Original Vs Remake Debate #1 - The Thing

[flynn]

<span method="POST" action="/dopoll.php"></span> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

The Original<br /><br />http://imdb.com/title/tt0044121/<br /><br />Scientist at an Arctic research station discover a spacecraft buried in the ice. Upon closer examination, they discover the frozen pilot. All hell breaks loose when they take him back to their station and he is accidentally thawed out! <br /><br />The Remake<br /><br />http://imdb.com/title/tt0084787/<br /><br />An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog crashes leaving no explanation for the chase. During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage and members of the team that investigate. The team soon realises that an alien life-form with the ability to take over other bodies is on the loose and they don't know who may already have been taken over. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[hal9891]

I have to admit that I've never seen the original, but The Thing (1982) is one of my favorite movies. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#808080" color="#999999"><font size="1">"I predict that within 100 years computers will be twice as powerful, 10000 times larger, and so expensive that only the five richest kings of Europe will own them"</font></font><br /></div> </div>

 

[flynn]

I have to go for the original, I remember staying up very late one night to watch it in glorious black and white and scaring the wits out of myself, The scene where the scientists stand on the ice tracing the outline of the spaceship under the ice is utterly brilliant. <br /><br />Kurt Russell I'm affraid to say has never been a favourite of mine however there is nothing wrong with the film I just feel the environment that I watched the original gives it something more for me. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[tom_hobbes]

Seen them both, and contrary to your feelings about Kurt Russel, I have to say, I love what he does onscreen. The Carpenter version subverts his heroic persona to a degree, he is possibly ineffectual, either one of the remaining two characters is The Thing and will freeze until a rescue mission is at hand in which case it will be revived, or the whole of the cast has perished in the process of destroying the alien interloper. Bleak in either case, leaving us uncertain as to the outcome. It's the visceral nature of the carpenter version which really hits home. That said I also love the Christian Nyby original, some say was partially or largely scripted by Howard Hawks.<br /><br />I'm working on a screenplay, (long term project) of a new version of The Thing, involving a team of scientists retrieving samples from lake Vostok. A large probably metallic object is imaged at the bottom of the lake, any retrieval of which is impossible, but anomalous biological specimens are extracted from the lake water. You can guess some of the rest, but the film itself is a dialogue between the conquering alien organism, and the science team, us in other words, about whether it would be better to succumb to the polymorphic alien ensuring the survival of every genome on the planet against the unchecked ravages of unmodified humans waging war on each other and their environment. Instead of a conflict of species, it becomes a conflict of ideas.<br /><br />I was discussing the idea with horror writer Ramsey Campbell at a barbecue this summer and he seemed quite interested by the premise. Perhaps I'll actually complete the damned thing one day!<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[flynn]

Sounds great, so are the human protaganists going to be Russian or Multi-national?<br /><br />The whole Russian thing could really work to stand it apart from the other versions especially if you could date it to the height of the cold war to add the same sort of underlying political innuendo. Reguardless of how you procede best of luck.<br /><br />I think it was the "Escape from New York" thing for me with Kurt Russsell, most people I know love it but it just grates on me for some reason. The other thing is I truely found the original scarier than John Carpenters version. I think he's still trying to remake Eldorado (Silverado) and he does do that siege thing well I just prefered to atmosphere of the original. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[tom_hobbes]

It would have to be an alternative history story to be set in the past given that Lake Vostok wasn't discovered until the mid nineties, about four kilometres below the Antarctic ice. The lake itself is a high pressure, liquid water environment, which might have been cut off from biological contamination for the best part of a million years. Drilling to the lake is in progress, down to the layers of ice just above it, samples nearly 500,000 years old having been collected. The perfect setting for a re-telling of The Thing. Cool huh?<br /><br />I had in mind a multinational cast in the near future but a story set in the recent past might be even better. I’ll give it some thought. I’d love to have an entirely Russian cast, (given that it's a private project with no chance of seeing the light of day!) I agree that would set it apart, but I don’t know how credible that would be, unless it’s set toward the end of the cold war. One or two interesting possibilities come to mind though from what you describe. I feel the creative juices flowing!<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

I can't pick. <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /><br /><br />They're both excellent films. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

The multinational contingent idea has more appeal to me. Besides, with the multinational cast you can play off some stereotypes if you felt like it. The comedic value there with, let's say, a "cowboy/rambo" American scientist who gets whacked while he's doing some stupid "I'm an American and thus invincible" thing may be worth the effort. You could still have one nationality represented more than another if you wished to explore that. Heck, you could kill off the others (Redshirt them <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> ) and leave just one nationality present when the story reaches its climax. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

and of course the sequel can deal with the treatment of the sole survivor as when they return to civilisation everyone will think they've murdered the rest of the team ... until people start dieing!!!! HA HA HA<br /><br />Therefore remaking, It! Terror from beyond outer space as well.<br /><br />Voting is surprising close, I thought Carpenters would run away with this. It warms the soul to know the original is still a favourite.<br /><br />From our talk though I'm trying to remember a film, a cold war artic affair (was it a downed satelite?) . I think it might be Ice Station Zebra, I think I'm going to have to get my hands on a copy. Does it ring any bells? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

Yeah, Ice Station Zebra involved a satellite but no monsters from outer space or anything. Great flick though. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

ISZ; Superb movie! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[flynn]

Right, I think I'll have to find a copy then.<br /><br />I watched it years ago, I remember the start where the satelite comes down in an icefield and there is a bit of a race (and perhaps a gunfight?) between East and West to get their hands on it but after that I can't remember it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

