Cinematic Daydreaming.

Well, rumours, so far, for the next Batman villains, include Johnny Depp as the Riddler (Doesn't quite feel right to me, but then I said the same thing when I first heard about Ledger doing the Joker and I'm pretty sure we can all agree on how far off I was about that...), Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin, and Angelina Jolie as Catwoman.

Thinking on the subject of this massive Re-makeFest that Hollywood's been holding (and subsequently thinking about how many of them absolutely suck), I fell to considering the movies I'd like to see redone well.

In no particular order:
1. Phantom of the Paradise. (Thank you, Coilhouse, I hadn't thought about that one in ages.) This cult classic is a 70's "horror-thriller musical" which basically melds Faust and Phantom of the Opera, with just a touch of A Picture of Dorian Gray thrown in for good measure. Cornily done? Hell yes, but gloriously so; after the fashion of most cult classics, there's something about it that draws you in anyway.

2. Neverwhere. This was the first novel by Neil Gaiman that I read, and I loved the BBC miniseries, but wouldn't mind seeing what can be done with a little more of a budget. I hear there's talk of this one is being made, actually. I'm hoping that they're a little more faithful to the book than they were with Stardust. (I like the movie a lot--Captain Shakespeare FTW!!!--but, still...) I wonder who they'll get to play the Marquis de Carabas... :-? I could see someone like Benicio Del Toro as Mr. Vandemar, but I'm not sure about Mr. Croup... Someone delicate and dark, like Winona Ryder, would be good as Door...

3. He Who Gets Slapped. One of the silent films of the mid-20's (the first filmed by MGM), based on a Russian play. One of Lon Chaney's early vehicles (not to mention one of the first starring roles for the delightful Norma Shearer) and one of my favourites, though TCM rarely plays it. Chaney plays a scientist who goes mad when he loses both his life's work and his wife to a theiving baron. Years later, He winds up working as a clown in a circus only to find that the young woman he's fallen in love with is betrothed to that same theiving Baron. Rather surreal, and very dramatic. (And why don't they think to remake silents more anyway, if they're so bloody intent on remaking things? It gives them a leg up by providing source material while leaving room for creativity in dialogue...)

4. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Another silent, and fans of classic film will probably want me hanged for proposing it. But if it's well-done, I don't see the harm. Burton is the first to come to mind, for directors (I'm sure not only for me). I would say Depp for the part of Cesare, but he basically already did that role as Edward Scissorhands. :-P

So, I'm curious... To those of you out there reading, if you have a minute: What would you want to see a good remake of?