QueenZone discussion #1108320
Highlander & Flash Gordon remakes.
| A Word In Your Ear 27.05.2008 18:19 |
Plans are afoot to Remake Highlander & Flash Gordon movies. Not being biased, but these films only had the success due to the fact that Queen did the soundtracks. Although you could see Chris Lambert's wires during the final quickening, Highlander remains a cult classic, as does Flash Gordon, again due to the music of Queen. Here's a link to a report. fast forward to about 1:50 in. link I don't think the remakes will be a good idea, due to the fact that, this "film makers" trend of today to remake classics films, all the remakes todate tend to turn out to be pants. Hence, "Planet of the Apes" "King Kong" "Halloween" to name but a few. I hear they are also going to try and re-invent "Clasic Star Trek" If anybody can think of any of these modern remakes that are better than the original, please do tell. |
| TerrorOfKnowing 27.05.2008 18:43 |
I have to cut in here and argue that the recent Peter Jackson remake of King Kong was actually quite epic, truer to the original than a couple other remakes have been recently in tone and feel at the very least. Even with the unusual casting choice of Jack Black in the dramatic lead, I felt he pulled it off and brought out an impressive performance. The thing with remakes is, they're only good if done by the right people. If they're done by fans of the original who can maintain the spirit and message of the original film and at the same time bring out a relavent message, it's worth it. If it's done for money or by "fans" who just want to go "hey! this movie's awesome! remember it? let's watch it with better special effects!" then it's going to be crap. |
| EdFredrick 27.05.2008 20:08 |
As for Flash Gordon-I am a big fan of this film and it's the main thing that introduced me to Queen when I was young. But in all seriousness isn't it, in a way, a remake itself? The Flash Gordon story has been told in many forms since the early days of black and white weekly serials. To me its sort of like remaking Batman or Superman, again. They are just classic characters that have lived on for many years and get updated with each new era to appeal to the new generation of kids. So while the Sam Jones (AKA The Highwayman) and Queen film will always be my favorite. I have no problem with continuing the Flash character to his new legion of followers. But Highlander remake? Thumbs down. |
| goinback 27.05.2008 23:18 |
I have no problem with remakes, but in these two cases the soundtrack defined the movie...which doesn't happen very often. Has a movie so closely tied to the soundtrack ever been remade successfully? I can't imagine any band willingly wanting to put themselves out there to remake the Flash Gordon or Highlander soundtracks...the entire music and movie industry would have them under a magnifying glass, it would be the most stressful thing to record ever. I guess they could maybe do a tribute album and have several bands play the songs, then the pressure's not on one band...(?) Even if one band made a new soundtrack of entirely new songs, the industry would still be incredibly unkind in comparing it to the original...that unlucky band may never work again. The only way I could see a new band moderately being successful with a remake of the soundtrack is if a band of Queen fans like Foo Fighters work with Brian/Roger on it and get Queen's stamp of approval. But I'd think Brian would think it's a waste of time, just a money-making thing, and may be offended at the idea that the original wasn't good enough. And I can't see him doing this with the new tour and WWRY shows.... |
| Micrówave 28.05.2008 11:13 |
A Word In Your Ear wrote: these films only had the success due to the fact that Queen did the soundtracks.Whoa. Slow down there, partner. Highlander had a great story. I'm sure the executive producers didn't pour all that cash into the film because Brian May was playing a solo. Casting the film wasn't done to sell this film either. Flash Gordon was trying to cash-in on the success of the sci fi genre that was engulfing movie goers everywhere. It clearly didn't have a great story line, but that was the intention from the get go. It wasn't supposed to be the next Space Opera, but more like a subdued Spaceballs. Queen was simply the icing on the cake. |
| Micrówave 28.05.2008 11:13 |
oops. |
| bigV 28.05.2008 13:09 |
Micrówave wrote:I've heard Highlander being referred to as "the longest musc video in history".A Word In Your Ear wrote: these films only had the success due to the fact that Queen did the soundtracks.Whoa. Slow down there, partner. Highlander had a great story. I'm sure the executive producers didn't pour all that cash into the film because Brian May was playing a solo. Casting the film wasn't done to sell this film either. Flash Gordon was trying to cash-in on the success of the sci fi genre that was engulfing movie goers everywhere. It clearly didn't have a great story line, but that was the intention from the get go. It wasn't supposed to be the next Space Opera, but more like a subdued Spaceballs. Queen was simply the icing on the cake. Highlander had a great story, that's true. But I think the Queen music helped it make the jump from "just another B-movie" to a box office smash. And vice-versa. I think the movie and the creative challenges and opportunities it presented introduced Queen to new audiences. I think that the sequels suffered from the lack of Queen involvement. V. |