It's WELL WORTH your time. Honestly. I've seen it too many times to count and consider it a great "Sunday Afternoon Sitting on the Couch" movie.<br /><br />"Sunday afternoon" movie ratings are some of the highest I give. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[etavaunt]

It was a pretty good book too, for its time.<br /><br />The movie was so so imo. I liked how the hardmen from either side gave no quarter, but had no personal animosity.<br /><br />I wonder how a younger person, one of those born since the wall fell, and our life-warping, propaganda built nightmare went away, would feel about it. Probably seem very silly to someone without the cultural clues we have to go along with.<br /><br />And Kurt Russell over the earlier film, every single way. <br /><br />"What do we do now . . . . ."<br /><br />*Long pause in verbal dialouge, filled with meaning*<br /><br />"We wait . . . . . "

 

[a_lost_packet_]

I have the book. Unfortunately, never read it. Somehow it ended up in my collection, probably from a deceased relative. But, I can see how it would be an excellent novel though. Suspense, intrigue, etc.. At the end of the movie, we find out who the "spy" was (trying not to give up any spoilers). Does the book keep that suspense or is the spy revealed early on and part of the story told through their eyes?<br /><br />I agree with Kurt Russel in "The Thing." An excellent choice. I also think he's a good actor, somewhat under-rated. One thing I can say, he and Goldie seem to still be going strong after many years. That's got to say something given the propensity for actors to drop spouses like disposable lighters. Then again, if I was married to Goldie, I'd hang on too. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />I really liked his character though. I thought the "contract pilot" was a great angle. Somewhat aloof from the stodgy scientist types and able to tell the story from a "regular guy" point of view. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[tom_hobbes]

Three or four reasons. The actual structure of the lake yes, and I believe the ice immediately above it has some unusual properties, as well as traces (surprisingly) of thermophilic organisms which suggest there are heat sources down there. There has been much interest in a supposed magnetic anomaly on the eastern side of the lake's two basins which is certainly due to it's particular geology but which can easily be extrapolated for my purposes here. Vostok is also much larger than the other forty or fifty lakes as you mentioned and it has become the focus of much UFO conspiracy lore.<br /><br />Hard to imagine a more romantic locale! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[tom_hobbes]

You're right of course. And I've written a few key scenes which play upon the tensions between different team members, partly nationality and different perspectives of what is actually happening but also the vastly differing perspectives of what to do about it. As I say, it's just a bit of fun. Nothing will ever come of it! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

<font color="yellow">Tom_Hobbes - As I say, it's just a bit of fun. Nothing will ever come of it! </font><br /><br />Sure it will. You'll finally finish it up in about 20 years and post it online so we can all read it. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Actually, as long as you find enjoyment in it, that is a good enough reason to continue. Sharing that enjoyment by allowing others to read it once you're done will be even better! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[qso1]

Liked em both but liked the newer version better due to more realistic language and SFX. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[docm]

I completely agree with c.eddie. As a faithful representation of the source material the John Carpenter "Thing" is excellent, and a frightful horror film. The 50's version is witty (as in 30's style dialog), sharply directed and a great example of the art of film making. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[etavaunt]

Told this story before, probably. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br /> I went to see John Carpenters "The Thing" one night. Walking back through the bush path connecting my street with the main street, just as I topped the rise and my eyes were dazzled by the street light, my twin brother, who had laid out for 15 minutes in the grass just before the hill top, simply and quietly placed his hand on my ankle from behind.<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> I wasn't even angry. Once I realised I wasn't going to be taken over by IT, I was so relieved I actually laughed. I almost died of shock, eh.

 

[publiusr]

Here is an interesting question:<br /><br />The Blob was a mass of protoplasm, and reduced all organic matter to a simple state.<br /><br />The Thing had very advanced cells, and absorbed matter and made it more complex.<br /><br />So, would the thing view the blob as a giant culture--a petri dish full of nutrients, and take it over--or would the blob break the thing down?

 

[etavaunt]

HEY HEY HEY, that IS a good question mate.<br /><br />VERY good question.<br /><br />Don't got a good answer for you, but , VERY GOOD QUESTION none the less.

 

[a_lost_packet_]

<font color="yellow">publiusr - So, would the thing view the blob as a giant culture--a petri dish full of nutrients, and take it over--or would the blob break the thing down?</font><br /><br />Cool question.<br /><br />Well, the Thing was able to accurately reproduce any organic form it had a representative cell from. Presumably, the only chimera test they were able to construct which was accurate was to "threaten" blood cells which would respond by defending themselves or moving away. So, The Thing was able to reconstruct anything at, at least, a molecular level.<br /><br />The Blob was capable of ingesting anything organic. It would use those raw materials to add to its own form. It was a formless blob. There is little evidence that it was anything intelligent. It may not have had an intelligence or awareness at all.<br /><br />The Thing is about order, structure and using new order and structure to give it new tools with which to accomplish its survival. It also gained the knowledge of those it consumed as was evident in the clandestine construction of the space-ship and it ability to accurately mimic sentients and even possess their own memories and experiences. The Blob was about formlessness. It's only goal was to continue to find fuel for its bulk.<br /><br />I think that The Thing would incorporate The Blob into its repertoire of abilities and tools. Because the Thing can alter itself at the molecular level, it would survive long enough to be able to at least "taste" The Blob and record that experience and knowledge for future use. I don't know if it could kill it though. That was the blobs strongest suit: It was nigh invulnerable to physical damage.<br /><br />Personally, I think The Thing is one of the best sci-fi alien creations of all time. Heck, it's even possible it wasn't intelligent at all. (That's the way I prefer to look at it - Something that is acting on a purely instinctual level even when it comes to appearing intelligent.) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>