... of a great french original!
My Father the Hero (1994) / Mon père, ce héros (1991)
Three Men and a Baby (1987) / 3 hommes et un couffin (1985)
Point of No Return (1993) / Nikita (1991)
Etc.
[not native speaker - please excuse language errors]
You are so right! This one certainly took that little extra away from the original. With Nikita, the case was even worse. The french Nikita really was something special when you saw it the first time.
I haven't had the opportunity to see the french original to 12 monkeys - that would be interesting. Anyone of you seen it? (the american film 12 monkeys is great, by the way).
/Arne Finn
You are totally right. The original movie with the lovely Marie Gilain was superb! But the problem is, that the americans do not accept good films from other countrys and they are not realy able to translate the original dialoges! I prefer the original movie, too!
"Nobody can stop the spanish inquisition"
(Monty Python)
[deleted]
I think so, too. The original version had a better daughter… and even a better father. In the original (French) movie Gérard looked as if he was wearing his private clothes. He had shaggy hair, his tattoos were visible and he was smoking…for the American version he got cleant up.
shareThere's a whole bunch of american remakes of good french comedies that will never reach the hights of the originals: Pure Luck, Three Fugitives, Father's Day, The Toy, Tall Man with one Red Shoe.
If you liked any of those I suggest you go search for the original names on IMDB and see the originals - they are much better!
the difference back in the day was that we had like 2-3 remakes a year, not 50-60 like the sh*twood remake era of right now!!!
shareThere's a whole bunch of american remakes of good french comedies that will never reach the hights of the originals: Pure Luck, Three Fugitives, Father's Day, The Toy, Tall Man with one Red Shoe.
If you liked any of those I suggest you go search for the original names on IMDB and see the originals - they are much better!
rosarypliers! OMG, congradulations for being a complete liar! You obviously didn't even see the French version! First of all, you know nothing of beauty or acting, the daughter in My Father the Hero, was the best. She was stunning and brilliantly played out. And ha! You said the father was better in the French one?! It was the same guy who played that dad in the American one genious! lol... wow... But umm yeah, I also would like to point out, that France had the American version translated, so... obviously... we know that while they might have had the "original", they still wanted the better one ;) Sorry kids.
sharedustchke, you're a fool. American movies are better than foriegn films. And I'm not saying this because I'm an American. I love French culture, I have a lot of French in me, and I speak French pretty much fluently. So when I saw the French version of this awesome movie, I was able to understand everything. I'm not going to bad mouth the movie, but after seeing the American version, it really just couldn't compare. The acting was better in the American version, and characterization, it was funnier, the directing was better, everything about it was just brilliant. When watching the French version, it really just made me want to watch the American version again.
And I assure you, America is capable of translating, but why would America want to do that, when they make the best movies anyways? It's other countries that translate American movies, because of this.
The original movie with the lovely Marie Gilain was superb!
Sure was.. check out this screen capture!!
http://accel22.mettre-put-idata.over-blog.com/0/04/29/98/marie-gillain001.jpg
totally agree
I love "Nikita" et "Mon père, ce héros" they are so much better than the trashy and pointless American remakes!!!
i am fluent in French so am quite happy watching these without subtitles, do they lose something when they have to be subtitled and is that why they are re-made? or are some people just too stupid to be able to cope with subtitles?!?!
Nikita is definately my firm favourite, and the remake was diabolicle and was not a patch on the original, the original did seem so much more real and intense and the character's were so well developed and the acting was superb - why remake that?
I'm not a huge fan of remakes but i just want to make a point that some films do need to be remade to stand the test of time and "The Omen 666" is one of these, the newer version is much slicker and well thought through, a true exception to the rule that all remakes are bad!!!
x
"i am fluent in French so am quite happy watching these without subtitles, do they lose something when they have to be subtitled and is that why they are re-made? or are some people just too stupid to be able to cope with subtitles?!?! "
It's the latter I'm afraid. I watched, Le Bossu and Le Diner de Cons before my French was anywhere near good enough to cope, but despite the English subtitles, they were still brilliant. After 5 months in Paris, I'm now watching films in French and generally not missing too much, although I cope better if I have French subtitles as well. I've met several people though who despise subtitled films, despite, generally, having never watched any.
