BambooLounge

My argument does not necessitate watching the film to be on equal footing. It only calls for one to have watched the sequence in A Clockwork Orange since the argument is that the premise of Funny Games (NOT the direction, cinematography, or trailer that was deliberately made to look like that of A Clockwork Orange) is wholly derivative of the rape sequence in Clockwork, which it clearly is.

Any film about youths breaking into the home/lives of a family/couple and committing acts of senseless violence for their own perverse pleasure on film is clearly derived from that sequence more so when the costumes of said characters are clearly an homage to it...now if this "wholly derivative" film surpasses the original sequence in its expansion or is just a rehashing of the same theme for as senseless a purpose as the violence it depicts is another argument for another time (that time being once I have watched the movie).

Seeing as this thread has sort of turned into the two of us going back and forth, if this is considered "thread hijacking" then feel free to PM me.

MartinBlank

They were promoting the shit out of this during CBS' airing of Dexter tonight....glad to see I'm not the only one getting a Clockwork Orange vibe from it.

RichC2

It's very much a clockwork orange in terms of advertising. Especially compared to the original trailer: http://www.movie-list.com/c/clockworkorange.html

The movie itself (the original movie at least)? home invasion concept and "for the fun of it" are about where the similarities end.

MartinBlank

Worth the price of admission or not?

RichC2

I had to make an edit, I haven't seen this remake yet and meant it in reference to the original -- which I personally liked but did not love by any stretch. It's a very manipulative film (sort of the point). And from what I've read, it's almost a shot for shot remake, with a hotter lead ( Naomi).

For references sakes:

1997 Funny Games Trailer:

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2008 Funny Games Trailer:

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Mordred

After watching the original trailer, I REALLY hope there's no John Zorn songs in this one.

Phod

I watched the original Funny Games for the first time last week in anticipation for the remake. As a fan of dark films, I still didn't find it all that great. I kept waiting for something... more... but it just is what it is, I guess.

I can't see this movie doing well and am sorta puzzled why it's even being remade in the first place.

The Bus

Hrm... 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, 53 on Metacritic. Getting wildly mixed reviews, which is at least a good sign.

Supermallet

John Zorn does the music for this movie!? I wanted to see it before, but now I have to see it.

GreenVulture

If it's anything like the original, it's just for one scene.

Supermallet

Aww. I love Zorn.

Hiro11

This got absolutely slammed by Joe Morgenstern (on of my favorite critics) of the WSJ today. One of those one paragraph, extremely negative reviews.

Luther Heggs

The original had almost all of "Bonehead" over the opening (and closing) credits followed by snippets of "Hellraiser." Both are directly from Torture Garden; Zorn didn't write any music expressly for the film. Haneke talks about the use of Zorn's music in the original - FTR my least favorite aspect of the movie, and I too love Zorn - in this Kinoeye interview.

zekeburger1979

Jim Emerson, editor of RogerEbert.com, HATES Funny Games.

James Berardinelli gives Funny Games 3 1/2 stars.

My local theater doesn't have Funny Games, so should I go rent the original before I see the remake?

starseed1981

If you rent the original you are seeing the new version, just in German. Its a shot for shot tit for tat remake.

CloverClover

It seems Haneke made this film to get bad reviews, he is probably ashamed at the good reviews... unless they're good reviews keyed into its purpose. So it's kind of a cheap trick, "I can't lose" scenario on his part. Still one of the best minimalists though.

macnorton

This movie looks incredible. I have read the reviews (and for the original as well). It sounds like a huge wink-wink film, which are my favorites. If it is anything like A Clockwork Orange (a personal favorite, and poster hangs in my office), I will be happy.

Zodiac_Speaking

seeing it tomorrow.

splattii2

Saw this last night at a press screening. It was great, however it's the same film shot for shot as the original, including the end. IMO that's a good thing, but I guess for those who've seen it, it kind of makes you question if you should pay to see it again. He changed nothing. I can see why people have mixed feelings about this as it's an arthouse movie being produced for a mainstream audience. I'm sure there will be a ton of people who won't like it, or won't really understand the point of the film. If you've seen the original, I'm not sure it's worth paying to see again unless you have problems reading subtitles. Anyhow, for me it was great because I was worried the film would get thrown into the blender and end up different then the original. I hadn't seen the original in years, so it was still a nice experience for me. Anyhow, Good job Haneke. I hope this guy makes some $$ from this and gives us something original for his next film.

Hiro11

AO Scott's review seems to confirm my suspicions of this film:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/03/14...funn.html?8dpc

Yep, Haneke indeed wants to trumpet his moral and intellectual superiority while rubbing our faces in what blood-thirsty cretins we are. You know Americans.

Why would anyone go see a movie made by a guy who so clearly despises his audience?

Sondheim

Because that "guy" is a genius.

Is he pedantic and snobby and all that? Yes. Does he come off as incredibly arrogant and condescending in interviews? Yes. Is he still one of the greatest filmmakers working today - creating great, intelligent and artistically significant films? Yes.

With that said - I probably won't end up seeing this film or the original (for multiple reasons.) But I will continue to watch whatever else he happens to throw out since he rather earned my respect with films like "Cache" and "The Piano Teacher" and "Code Unknown" - which are all masterpieces.

Matthew Chmiel

After seeing Cache a year ago and Funny Games tonight, I will now never see another Haneke film ever again.

Motherfucking Austrian bastard owes me four hours of my life back.

Easily the worst film I've seen this year. I should've taken a cue from my best friend and walked out. I've never seen a film serve less of a purpose than this one -- especially one with the balls to insult the audience the way this film does (specifically during the moments where Pitt's character breaks the fourth wall).

Christ, I should've just waited an extra 20 minutes and saw Doomsday instead.

Drop

It's a reaction like your's that really makes me want to see the film. I'll probably catch it on DVD though.

islandclaws

I saw this last night and it really didn't so much for me. That's probably because I've seen the original twice and I didn't see the need for this version. Remaking the film exactly the same way is an insult to me as a fan of the German version and as an American. This is Haneke's way of pandering to dumbed-down US audiences that don't want to "read" their movies, so he gives us the same thing but with known actors and in English. I might have enjoyed it more if the first one didn't exist, but it does and that fact diminished this film in my eyes.

Matthew Chmiel

I think it's funny that the two worst films of the year, Funny Games and Diary of the Dead, are two that try their hand at social commentary and both fail at that task. Maybe Haneke and Romero should go back and learn how to write a script based on a three-act structure first.