Reply #4: I can't say explicitly what makes a good remake, but [View All]

[lavenderdiva]

its kinda like you know it when you see it. Take 'Little Women' for example. How many times has this movie been remade? At least 3 that I can think of. One with Katherine Hepburn, one with June Allyson, and one with Winona Ryder. I've seen all three, and enjoyed all 3. However, my 2 favorites are the June Allyson version and the Winona Ryder version. Somehow to me, the Winona Ryder version seemed perfectly cast, with Ms. Ryder exhibiting both the softness and determination that Jo March would have had, IMO. Susan Sarandon was wonderful as Marmee. June Allyson was great in her version, and I especially loved Elizabeth Taylor as her sister, Amy. For me, Katherine Hepburn as Jo March didn't show enough vulnerability in that role. I also think that filming it in color helped, versus the original in b/w. (please note that I am strongly of the opinion that certain films should only be in b/w, and have been ruined by being filmed in color)

As to the latest remake 'The Women': Meg Ryan in the role of Mary Haines, hmmm I just don't know. Don't get me wrong; I loved Ms. Ryan in 'You've Got Mail', 'When Harry Met Sally', 'Addicted To Love', and many others. The movie is sure to get me to the theater to see it. It has a wonderful cast, and may be great. But the original with Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, etc. is just amazing, and will be hard to equal. Here is the casting for the new version in case anyone is interested, from IMDB:

(Credited cast)

Meg Ryan ... Mary Haines (originally played by Norma Shearer)

Eva Mendes ... Crystal Allen (originally played by Joan Crawford)

Jada Pinkett Smith ... Miriam Aarons (originally played by Paulette Goddard)

Candice Bergen ... Catherine Frazier

Carrie Fisher ... Nancy Blake

Annette Bening ... Sylvia Fowler (originally played by Rosalind Russell)

Debra Messing ... Edith Potter (originally played by Phyllis Povah)

Cloris Leachman ... Maggie

Debi Mazar ... Olga

Bette Midler ... Flora DeLave (known in the original as Countess DeLave, and originally played by Mary Boland)

Joanna Gleason ... Barbara Delacorte

Keegan Connor Tracy ... Dolly Dupuyster

Lynn Whitfield ... Glenda Hill

India Ennenga ... Molly Haines

Its release date in the US is September 12, 2008. You can view the trailer for it here: http://www.thewomenthemovie.com/