I think another problem at the minute would be the relationship between America and France which means that it's probably just not fashionable to watch French films in the States.
Ah well. C'est la vie!
Jon
Not useless, it's a matter of taste and preference. European movies are gloomy and morose, the French prefer that to the "rosy" world that Americans portray, calling it the "reality of life". I am neither French nor American but grew up in Paris and spent the 2nd half of my life in Los Angeles, and my opinion is, when you watch original vs remake, they are both quite agreable, neither necessarily funnier than the other (in the case of comedies), but each shows you the different aspects of two different cultures in the same story.
shareWell said adventis. I've watched quite a few French movies and that is certainly the truth. I wouldn't say, though, that America portrays things as more "rosey". The way America makes movies, portrays life in America. In general, I think it's a cultural difference and people should simply learn to respect others opinions and tastes, as well as be open-minded enough to enjoy two different versions of a story. As opposed to bad mouthing one due to your personal preference.
"European movies are gloomy and morose"
Like "The Full Monty", "Le Placard", "Le Bossu".
I agree that there is largely a lean towards introspection, but the grandiose claim made there is a little far from the truth. To my eyes the difference is that Hollywood seems to have largely abandoned novelty in favour of remaking films (Be they foreign, or just old). Foreign language films have only recently made real progress in Britain since the release of "Crouching Tiger...". The main reason being a fear of subtitles.
There is room for "rosy" and "morose", but both seem to be possible in Europe whereas it is a suprising Hollywood release where the beautiful all-action hero doesn't save the day.
And again... why not just watch the originals?
"it's probably just not fashionable to watch French films in the States."
Not at all the case. Anyone can find a foreign film if they so wish. But America doesn't need to rely on other countries to make great movies. America is the main movie making country. It's just the truth, feel free to be cynical and deny it though. I think that would after all, be the main cause for this thread...
"Anyone can find a foreign film if they so wish." This may be the case, but it's not a answer to the claim I made. Anyone can have their hair styled into a mullet, but if it's not the fashion...
I don't deny that America is the "main movie making country" (Although I think that India had either overtaken, or at least paralleled the States!), but what surprises and upsets me is that despite the large number of movies that are released, the variety is fairly low. Here in the Old Countries, movies can (and do) cover a wider range of "tastes" than those eminating from Hollywood.
And if "America doesn't need to rely on other countries to make great movies", then why are they remaking so many foreign films?
Jon
You're an idiot. The French one could not COMPARE to this one! This is an amazing summer classic and NO ONE could play the part better than Katherine! I am so glad they made this movie, I love it and have loved it since I first saw it when I was little. It's a beautiful summer comedy, and I'm sorry that you don't have the taste to see that...
Plus I'm sure the actor who played the father, wouldn't have agreed to be in the American *coughs* better, version, if it wasn't good.
I've seen both movies, perhaps the remake more than the original. Gotta say although originals are usually my cup of tea, I much prefer the remake in this case and it's not just because it's in English, I just find the remake far funnier.
In the original (also a brilliant film), I didn't find Vero likeable at ALL (perhaps it's just as it is in French the dialogue is spoken with a different inflection and isn't as easily picked up as it would be in English). I felt more sorry for Andre than anything else as he watches his beloved daughter slipping away from him; the scene at the window where he watches her leaving to go with Ben for the remainder of the holiday was something of a downer. He's done all this for Vero, and she just leaves him for the rest of the week on his own while she high tails it with Ben.
It just made me feel even more angry and very aware of her selfishness. First of all she's been out all night (slap!...ooh, she should have seen that one coming), and I don't think she actually DID put much effort into finding Andre. Second...she's off like a shot to go spend the holiday with Ben and his parents...leaving her father alone on New Years Day. Her "new beginning" doesn't actually include her father at all which I thought was a little harsh. In the end it felt like they had become strangers to each other, and had not become closer at all.
To me, the two films are completely different stories. The French version becomes more of an acceptance and letting go story to me and made me feel depressed.