Has Hollywood Run Out Of Ideas?
‘Manchurian Candidate’ yet another remake amid a year of sequels and rehashes

By Steven Snyder

The summer season has become the profit center of the Hollywood calendar year. From May to August, one studio after another puts forth its most commercial work in hopes that, like “Spider-Man” or “Star Wars,” the entire nation will flock to air-conditioned theaters opening weekend to take in the latest action blockbuster.

And while summer movies have become their own formula in modern Hollywood, decreasing in quality over the years and becoming more predictable with each addition to the fray, 2004 may mark a low point for the industry’s creativity.

While it is true that franchises and remakes have always been essential parts of American cinema, the list of this year’s rehashings and reworkings is appallingly long, causing one to wonder if Hollywood hasn’t started to run out of ideas altogether. Just consider this partial list of 2004’s sequels and remakes: “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “The Ladykillers,” “The Whole Ten Yards,” “Barbershop 2,” “Shrek 2,” “Van Helsing,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Around The World In 80 Days,” “Scooby-Doo 2,” “Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London,” “Exorcist: The Beginning,” “The Chronicles of Riddick,” “Before Sunset,” “Taxi,” “Shall We Dance?,” “The Stepford Wives,” “Around the World in 80 Days,” “The Ring 2,” “Ocean’s Twelve,” etc.

The reason for such a wealth of unoriginal concepts lies in the marketing mindset of the major movie studios. Why should they bother to promote an independent film, such as “The Door In The Floor,” over a sequel like “The Bourne Supremacy,” which has instant name recognition and box office viability among fans of the 2002 “Bourne Identity?” And so without fail, the more original “Door In The Floor” opens in only one Milwaukee theater this weekend, while “Bourne Supremacy” debuted in over 3,100. The answer in Hollywood always resides with the almighty dollar.

Why ‘Candidate?’

But this weekend’s rehashing of an old idea seems more gratuitous than usual.

Opening in theaters tomorrow is a remake of “The Manchurian Candidate,” John Frankenheimer’s 1962 brilliant conspiracy film starring Laurence Harvey and Frank Sinatra as two Korean War veterans who are brainwashed as captured POW’s, and then return home to America as ticking communist time bombs.

It continues to stand as one of the greatest American movies ever made, and it not only employed an astonishing degree of surrealism, in subtly suggesting the character’s internalized traumas, but also foresaw a post-JFK world in which government conspiracies and mistrust would become the norm.

The 2004 version is directed by Jonathan Demme (“Silence of the Lambs”), and although some aspects of the story have been updated to bring a new twist to the material, promotions for the film seem oriented more towards a straight thriller than an intricate political and social commentary.

Taking the place of Sinatra in the remake is the new pillar of respect and poise among Hollywood’s A-list, Denzel Washington, and he returns home this time brainwashed by terrorists who captured him during the first Gulf War. Demme’s version also includes a unique spin on corporate involvement in the political process and alters the manipulative Mrs. Iselin, who was played by Oscar winner Angela Lansbury in 1962, into a devious female U.S. senator, who coordinates the conspiracy as a means to attain influence within the White House.

The problem of the remake

But in the case of this week’s “The Manchurian Candidate,” we see a microcosm of the greater problems plaguing Hollywood. Yes, the story of the original “Candidate” has been updated, the enemies have been changed, and the social themes adjusted, but what’s lacking is the originality of a new idea and a new concept. The story of “The Manchurian Candidate” has been told before and, when all is said and done, has likely been told much better.

Even worse than the likelihood that 2004’s “Candidate” will be a letdown is the possibility that this modern update will actually take attention away from the original. After all, with the film’s aggressive marketing campaign and the shrinking libraries of classic films at videos stores, a new generation of moviegoers will likely never even think of finding the older, black-and-white version.

Or, I could be wrong. Today’s “Manchurian Candidate” could be just as provocative and insightful as the original. My only fears and questions concern creativity. Why has marketing come to trump original concepts? When will the pendulum finally swing back towards embracing originality? Have we really run out of ideas already?

Maybe I’m just wondering why they couldn’t re-release the original. I mean, if it ain’t broke…

THE GOOD…

“The Thomas Crown Affair” (1999) (113 minutes, Rated R)

John McTiernan’s light-hearted update to the whimsical, cop-and-robber 1968 film found its needed cheer and charisma from Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, as the arrogant criminal and the intrigued insurance investigator who start to fall for each other.

“Romeo + Juliet” (1996)(120 minutes, Rated PG-13)

For those who can get past the modern locales and weapons, 1996’s “Romeo and Juliet” is a film made with a clear vision and passion, bringing life to the soliloquies that are lifeless for so many of today’s students through modern acting, meticulous staging and kinetic editing.

“Scarface” (1983)(170 minutes, Rated R)

Revising the 1932 silent film for the turbulent ‘80’s, Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” is a movie for its time, reflecting the excess and the turbulence of America in a tragic story of drugs that has since become a cult classic.

THE BAD…

“Psycho” (1998)(105 minutes, Rated R)

What was Gus Van Sant thinking? Updating Hitchcock’s masterpiece in color, the suspense, terror and uncertainty of the first classic was missing from this ill-conceived, shot-by-shot remake.

“Planet of the Apes” (2001)(119 minutes, Rated PG-13)

Action dominating over ideas, Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes” might be most remembered for a disturbing, revised ending that managed to ruin the most meaningful surprise of the original.

“City of Angels” (1998)(114 minutes, Rated PG-13)

Taking the brilliant, expressionistic German film “Wings of Desire,” and reducing it to a routine love story between Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, director Brad Silberling failed to grasp any of the poetry, symbolism or grandeur that made “Desire” one of cinema’s most profound meditations on life.

The remade “The Manchurian Candidate” opens at theaters everywhere Friday

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