The essence of a good story has been lost in Hollywood. Despite the glamour of the industry perpetuated through the media and celebrity gossip, the television and film have tainted whatever good taste one may have left. "Sex, drugs and rock n' roll" has filtered out any respectful concept and turned it into trash. Here we will explore the success and failures of forever classic and timeless tales throughout history that we have come to adore and the Hollywood has advantage in sake of profit.
First, let's take a look at this filter and blueprint that Hollywood is using to regurgitate old material and ruining original content:
The determination of Fail, Success or Pass is based on reviews, ratings, ranking and critics found on Internet Movie Database (IMDb):
Roman/Greek
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) SUCCESS
Clash of the Titans (2010) FAIL
Spartacus: Blood & Sand (2010) SUCCESS
300 (2006) SUCCESS
Troy (2004) SUCCESS
Rome (Television, 2005-2007) SUCCESS
Cleopatra (1999) PASS
Anthony & Cleopatra (1972) FAIL
Cleopatra (1963) PASS
Cleopatra (1934) PASS
Bible
Passion of the Christ (2004) SUCCESS
Prince of Egypt (Animated, 1998) PASS
Jesus of Nazareth (Television, 1977) SUCCESS
Ben Hur (1959) SUCCESS
The Ten Commandments (1956) PASS
Disney
Tangled (2010) SUCCESS
The Princess & The Frog (2009) SUCCESS
Enchanted (2007) SUCCESS
Atlantis (2001) PASS
Tarzan (1999) SUCCESS
A Knight in Camelot (1998) FAIL
Hercules (1997) PASS
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1997) PASS
Pocahontas (1995) PASS
A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) FAIL
The Jungle Book (1994) FAIL
The Three Musketeers (1993) PASS
The Adventure of Huck Finn (1993) FAIL
Aladdin (1992) SUCCESS
Beauty & The Beast (1991) SUCCESS
The Prince & The Pauper (1990) PASS
The Little Mermaid (1989) SUCCESS
Robin Hood (1973) SUCCESS
Sword in the Stone (1963) SUCCESS
Cinderella (1950) SUCCESS
Heroes & Heroines
Camelot (2011) PASS
Robin Hood (2010) PASS
The Adventure of Merlin (2008 - Present) PASS
The Last Legion (2007) PASS
Robin Hood BBC (2006) SUCCESS
King Arthur (2004) PASS
Count of Monte Cristo (2002) PASS
The Mists of Avalon (2001) FAIL
Man In the Iron Mask ( 1998) FAIL
Dragon Heart (1996) PASS
First Knight (1995) PASS
Robing Hood: Men in Tights (1993) PASS
Hook (1991) FAIL
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) PASS
Excalibur (1981) SUCCESS
The Adventure of Robin Hood (1938) SUCCESS
Romance
Pride & Prejudice (2005) SUCCESS
A Cinderella Story (2004) PASS
Ever After (1998) PASS
Sci-fi & Fantasy
Conan the Barbarian (2011) PASS
Thor (2011) SUCCESS
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) SUCCESS
Tron: Legacy (2010) PASS
Alice in Wonderland (2010) PASS
Outlander (2008) PASS
Planet of the Apes (2001) PASS
Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007) SUCCESS
Stargate (1994) PASS
Uncategorized
The Secret Garden (1993) SUCCESS
Not only can you see a trend of when certain subjects or genres were popular, unpopular or regained it's appeal, but it goes to show that simply doing a remake of a popular tale with a slightly different interpretation does not go over so well, especially when the market has a large amount of flops that came before. What does work is standing back to see the genre and choosing a drama that has never been told before, or choosing a different character to be the protagonist (ie. First Knight is told by Lancelot, not King Arthur and The Aventure of Merlin is from, guess who, Merlin's perspective.) Simply doing an updated version just won't cut it, an the older the film the less it was tainted by modern Hollywood that will compromised the integrity of the original concept. It can be argued that though Disney has simplified their stories to be enjoyed by a younger generation, they have also so completely altered it from it's authentic premise that it now feeds subtle sexual content to children; to what purpose, we may never know.
In conclusion, the success, pass and failure of reinventing a timeless tale denotes that the author may have been incapable of coming up with something original. Those authors who wrote the original tales that have been captured in time had an intention with their writing that may have been lost as entertainment producers decided to "take a whack at it" by grinding it down through the Hollywood filters and tainting it's essence in sake of fortune. You're best bet is to be inspired by the one of the concepts and interpret it so abstractly that it bears very little resemblance to the original tale.
