Another remake..?
Remaking La Bamba is just another nail in the coffin of modern art and shitting on everything for a quick buck
I know I’m not alone in this sentiment but I’m sick to death of remakes, reboots and unnecessary sequels. It seems as if nothing is sacred any more and Hollyweird will remake literally anything if it means A.) Saving money and B.) Waiting long enough to resell the same old shit to a new audience at a profit.
Gone are the days of the film industry throwing shit against the wall and seeing what sticks. There’s a great quote by Frank Zappa about the music industry and who used to run it Vs. who runs it now and it also applies to the film industry.
No one takes a chance on anything anymore without a ROI: return on investment study. The suits in charge of what consumers purchase are interested in only one things and that’s money.
I often wonder how many original scripts are submitted and then likely thrown in the garbage by today’s studios. I have ambition of my own about writing a script - or rather, finishing one - but I don’t believe anyone in the industry even reads them any more.
We all missed that boat a few decades ago and now, if any aspiring writer has any hope of getting a script made, it can only be done themselves because the industry long gave up buying and producing original scripts.
Why would they when they can just remake everything they already own the licensing to?
These days, it’s all about remaking things and stretching out a franchise as long as possible in order to cash in as much as possible on properties already owned and sell watered down trash to Generation Remake. Ka-ching!
Lately it seems like they are working overtime to remake anything and everything that was even remotely successful a few decades ago. Just this year alone we have Road House, The Crow, Beetlejuice, The Night of the Hunter (1955) and Nosferatu all being remade. Why?
Because Hollyweird already owns these properties and so fuck it, why not water them down for a new audience and cash in?
It’s not like modern audiences give a shit about “art” anyway!
The Night of the Hunter (1955), directed by Charles Laughton and starring Robert Mitchum, is just one of the latest classic films set to be “reimagined” by Hollywood. You may or may not have ever heard of this film but no doubt many films you have seen have been influenced by it. It’s considered a masterpiece.
The original film is a brilliant work of art and there isn’t a filmmaker alive that could hold a candle to what Laughton, Mitchum and cinematographer, Stanley Cortez, achieved in 1955.
Only a fool would try and remake this classic and sadly, that’s all that’s left in the film industry: greedy fools.
There was a time when remakes and sequels were never a thing. Filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick never made sequels and did not remake their films. Their films are works of art and you don’t remake works of art.
They attempted to remake Hitchcock’s Psycho film and it was a disaster, despite being a “shot for shot” remake. And none of the sequels can hold a finger to the original - there’s a reason for that.
The same can be said for films like Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Can you imagine a remake? It’s laughable to try.
And yes, they are remaking Luis Valdez’s La Bamba for some godawful reason.
I really don’t have much to add to the conversation about La Bamba being remade except that I find it depressing and extremely unnecessary.
I was happy enough to see that, initially, Luis Valdez was against the idea of his film being remade but he quickly changed his mind when they offered him a spot as executive producer.
Money talks. Art dies.
I honestly don’t even care who directs or writes the new version - it won’t matter. Valdez carried both duties last time around and that speaks to the film’s authenticity, artistry and charm.
It was a Chicano film made for us, by us and about us. That is so goddamn rare it’s truly incredible.
In my opinion, what this all boils down to is art and the general lack of respect for it by a population who wouldn’t know it if it bit them on the ass.
There was a time when people largely considered the medium of film to be an artform and films as art. Directors were considered artists. This has not been the case for a long time and no one considers films as artwork now; instead they are purely entertainment. Thus, you get films cranked out that are for nothing more than pure profit.
There is no longer any “art” left in the medium of film making.
The same can be said of writing and of novels. There was also a time when books were considered works of art but I cannot remember the last time anyone considered a writer an artist. Even poets are not considered artists by today’s reader and this speaks to the way in which consumer culture views the arts now.
People no longer appreciate the beauty in things but rather swallow them whole and immediately ask for more. We live in a culture that has an insatiable appetite for being spoon fed more. No one wants to let any creation sit on its own merit and no one wants to use their imagination.
I would argue that the original La Bamba film is a work of art, full stop.
It is a masterpiece of filmmaking by one of Hollywood’s few Chicano directors and it should be treated as such.
La Bamba was crafted in such a way that no amount of effort would be able to recreate the silver screen magic that happens in the original film because for starters, it was Valdez’s love letter to the legacy of Ritchie Valens and to the Chicano community who has little to no representation on the big screen.
From the filmmakers to the actors and yes, to the music, it was simply a matter of honest craftsmanship and ARTISTRY that scarcely exists in today’s cinematic era.
You couldn’t assemble the magic of the original’s Latino cast if you tried.
Personally, I would be less concerned with who they cast in the remake to portray Ritchie as I would Bob. No other actor is going to recapture what Esai Morales did as Bob, nor should they.
And who is going to do the music? That was a huge factor to the success of the first film!
Even if they somehow do get an aging Los Lobos (who’s prominence is nowhere near what it was in the 80s), to do the music again, nothing will recapture the magic of the music they made for the first film the first time.
Put simply: La Bamba was a moment in time. The film is a work of art that should not be messed with. And I realize I’m in the minority with this opinion but there are certain films that simply should be left alone for all-time.
This is one of them.
Luis Valdez’s initial reaction to La Bamba being remade was the correct one: it is unnecessary.
That said, with film no longer being considered an art form in today’s TikiTok world, little matters when it comes to questioning something without first considering money.
This is just another example of living in an era where art is dead and nothing is sacred and they might as well keep on shitting everything for a buck.
S/C
My sentiments exactly. Let this sleeping dog lie. It was made at a perfect time with the right players. It’s one of those time peaches of art.
Just like the new Robocop movie, The Crow this movie if remade its going to be a failure to be forgotten with disdain.