Friday, July 15, 2005
Member since:
May 2005
May 2005
well, it looks like many of the opinions being posted may be true. i have a friend who went to see the film last night at the midnight showing, and said she wanted to leave 15 minutes in and couldn't bc her friend had fallen asleep and didn't want to wake him up!!
that is not a good sign...
that is not a good sign...
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Member since:
June 2005
June 2005
I was just on videoeta.com and they have the DVD listed for release on November 8, Hopefully this is true, but I wonder what would get more attention that week since we all know that November 8 is when Star Wars Episode III is scheduled for release
[Post edited by DVD_Master182 on Jul 21, 2005]
[Post edited by DVD_Master182 on Jul 21, 2005]
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Member since:
March 2002
March 2002
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is the first film I've gone to in years where most of audience applauded at the end. And it was a large audience for a matinee show, made up of a diverse mix of ages from children through teens to adults.
Of course, for anyone over five the obvious thing is going to be a comparison to the older version. They're really quite a bit alike, yet they're quite a bit different, too. I love the older version as much as anyone, and probably like you I wondered why in the world Tim Burton would want to remake it. Remember what he did to "Planet of the Apes." But it turns out that the new version is every bit as good as the old one in its own way.
Sure, I missed the old songs, and I missed Gene Wilder as Wonka and Peter Ostrum as Charlie and Jack Albertson as Grandpa Joe. They could never be replaced. But the new actors in the roles acquit themselves nicely, especially young Freddie Highmore (recently of "Finding Neverland").
While the graphic effects are better than ever and I enjoyed actor Deep Roy playing all of the Oompa Loompas (through the magic of computer duplication), Danny Elfman's music didn't quite make it for me. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but there was nothing in the new movie to match the catchy simplicity of the "Candy Man" or "Oompa Loompa" songs. I'd be willing to bet that no one who has just seen the new movie could hum or whistle even a couple of notes of the new music. Still, Elfman's music is fine, and these are relatively minor points in any case.
The big point of contention for most viewers, whether they've seen the older version or not, will be Johnny Depp's portrayal of Wonka. It's just plain bizarre. Nevertheless, his strange behavior and eccentric mannerisms are explained at the end of the story. He's sort of a cross between Michael Jackson and Tom Hulce's Amadeus. Ironically, while the first movie had Willy Wonka's name in the title, it was largely about Charlie. Now that Roald Dahl's original title is used and Charlie's name is back in, the movie is largely about Willy Wonka. In the new one, Wonka is given a background story through a number of flashbacks, plus a whole concluding episode. We learned nothing of Wilder's Wonka character in the first movie and only a little of Charlie's. We learn no more about Charlie in the new version than in the last, but we learn a heck of a lot more about Wonka. Moreover, once Depp's Wonka is introduced into the new movie, it's all his; the boy and the grandfather practically disappear from our thoughts.
Notwithstanding some odd reactions during seemingly stressful moments, Wilder's Wonka remained ever the gentle, amiable, twinkling character throughout, with the exception of a brief moment at the end when he pretended to be angry. Yet Depp's Wonka seems genuinely conflicted. Being shut away from people for so long, he is unable to relate to them in normal terms, his behavior so erratic he has to resort to reading his comments to them from note cards prepared in advance. Therefore, to me Depp's Willy Wonka is the central figure in the new movie, much more so than Wilder was in the first film. And by the end of the new movie, it's Wonka's character who has changed as a result of his experiences, not Charlie's. Charlie's circumstances change, but not his character.
In addition, it was good to see Christopher Lee as Wonka's father; Lee is an ageless wonder and seems to get better as the years go by.
None of which makes the new film any better or any worse than the older version, just different.
Of course, for anyone over five the obvious thing is going to be a comparison to the older version. They're really quite a bit alike, yet they're quite a bit different, too. I love the older version as much as anyone, and probably like you I wondered why in the world Tim Burton would want to remake it. Remember what he did to "Planet of the Apes." But it turns out that the new version is every bit as good as the old one in its own way.
Sure, I missed the old songs, and I missed Gene Wilder as Wonka and Peter Ostrum as Charlie and Jack Albertson as Grandpa Joe. They could never be replaced. But the new actors in the roles acquit themselves nicely, especially young Freddie Highmore (recently of "Finding Neverland").
While the graphic effects are better than ever and I enjoyed actor Deep Roy playing all of the Oompa Loompas (through the magic of computer duplication), Danny Elfman's music didn't quite make it for me. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but there was nothing in the new movie to match the catchy simplicity of the "Candy Man" or "Oompa Loompa" songs. I'd be willing to bet that no one who has just seen the new movie could hum or whistle even a couple of notes of the new music. Still, Elfman's music is fine, and these are relatively minor points in any case.
The big point of contention for most viewers, whether they've seen the older version or not, will be Johnny Depp's portrayal of Wonka. It's just plain bizarre. Nevertheless, his strange behavior and eccentric mannerisms are explained at the end of the story. He's sort of a cross between Michael Jackson and Tom Hulce's Amadeus. Ironically, while the first movie had Willy Wonka's name in the title, it was largely about Charlie. Now that Roald Dahl's original title is used and Charlie's name is back in, the movie is largely about Willy Wonka. In the new one, Wonka is given a background story through a number of flashbacks, plus a whole concluding episode. We learned nothing of Wilder's Wonka character in the first movie and only a little of Charlie's. We learn no more about Charlie in the new version than in the last, but we learn a heck of a lot more about Wonka. Moreover, once Depp's Wonka is introduced into the new movie, it's all his; the boy and the grandfather practically disappear from our thoughts.
Notwithstanding some odd reactions during seemingly stressful moments, Wilder's Wonka remained ever the gentle, amiable, twinkling character throughout, with the exception of a brief moment at the end when he pretended to be angry. Yet Depp's Wonka seems genuinely conflicted. Being shut away from people for so long, he is unable to relate to them in normal terms, his behavior so erratic he has to resort to reading his comments to them from note cards prepared in advance. Therefore, to me Depp's Willy Wonka is the central figure in the new movie, much more so than Wilder was in the first film. And by the end of the new movie, it's Wonka's character who has changed as a result of his experiences, not Charlie's. Charlie's circumstances change, but not his character.
In addition, it was good to see Christopher Lee as Wonka's father; Lee is an ageless wonder and seems to get better as the years go by.
None of which makes the new film any better or any worse than the older version, just different.
