A NY Times reader, in a comment on Manohla Dargis's review of the new Carrie, complains, "The original Carrie is one of my favorite movies. Can't Hollywood come
up with original ideas anymore? I will be sure to stay away from this
remake."
Actually, film remakes are nothing new; in fact, they're as old as Hollywood. The Maltese Falcon, for example, had been filmed twice (in 1931 and 1936) before the version that came to be regarded as definitive was produced: John Huston's 1941 classic starring Humphrey Bogart. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was adapted during the silent era with John Barrymore, and then remade twice within less than twenty-five years in versions starring Frederic March and Spencer Tracy. (Even more versions would follow.) I could go on and on, but these two well-known examples should suffice.
I, too, haven't seen the new Kimberly Pierce version of Carrie, and, who knows, maybe it is junk. I doubt it, however, given that Ms. Pierce is (judging from her previous work) a thoughtful and gifted director. I also like the Brian De Palma version of Carrie (though not the 2002 TV movie, the pilot for a series that never materialized), but I'm willing to give this latest film incarnation of Stephen King's first novel a chance.
