Howard Chang Info

Asian cinema seems to interest quite a lot of people here in the US. Whether its writers running low on script ideas or indeed a genuine interest in remaking Asian movies to suit US audiences. Lately there’s been a big trend in remakes. From horror,drama to action movies such as The Eye, One Missed Call, The Lake House or the horribly done The Departed(aka Infernal Affairs).

Here’s a few that I thought would interest fans:

1.)Shutter

Is a great horror movie from Thailand, about the past catching up with us. For those who don’t know the cast of the original movie from Thailand was actually quite A-list. From what I understand the movie did great in their(Thai) box office.

Here’s two screen shots one from the original and one from the US remake:

2.) “Chakushin ari” aka “One Missed Call”



With this Japanese original, the US version has only 1 part thus far. In Japan the sequel had long been released. I have seen both and it disappoints me to admit but sequels in Japan are the same as sequels in the US. They suck.

3.) “IL MARE” aka “The Lake House”


With this (originally from South Korea)film, Hollywood brought back a duo that had long been apart from each other. Keanu Reeves & Sandra Bullock. I’d say this film a pretty straight forward adaptation. With only minor changes in the script if you saw either versions of this film, your set. No need to see the other. Unlike other adaptations where the changes while trivial can be rather intriguing to watch.

Here’s a few blogs that have pointed out some past US remakes of Asian films.

Mike Bracken from Epinions.com points out that he’s sick of US remakes in an article appropriately named, “Another Day, Another Asian Horror Film Remake: Shutter“.

In JPBizDirect’s Blog, he notably points out “Shall We Dance” was remake of the Japanese film, “Shall We Dansu” in his article on “Haven’t I Seen You Somewhere Before? US Remakes of Asian Films are a Mixed Blessing“.

Complex.com had compiled a list of past Asian horror movies remade in the use:

1. Gojiro - Godzilla
2. Dark Waters - Dark Waters
3. Ringu - The Ring
4. Ju-On(no I’m not being racist!) - The Grudge
5. Kairo - Pulse
6. The Eye - The Eye

Cinefantastique in its article on “Remaking Asian Horror” also points out One Missed Call was produced in 2004 and was ported over to the US in 2008.

Update:
It’s also been confirmed that one of my favorite Korean movies, “My Sassy Girl” will be released this year in it’s American counterpart with the same name. At least they chose the right girl to play the part, Elisha Cuthbert will be playing Jordan Roark who apparent is the “sassy girl”. While I have my hesitations about this movie, I think Elisha played a very dynamic character in the movie “The Girl Next Door” and “He was a Quiet Man”.


Here’s the trailer to the US version, the original is directly underneath it with English Subs:

Keep an eye out for even more remakes on the way:
A Tale of Two Sisters (South Korea) - Upcoming remake

Oldboy (South Korea) - Upcoming remake

The Host (South Korea) - Upcoming remake

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (South Korea) - Upcoming remake

Hopefully, one of my favorite Japanese love stories will be ported over as well.

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