| PieterMC 28.05.2008 13:49 |
bigV wrote: I think that the sequels suffered from the lack of Queen involvement. V.I think they suffered from crap stories. I don't think any amount of Queen music could have saved them. |
| goinback 28.05.2008 15:06 |
Micrówave wrote:Well that's how it was planned, but I think the icing turned out to be more important than the producers had originally intended.A Word In Your Ear wrote: these films only had the success due to the fact that Queen did the soundtracks.Whoa. Slow down there, partner. Highlander had a great story. I'm sure the executive producers didn't pour all that cash into the film because Brian May was playing a solo. Casting the film wasn't done to sell this film either. Flash Gordon was trying to cash-in on the success of the sci fi genre that was engulfing movie goers everywhere. It clearly didn't have a great story line, but that was the intention from the get go. It wasn't supposed to be the next Space Opera, but more like a subdued Spaceballs. Queen was simply the icing on the cake. |
| Micrówave 28.05.2008 15:36 |
PieterMC wrote:Bingo.bigV wrote: I think that the sequels suffered from the lack of Queen involvement. V.I think they suffered from crap stories. I don't think any amount of Queen music could have saved them. And they tried to borrow some Queen, and that didn't help either. I think, because we're fans, we're reading too much into the Queen tie-in. If you look at the soundtracks compared to other soundtracks, Flash is just a mess. The instrumentation is quite bland, and the dynamics are just not there. But, that was really what was needed for the Flash movie. Look at what Danny Elfman does for film scores. You don't really have to be watching the movie, the music drives the piece. Flash does not do this, but then it wasn't intended to be either. Highlander is a collection of songs. We needed to add the sounds of swords clashing and sound clips to make the song work? I don't see that as necessary in a movie such as Highlander. I think the most sought-after sound byte from the film is Freddie's rendition of New York, yet it couldn't be included. It gave the film some identity for the two lines it lasted! Now WWTLF really worked and so did A Kind Of Magic... but the words to Magic really didn't apply, aside from the title. |
| goinback 28.05.2008 20:28 |
I'm not so sure...when you read about these movies on geek boards, the inevitable question from non-Queen fans is indeed: How are they going to top the Queen soundtrack? |
| inu-liger 28.05.2008 23:09 |
PieterMC wrote:Except versions of "Save Me" perhaps? :DbigV wrote: I think that the sequels suffered from the lack of Queen involvement. V.I think they suffered from crap stories. I don't think any amount of Queen music could have saved them. |
| john bodega 29.05.2008 02:03 |
Flash Gordon remake? Puke. Nothing can be hotter than Ornella Muti strapped to a table. And Highlander!?? It wouldn't have needed a remake if it hadn't been directed by an idiot. You can blame the writers, the producers, whoever, but really... surely one of these people could've seen the gaping holes in logic that ruined what would've been an excellent film. |
| cmsdrums 29.05.2008 15:18 |
Flash Gordon is actually a very good film - the reason it wasn't followed up is that it didn't perform at the US box office. People expect the film to be comporable to Star Wars etc... but forget that the film is based on a COMIC strip, which is supposed to be light, colourful family entertainment, and hammed up to a certain degree. It was a great representation of what Flash Gordon was supposed to be. |
| Adam Baboolal 29.05.2008 15:24 |
/queenzone/1106916.html Further opinions. Btw, Flash Gordon didn't do as well in the US because of something else. Apparently, according to a docu I saw on the last dvd, Sam Cooke was involved with some rubbish with the studio and his agent conflicting. Can't remember why, but it turns out that he didn't do any promo work, i.e. no interviews at all to promote the film! What a waste. Or on the other hand, a blessing in disguise? Seriously, could a sequel have been been anywhere near as good? And would Queen have come back to help with the music..? Flash Gordon is just one of those movies that people secretely love! Adam. |
| zephead2112 29.05.2008 15:25 |
I thought that Highlander was an excellent film when I saw it on its release in 85/6. I still do. Why oh why they didn't fix the visible wire error in the recently released SE DVD I will never know. I can barely watch that part now and it ruins the finale to an otherwise classic movie. Back on topic, I think that the film and the music complemented each other to make one great product. Sum of the parts. Keith. |
| Kalle 08.06.2008 18:37 |
The Script Girl looks like a mix between Tia Carrera and Tony Sopranos' shrink... |