First, let's take a look at this filter and blueprint that Hollywood is using to regurgitate old material and ruining original content:
The determination of Fail, Success or Pass is based on reviews, ratings, ranking and critics found on Internet Movie Database (IMDb):
Roman/Greek
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) SUCCESS
Clash of the Titans (2010) FAIL
Spartacus: Blood & Sand (2010) SUCCESS
300 (2006) SUCCESS
Troy (2004) SUCCESS
Rome (Television, 2005-2007) SUCCESS
Cleopatra (1999) PASS
Anthony & Cleopatra (1972) FAIL
Cleopatra (1963) PASS
Cleopatra (1934) PASS
Bible
Passion of the Christ (2004) SUCCESS
Prince of Egypt (Animated, 1998) PASS
Jesus of Nazareth (Television, 1977) SUCCESS
Ben Hur (1959) SUCCESS
The Ten Commandments (1956) PASS
Disney
Tangled (2010) SUCCESS
The Princess & The Frog (2009) SUCCESS
Enchanted (2007) SUCCESS
Atlantis (2001) PASS
Tarzan (1999) SUCCESS
A Knight in Camelot (1998) FAIL
Hercules (1997) PASS
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1997) PASS
Pocahontas (1995) PASS
A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) FAIL
The Jungle Book (1994) FAIL
The Three Musketeers (1993) PASS
The Adventure of Huck Finn (1993) FAIL
Aladdin (1992) SUCCESS
Beauty & The Beast (1991) SUCCESS
The Prince & The Pauper (1990) PASS
The Little Mermaid (1989) SUCCESS
Robin Hood (1973) SUCCESS
Sword in the Stone (1963) SUCCESS
Cinderella (1950) SUCCESS
Heroes & Heroines
Camelot (2011) PASS
Robin Hood (2010) PASS
The Adventure of Merlin (2008 - Present) PASS
The Last Legion (2007) PASS
Robin Hood BBC (2006) SUCCESS
King Arthur (2004) PASS
Count of Monte Cristo (2002) PASS
The Mists of Avalon (2001) FAIL
Man In the Iron Mask ( 1998) FAIL
Dragon Heart (1996) PASS
First Knight (1995) PASS
Robing Hood: Men in Tights (1993) PASS
Hook (1991) FAIL
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) PASS
Excalibur (1981) SUCCESS
The Adventure of Robin Hood (1938) SUCCESS
Romance
Pride & Prejudice (2005) SUCCESS
A Cinderella Story (2004) PASS
Ever After (1998) PASS
Sci-fi & Fantasy
Conan the Barbarian (2011) PASS
Thor (2011) SUCCESS
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) SUCCESS
Tron: Legacy (2010) PASS
Alice in Wonderland (2010) PASS
Outlander (2008) PASS
Planet of the Apes (2001) PASS
Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007) SUCCESS
Stargate (1994) PASS
Uncategorized
The Secret Garden (1993) SUCCESS
Not only can you see a trend of when certain subjects or genres were popular, unpopular or regained it's appeal, but it goes to show that simply doing a remake of a popular tale with a slightly different interpretation does not go over so well, especially when the market has a large amount of flops that came before. What does work is standing back to see the genre and choosing a drama that has never been told before, or choosing a different character to be the protagonist (ie. First Knight is told by Lancelot, not King Arthur and The Aventure of Merlin is from, guess who, Merlin's perspective.) Simply doing an updated version just won't cut it, an the older the film the less it was tainted by modern Hollywood that will compromised the integrity of the original concept. It can be argued that though Disney has simplified their stories to be enjoyed by a younger generation, they have also so completely altered it from it's authentic premise that it now feeds subtle sexual content to children; to what purpose, we may never know.
In conclusion, the success, pass and failure of reinventing a timeless tale denotes that the author may have been incapable of coming up with something original. Those authors who wrote the original tales that have been captured in time had an intention with their writing that may have been lost as entertainment producers decided to "take a whack at it" by grinding it down through the Hollywood filters and tainting it's essence in sake of fortune. You're best bet is to be inspired by the one of the concepts and interpret it so abstractly that it bears very little resemblance to the original tale.
