In 1962, I was taken by my parents to see a lavish epic at the cinema. Starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, and Richard Harris, this was a glorious tecnicolour film , with exotic south seas locations, and a real sense of history. As it is a true story, there would be no surprises of course, … Continue reading One Film, Four Versions: Mutiny On The Bounty
In 1971, I went to see an unusual science fiction film starring Charlton Heston. It was about a man, Robert Neville, who thinks is the lone survivor of a biological warfare accident that has killed off human life on Earth. He spends his days driving around, going to watch the same film in a cinema, … Continue reading One Film, Three versions: The Omega Man
In the mid-1960s, I watched a 1958 science fiction film called ‘The Fly’. It starred David Hedison, Vincent Price, and Patrica Owens. Though touted as a ‘horror’ film, it wasn’t that scary, but it was interesting, and a little unnerving to imagine something like that happening. The story is told in flashback, after a scientist’s … Continue reading One film, two versions: The Fly
In 1969, I went to see John Wayne in a new western film. He was 62 at the time, but looked older and craggier than ever. The film was called ‘True Grit’, and starred Wayne as a grumpy drunken sheriff, Rooster Cogburn. He has a great reputation in the territory, and always brings in the … Continue reading One film, two versions: True Grit
When I watch a scary film, I like it to actually scare me. Seeing a horror film or supposedly scary thriller, and not being horrified or scared is ultimately very disappointing. In 1998, I heard about a new Japanese horror film that was receiving rave reviews, so went to see it. I confess that I … Continue reading One film, two versions: Ringu
When I was in my teens, I went to see a great film noir thriller from 1946, starring John Garfield and the gorgeous Lana Turner. This was the third version of the film, with the two earlier ones made in France and Italy, using the same book as the source material, but with different titles. … Continue reading One film, four versions: The Postman Always Rings Twice
When I was around eight years old, one of our neighbours owned a home projector. He would fix a white sheet to the wall of his living room, and invite us in to watch films that he projected onto his ‘screen’. One of those was the original 1933 film, ‘King Kong’, starring Fay Wray. I … Continue reading One film, three versions: King Kong
In 1981, I read a great thriller novel by Thomas Harris. It was called ‘Red Dragon’, and about the hunt for a serial killer. I liked it a lot, especially the details of the painstaking forensic work and psychological profiling. A few years later, in 1986, I read that there was to be a film … Continue reading One film, two versions: Manhunter
Some films are remade a lot more than once. In the case of this film, there are no less than four versions, as well as some thinly-disguised ‘copies’. Starting in 1937, with the original film starring Frederick March and Janet Gaynor, it was remade in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason, and again in … Continue reading One film, four versions: A Star Is Born
In 2002, an exciting police thriller was released. Made in Hong Kong, in Chinese, it was called ‘Infernal Affairs’. The film concerned the infiltration of a criminal gang (Triad) by an undercover police officer. It is a dangerous task, as only his immediate superior is aware that he is actually doing this, and he has … Continue reading One film, two versions: Infernal Affairs
