

[–] hakuchi_san 17 years ago

The Lee Marvins out there are dead and gone (or don't have access to Hollywood). Therefore a remake would almost inevitably be sub-standard.

What happened to the cool, macho, tough American? A few decades ago there plenty of them in the movies; Lee Marvin, Couburn, Bronson (before he became a sad joke in the 80's and 90's)etc. The 80's killed them with bloated cartoon figures like Stallone and Governator (which are fun in their own way of course) and the 90's and 00's haven't given us anything except perhaps Bruce Willis. If I look at the new breed of actors coming up in Hollywood I don't see anyone who could possibly inherit the coolness mantle of the 60's/70's action heavies. Most actors today look wimpy and fake. What happened? Suburban affluence? No World War or severe depression? Or are these sorts of men still out there, just being ignored by Hollywood and themselves ignoring the acting profession?

Any theories out there?

[–] h-ahmad-1 17 years ago

If they ever remade this, I guess they'd cast Ben Affleck as Nick, in a desperate attempt to win him some action-man credibility, and maybe someone like Timothy Olyphant as Mary Ann, with Rick Hoffman (Hostel) playing Weenie.

But luckily, it'll never happen, right?

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[–] Kelleyscope 15 years ago

Not to get derailed from the subject too much, I just wanted to say, while a majority of his movies may have lost critical acclaim (and for good reason) in the 80's and 90's I would certainly say that Bronson was never a joke...his performances, no matter how corny or poorly written the lines, were always done with depth and truth.

But as to your question about what happened to the tough guy actors, who knows. My friends and I were once talking about casting (albeit a student/very small independent) western but were at a loss for finding the kind of leading actor we wanted.

Perhaps it's two fold: the men still exist but no longer take acting lessons and/or the casting directors pass up on the tough guys on behalf of the (ahem) not so tough guys.

[–] Icthus381376 15 years ago

I thought Lee Marvin was a US Marine and fought in the Pacific Theater!

[–] circus14 16 years ago

You cannot have a remake of a film starring Lee Marvin that's sacrilegious.

As for the film it ought to be broadcasted at vegetarian festivals.

---I don't know enough to be incompetent.---

[–] Squonkamatic 15 years ago

The Lee Marvin role would probably go to Samuel L. Jackson and at least one of his crew would be a sexy babe in skin tights. Clarabelle would be a gay lover and the whole thing moved to New York or LA, with a sub-plot about global warming awareness. I say skip it and try to make a new movie that's as memorable.

[–] Caractacus23 15 years ago

Theoretically, a remake could be outstanding (Tarantino would probably be a good choice for making it; I'll bet he knows & likes this film), but in terms of practical reality, it would almost certainly be terrible.

Gamera is really neat! He is made from turtle meat! We've been eating Gamera!

[–] lastmidnite2 14 years ago

I vote for mandatory shock treatments for all cretins asking for remakes.

[–] kodak007 14 years ago

this could be a great remake.

[–] fullmoon7461-908-439866 13 years ago

while some remakes do work,most recently True Grit (which was really just another adaptation) most of the ones today are just because Hollywood has gotten lazy...

Today's cool tough guys are mostly British, and have a different vibe than the American tough guys... You can't compare Lee Marvin or Gene Hackman or Clint Eastwood to actors like Clive Owen, or Daniel Craig or even Jason Statham...

they are great and I love them but the old-school American tough guys were a special breed