Hollywood Remakes of Iconic British Films - (Screen Serialities) by Agnieszka Rasmus (Paperback)

About the Book

Explores how cult and classic '60s British films are remade by Hollywood in the new millennium

Book Synopsis

This is the first book-length study to address film remaking from a unique perspective of a cross-cultural exchange between two countries which not only share a language but also a history of film cooperation. It examines a selection of cult and classic British titles made at the time of Hollywood's active involvement in the domestic film production, with case studies from a number of genres. The book investigates the ways in which these '60s and early '70s films are remade by Hollywood in the new millennium by focusing in particular on how class and gender representations are updated to accommodate for cultural, societal and technological transformations. It shows a tendency for remakes to revise old power dynamics by means of gender reversal and to replace class conflicts with sex wars. Since all the British originals feature iconic British actors, analysing their Hollywood alter-egos becomes another important indicator of adaptation strategies where casting American or British actors determines the remake's gender politics and genre markers.

From the Back Cover

Hollywood Remakes of Iconic British Films: Class, Gender and Stardom investigates film remaking from the unique perspective of cross-cultural exchange between two countries who share a common language and history in film cooperation. Each chapter discusses classic British films connected by the same star, genre and theme to trace the change from 1960s optimism to the despondency of the 1970s. Rasmus scrutinizes millennial remakes to show how they transform the representation of class, gender and stardom to comply with industrial trends and appeal to a twenty-first century global audience. Case studies include Alfie (1966; 2004), Bedazzled (1967; 2000), The Italian Job (1969; 2003), Get Carter (1971; 2000), Sleuth (1972; 2007), The Wicker Man (1973; 2006) as well as The Limey (1999). Agnieszka Rasmus is Assistant Professor in the Department of English Studies in Drama, Theatre and Film, University of Lódź, Poland. She is the author of Filming Shakespeare, from Metatheatre to Metacinema (2008) and numerous articles on film remakes and adaptations.

Review Quotes

An informative and thoughtful account of the remake as a varied and complex cultural practice that takes place in specific cultural contexts. Furthermore, refreshingly, it focuses on British cinema as a subject worthy of a book-length study.--Andrew Spicer "Studies in European Cinema"

Agnieszka Rasmus makes an excellent contribution to the study of the Hollywood remake with the first book-length study devoted to a select cycle of Hollywood remakes of British cinema classics. Significantly, it identifies that such films can provide, inadvertently or not, a commentary on wider socio-cultural changes and developments as they illuminate anxieties at the heart of their original. Different cultures, socio-historical periods, audience expectations, genre conventions, directorial styles, aesthetic orientations, identity politics, and industry practices are interrogated appropriately, and it is well worth a read as a result.--Jon Baldwin and Brett Gregory "Culture Matters"

About the Author

Agnieszka Rasmus is Assistant Professor in the Department of English Studies in Drama, Theatre and Film, University of Lódź, Poland. She is the author of Filming Shakespeare, from Metatheatre to Metacinema (2008) and numerous articles on film remakes and adaptations.