The Truth About Charlie (including with original movie 'Charade')

The Truth About Charlie (including with original movie 'Charade') | Thandie Newton, Mark Wahlberg | Worst remake I've ever seen.

DVDs:

The Truth About Ch...

	The Truth About Charlie (including with original movie 'Charade') Thandie Newton, Mark Wahlberg Universal Studios, 2003 average customer review:based on 75 reviews view larger image
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Remake of the 1963 romantic thriller charade a widow is chased around paris by many suitors all after one thing. She knows where her crooked dead husband hid all of his illegal cash. Its all a game until one man sees her for more than her money.Dvd bonus includes original 1963 movie Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 04/12/2005 Starring: Mark Wahlberg Tim Robbins Run time: 105 minutes Rating: R Director: Jonathan Demme

Bonus: Excellent anamorphic transfer of "Charade"!

I purchased this DVD from Amazon (a real bargain, "used-like-new" for less than five dollars, including shipping cost) to get a reasonably priced version of the original movie "Charade", filmed in 1963. Many DVD editions of "Charade" have been released, and to judge by the numerous reviews on this site, most of these previous releases have very poor video transfers to DVD.

The version of "Charade" presented on the flip side of "The Truth about Charlie" is, however, quite good--surprisingly good! "Charade", starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, is presented here in a clean, anamorphic widescreen format, enhanced for 16x9 aspect-ratio, large-screen TVs. The colors are excellent, great skin tones, and the mono sound is fine, considering the age of the film. There is little (if any) graininess, even in the night scences (the blacks are very deep).

The Criterion Collection sells a very expensive, remastered version of "Charade" (I have not seen it)--but, in my opinion, there is very little room for additional enhancement of the version included here--especially considering the big price difference. "Charade" looks simply terrific on my large screen, high-defintion TV, played on my Toshiba HD DVD player (the "upconversion" helps). I eventually will watch "The Truth about Charlie"--but if you want an excellent version of "Charade"--this is the DVD to buy. Highly recommended!

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Worst remake I've ever seen.

Appalling. It's not like there wasn't a formula for the makers of this pointless remake to follow, the original worked, it could have been updated, if not equalled.

Instead, Demme throws out everything that made the original great - romance, humor, suspense, intelligent pacing, all so he can make a movie that seems to parody mainstream genre films and acts as a self-satisfied exercise in "New Wave" mimicry.

Except the "New Wave" films were just that, new, they were doing something original. Demme's film seems an excuse for him to enjoy working in Paris, it certainly isn't coherent. Plot elements are raised, then forgotten, and what on earth is the crazy mother who murders people doing here, is this a comedy? By the maddening finale, the characters seem to have lost interest in the mystery, just as the audience has done by this point.

Obviously remaking a film with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, two of the greatest movie stars of all time, was going to be difficult, but why even bother when all you have to offer is Marky Mark and Thandie Newton. With George Clooney and Nicole Kidman, or others of that caliber, it might have been a good idea, the original works because of the star power and their chemistry. This poor enterprise was doomed from the start.

The definition of the pointless remake, makes Gus Van Sant's "Psycho" seem creative and original.

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