Well, well, well. A remake of one of my favorite movies will be in the theaters this week. WAIT! Donn't click yet. See if you know which one it is.

Movie remakes rarely surpass quality of the originals, except in graphic gore. I don't doubt this is the primary purpose for remaking it - the 1976 version has oodles of room for making the violence much more graphic - in spite of the fact the original was violent for its day, and it was. Here's a tidbit in the 1976 version's trivia listing:

"The MPAA threatened an "X" rating if the shocking "ice cream scene" wasn't cut. The distributor advised Carpenter to give the MPAA a version with the scene excised to get an "R" rating, and then simply distribute the original version complete with the scene. The ruse worked."

It will be interesting see whether Jean-François Richet equals or just butchers the movie John Carpenter made as

"... a highly stylized, modern-day Western, essentially remaking Rio Bravo (1959) directed by Carpenter's hero, Howard Hawks. Carpenter acknowledges this debt to Hawks and Rio Bravo by using the pseudonym of John T. Chance for his film editor's credit. John T. Chance was the name of John Wayne's character in Rio Bravo."

Did you know the movie? It has the same name as the original. Okay, you can click now.