Total Recall 2012 (new movie)

[GypsyComet]

And most of the movies only used the title of the story.

The first Total Recall used about a third of the original short story and *didn't* use the title. As far as I can tell, the new one barely manages that.

Bladerunner didn't use the story title either. Been a while so I'm not sure how much of the story it used.

Minority Report used the title and the basic idea, then filled the rest with Tom Cruise.

Not sure about A Scanner Darkly or the rest.

---

Blade Runner (1982)
Based on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

Screamers (1995)
Based on "Second Variety"

Total Recall (1990)
Based on "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"

Confessions d'un Barjo (French, 1992)
Based on "Confessions of a Crap Artist"

Impostor (2001)
Based on "Impostor."

Minority Report (2002)
Based on "The Minority Report."

Paycheck (December 25, 2003)
Based on "Paycheck."

A Scanner Darkly (July 7, 2006)
Based on "A Scanner Darkly"

Next (April 27, 2007)
Based on "The Golden Man"

The Adjustment Bureau (2010)
Based on "The Adjustment Team"

King of the Elves (2012)
Based on "King of the Elves"

 

[Dragoner]

Now just waiting on "Cadbury, the beaver who lacked."

Blade Runner's title is from Burroughs, and while it didn't stay true to the story, it did have Dick as an advisor. It was also a movie that could never be made again: rising star like Ford in the title role, all the extras were just punks off of melrose, and Hauer's monologue at the end was a total ad lib.

 

[sabredog]

It was also a movie that could never be made again:

...so true, and thank God for that.

 

[Dragoner]

...so true, and thank God for that.

They might try, who knows? I would still go see it as well, even though Blade Runner is one of my all time favorites, it was an instant classic when made. Other favorites, like Outland, awesome movie, but just High Noon in space.

I love science fiction.

 

[saundby]

Just so long as they don't make a true-to-the-book movie of Martian Time-Slip. Some interesting bits on cognition in there, but overall the book earned the nickname my wife and I gave it, "Bored Housewives on Mars."

Though I would love to see a well-made film of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" With Buster Friendly and his Friendly Friends, chickenheads, kipple, WW Terminus, and all the rest. I think there's a lot there that would resonate with a young audience today, too. I'd even like to see it be January 3, 1992, not 2021 or whatever they've changed it to in current editions.

 

[DangerousThing]

I can't tell whether it is an attempt at a remake or a sequel. The original was okay. This doesn't look any better.

A lot of PKD's stories have been made into movies, but overall, I have not been overwhelmed.

I agree. The original story was interesting, but the movie was IMNSHO crap. The movie changed, for no good reason that I could see, a large number of the story's plot points. This includes the definition of the "minority report" which was extremely important in the original story.

 

[kafka47]

I liked the original movie for its sheer kitsch value will wait for the DVD to watch the remake...however, watching Unknown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_(2011_film)) it is much better remake...I am sure. As I was watching this with the wife the other night - one quarter recognize it as Total Recall in the contemporary era. Yet, nobody else picked up on that...

 

[Blue Ghost]

The original with Arnie was pretty lame in my book. I'm curious who made the decision to do a remake.

 

[Dragoner]

The original was OK, it was odd that they decided to make a remake, but that is the way it goes. With these remakes, which this one had nice urban scenes and such or Movies like Prometheus, etc.; it's not really a choice, it's these or nothing at all. I like movies, and sci fi, one reason to go is to keep sending the message to make more sci fi films....

 

[sabredog]

I agree..but what I'd really like to see is more of the kind of "oh what the heck let's do it" attitude of the earlier scifi films and the recent Avatar. Now Avatar was pretty execrable in the plot, story, and character development departments, but what I came away from it with was the lack of fear on Cameron's part in making a "safe" movie.

Floating mountains? What the heck, let's do it! Bizarre plants and animals cribbed form sealife (the spiral worms as plants, jellyfish "spores", etc.)...what the heck, lets' do it! Let's ride dragons and have huge battles against wild flying fortresses among the floating mountains on our flying dragons! Yes!

Throw out gravity, tidal forces, the wing-loading and lift capabilities of dragons in whatever atmosphere Pandora had (maybe a TED Talk by some African sparrows helped there), and a giant tree so dense the ground shouldn't have supported it let alone supported itself. Let's just go with the spectacle and wildness of imagination.

Now that's the sort of thing that will fire the imagination of writers and movie-makers more than playing it safe and "re-imagining" (oh, how I hate that word - it equates with un-imagining) old films. I'd rather watch a film like Avatar, Prometheus, or John Carter any day - with all their plot holes and goofyness, than 99+% of the retreads that are the standard now. Oh jeez, when I get a taste of something like GATTACA or even Equilibrium (yes, goofy "gunkata" not withstanding) I fairly drool over the imagination and relative daring over safe movie-making.

 

[Dragoner]

The Word for the World is Forest...er "Avatar" was cool; good or cheesy, I'll grab a pint or two and hit the matinee (the nice thing about having a pub next to the theater). Are any of them perfect? No, but I'll settle for good enough; I do agree that they should take more chances.

 

[aramis]

Dollhouse was obviously inspired by either Total Recall or We can remember it for you wholesale... the tech and its implications are very clearly grounded in it.

 

[Mithras]

Maybe!!! More likely, movies are a big gamble. Using the name or concept of a movie or TV series that has a following or did quite well, ups the audience figures by a margin...
Hate the technique, though. I know the plot. End of story, end of movie. Why see it?

Or that might be giving them too much credit and the simpler explanation is that in a time when The Three Stooges and Dark Shadows are resurrected, not to mention everything else that really didn't need to be redone when the technology to make anything is available, then creativity and imagination is dead in Hollywood.