Kam
12-03-2004, 09:48 AM
TTFAW was on TCM the other night, and then The Thing was on the Starz network, so got to watch both of them on the same night and really compare the two. Both, I think, are great movies but for different reasons.
The original brought in this great human fight amidst the fight against the thing. The scientist, when you actually listened to him, had completely valid and understandable reasons for wanting to study and keep the thing alive, he was just played with such malice and seemingly evil intent that you thought he should be the badguy, but really wasn't. Really brought home the fight within humans, our struggle for knowledge vs. our struggle for survival. The characters, and a large number of them, were fleshed out better in the original i think. While a few were more stereotypical 'types' (the photojournalist, and a few of the doc's helpers) most had some duality to them, the doctor, the captain, others all interesting characters.
Carpenter's remake had far more gore/suspense than the original in great scenes like the blood testing scene, and then the mystery of who is human vs. the hiding thing. even after having seen it so many times, completely forgot who was human and who was the thing, i always thought the bearded dude, the dog handler was one of the things, and even while watching it this time i thought he was too, along with the Garry too (the guy who played the president in Clear and Present Danger). There was no 'real' human vs. human conflict as everyone was really trying to figure out who was human and who was alien, but still very enjoyable element that wasn't in the original. The characters here seemd a little more one-dimensional. Which, given the fact that the gore/effects are going to take up FAR more screen time than in the original, something had to be sacrificied, and making the characters motivations easily pigeonholed is a quick way to save time (ala angry black man, hardnosed army man, weasel coward man, etc).
But, between the two, if i had to pick, I'd give a slight nod to the original. It had more elements to it. While primarily a 'sci-fi/suspense/thriller' it also had comedic moments, drama, and even a romantic element that worked its way in there nicely without too much cheese. More of a complete movie. For flat out suspense/sci-fi/horror, the remake gets the nod, but watching them one after the other, defintely each very enjoyable in their own way.
Next up in my remake vs. original: The In-Laws vs. The In-Laws and Flight of the Phoenix vs. Flight of the Phoenix
peace
k2
The original brought in this great human fight amidst the fight against the thing. The scientist, when you actually listened to him, had completely valid and understandable reasons for wanting to study and keep the thing alive, he was just played with such malice and seemingly evil intent that you thought he should be the badguy, but really wasn't. Really brought home the fight within humans, our struggle for knowledge vs. our struggle for survival. The characters, and a large number of them, were fleshed out better in the original i think. While a few were more stereotypical 'types' (the photojournalist, and a few of the doc's helpers) most had some duality to them, the doctor, the captain, others all interesting characters.
Carpenter's remake had far more gore/suspense than the original in great scenes like the blood testing scene, and then the mystery of who is human vs. the hiding thing. even after having seen it so many times, completely forgot who was human and who was the thing, i always thought the bearded dude, the dog handler was one of the things, and even while watching it this time i thought he was too, along with the Garry too (the guy who played the president in Clear and Present Danger). There was no 'real' human vs. human conflict as everyone was really trying to figure out who was human and who was alien, but still very enjoyable element that wasn't in the original. The characters here seemd a little more one-dimensional. Which, given the fact that the gore/effects are going to take up FAR more screen time than in the original, something had to be sacrificied, and making the characters motivations easily pigeonholed is a quick way to save time (ala angry black man, hardnosed army man, weasel coward man, etc).
But, between the two, if i had to pick, I'd give a slight nod to the original. It had more elements to it. While primarily a 'sci-fi/suspense/thriller' it also had comedic moments, drama, and even a romantic element that worked its way in there nicely without too much cheese. More of a complete movie. For flat out suspense/sci-fi/horror, the remake gets the nod, but watching them one after the other, defintely each very enjoyable in their own way.
Next up in my remake vs. original: The In-Laws vs. The In-Laws and Flight of the Phoenix vs. Flight of the Phoenix
peace
k2