The Devil Rides Out (1968)

[Slippery Jack]

Who demanded this tinkering, that's what I want to know . . .

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by Slippery Jack

Who demanded this tinkering, that's what I want to know . . .

Not me!

Look, I have no problem with the filmmakers themselves 'improving' their older works, provided the original version is also available. Warner had the right idea with The Exorcist (even so, the 'theatrical' does have the odd tweak, so we still haven't got the original version on BD).

But in this case, none of the people involved in the original production have done this digital tweaking, or even authorised it. This is someone else entirely thinking they can 'improve' the film. The film is what it is. Leave it the **** alone. And if you do have to tinker with it, at least provide the original version as an option too.

It's really grating on my nerves that people think it's okay to alter old films and say this is the only version we can see going forward. It's ridiculous.

[wayfarer]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

To be honest, whether they work or not is immaterial. The fact is they shouldn't be there. They aren't part of the original film. Why change something 40 years later? It's pointless and unnecessary. Let me put it this way, if everyone says this is okay and 'not too bad', what next? What other films in the Hammer catalogue will they start tinkering with?

I'm all for tinkering if the option of the original is given. Example A - Doctor Who and the Ark in Space. They greatly improved the external shots of the space station as the original model work was ropey but it's an optional extra as opposed to it being the only way to watch it.
Otherwise I hate this current trend of revising older movies. Most people want the movie as they remember seeing it, not "improved" for some idea that more copies will be bought because they've done it.

[wayfarer]

Originally Posted by Wes

So does anyone think it's okay to go back and tweek a film's special effects ? Like, Blade Runner had some of its wrinkles smoothened out for 2007's Final Cut and it looked better for it. Personally I like it if someone went back and redone some of the special effects in Dune - some of the shots of the giant worms are pitiful, even for 1984...

Redo the effects in Dune?

That would pee me off, no end. Of course, if both versions were available, I could live with it. Replacing the effects in those scenes would ruin it. These effects create the look and atmosphere of the movie.
With technical tweaks, such as the ones carried out in Blade Runner and Raiders of the Lost Ark, the improvements didn't detract from the movie.

[oaxaca]

Originally Posted by wayfarer

Redo the effects in Dune?

That would pee me off, no end. Of course, if both versions were available, I could live with it. Replacing the effects in those scenes would ruin it. These effects create the look and atmosphere of the movie.
With technical tweaks, such as the ones carried out in Blade Runner and Raiders of the Lost Ark, the improvements didn't detract from the movie.

If someone stuck CGI effects in DUNE I would personally track them down and chop their head off with an axe

[Wes]

I've been a Dune defender for years but honestly, those worm attack special effects sequences in the final act, are embarrassing. If they could be done well, not sticking out like a sore thumb like the revised Star Wars, I would be happy...

[oaxaca]

Originally Posted by Wes

I've been a Dune defender for years but honestly, those worm attack special effects sequences in the final act, are embarrassing. If they could be done well, not sticking out like a sore thumb like the revised Star Wars, I would be happy...

Yeh but its an 80s De Laurentiis B movie... Those dodgy effects are all part of the charm. Wouldn't want it any other way!

[Wes]

I hear ya... but Dune's sets, props costumes etc are so good, the fx just let the film down... Anyway, I'm not a CGI advocate by any means, I just don't think the technology is as good as film makers imagine it to be... I mean what the hell was Michael Mann thinking when he CG'd a house exploding in Miami Vice ? But I digress...

[bgart13]

I ended up canceling my order for all four of the new Hammer bds. They aren't talking or responding to questions, so I'll wait and use my money now for something else (like car repairs...). Once more reviews come out I may pick them up, but the silence is deafening.

[Daemonia]

Part of the charm of old Hammer films, and this one is particular, is the ropey FX of the day. Hammer/StudioCanal obviously have zero understanding of this. And to say it was authorised by the kids of the FX guy is ridiculous. What if they have no background in FX or no understanding of Hammer and its fanbase? What's the point in asking them to authorise it? If the kids are in the contsruction industry, for example, what the **** would they know about the dynamics of film?