Original and extra crispy

There are many instances where the copy is better than the original. Jimi Hendrix's cover of the Bob Dylan (lifted?) tune All Along the Watchtower is more famous and filled with a fury that makes the original sound like a demo. While many will disagree with me on this, I would contend that Sorcerer is more exciting than Wages of Fear. But, there are also "spiritual" remakes, of sorts. Is The Man with No Name trilogy really a remake of Yojimbo and Sanjuro? Legally, probably not. However, the similarities are too hard to ignore and many people feel like Leone did ape Kurosawa's films almost to a shameful level.

This weekend I was able to watch two movies that in so many ways trace their roots to specific films. In 1977, Woody Allen made what many consider to be his first masterpiece, Annie Hall. (Note, I enjoy Annie Hall, but I prefer much more Hannah and Her Sisters and the crime thriller Crimes and Misdemeanors). I know a lot of people who hate Annie Hall because it beat Star Wars for Best Picture, but that's a silly rationale to have; Dances With Wolves is a great film even though it beat Goodfellas and so on. Regardless, the happy romantic movie ends on a sour note with Woody Allen not getting the girl.

This all gets fixed in Rob Reiner's movie When Harry Met Sally. Both have a neurotic Jew chasing a girl out of his league with funny dialogue and hip friends. There's also moments with "real" couples inter-spliced during the film talking about their love lives. They speak directly into the camera and appear to be somewhat documentary in their feel. Remember how Annie Hall begins and ends? Woody Allen is talking directly into the camera in a sort of confessional. When Harry Met Sally is Annie Hall if Woody Allen and Diane Keaton got together at the end.

But, Woody Allen is not without his emulation. Throughout his career, Woody Allen has openly confessed his admiration for Ingmar Bergman. Love and Death ends with the dancing at the end of The Seventh Seal. The unsettling scene in Cries and Whispers where two characters talk with their mouths intersecting is also used to comic effect in a Woody Allen film. But, the one that bothers me most is Husbands and Wives. The movie is really trying to be like my favorite Bergman film (miniseries) Scenes from a Marriage. Maybe it is because that is my favorite Bergman movie and one of my favorite movies of all time, but Allen is trying too hard in Husband and Wives that it falls flat and false. There are no quiet moments. And the worst scene takes place in a taxi cab where the young (barely legal) women confesses her ulterior motives in a type of dime store Freudian interpretation, except it isn't played for laughs.

Many other examples can be made, and perhaps these are tenuous connections, but fresh in my mind are these two movies. Heck, I'm sure you could say Che is a spiritual brother to The Battle for Algiers. If you enjoyed When Harry Met Sally or Husbands and Wives, seek out their originals - not that I want to be preachy in recommendations.

And then there's Brothers. I was lucky enough to see the original Danish version back in 2003 when the Iraq War was in its infancy. It was also before I seriously started to study film. However, I have vivid memories of the movie to this day. I write this portion as the credits roll for the new English version in 2009. While my memory from 2003 is sparse, I can recall the ending with great clarity. However, the 2009 English version isn't as good, despite being fresh. I think this is part of the issue with remakes/re-imaginations. The story to Brothers is very good, and I'm glad the idea for it can reach new audiences with the star names of Natalie Portman et all, but while I can't name a single person from the original Dutch version off the top of my head, I have more memories of it than I do of the version I just watched. Sometimes, it is better to seek out the originals. We should just be thankful that other versions can call attention to the original works.