MOVIES THAT SHOULD NEVER BEREMADE

Carter Boehm

These days it seems like every movie comingout, especially in the summer, is either a

sequel or a reboot of some kind. The Marvelmovies have dominated for nearly a decade.

We will get a new Star Wars movie everyChristmas from now on. And franchises areconstantly being ‘reboot’, whether fans are

asking for it or not.

This summer, we are seeing more reboots, remakes,and sequels of older movies than ever before. Here

are just a few; Ghostbusters, The Legend of Tarzan,Independence Day, Ben-Hur. Now we know the

world was clamoring for a new Ice Age movie, butstudios are searching further and further back intotheir catalogs looking for the next reboot project.However, there are some sacred cows that must

never be done.

Let’s take a look at a few films so wonderful that areboot or remake of any kind would be sacrilege!

To Kill a Mockingbird

There may be no more perfect film than RobertMulligan’s 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel, To

Kill a Mockingbird. Harper, who won the PulitzerPrize for her first and only novel (we aren’t going to

count Go Set a Watchman), shied from fame andwithdrew into reclusiveness, but the film was a

massive success.

It served as the platform for the best performanceGregory Peck every delivered. His Atticus Finch,named by AFI as the greatest movie hero of thecentury, earned him an Academy Award. Asidefrom Peck, the performances of the child actors,

especially Mary Badham as Scout, are relatable andmoving. Scout’s struggle to understand the horrors

racism demand each of us reflect on our ownassumptions. It is truly important filmmaking.

Essentially, To Kill a Mockingbird is maybe the onlytime when a film adaptation is better than the book.

So that’s why it cannot be remade. Tom Hankscouldn’t be Atticus and Adam Driver couldn’t be Boo

Radley. Don’t even try.

It’s a Wonderful Life

Attaboy Clarence! In 1946, Frank Capra crafted adifferently perfect film, with another landmark

performance from one of the American masters. It’sa Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart and

Donna Reed, was initially received mildly, but hasgone to be regarded as Capra and Stewart’s best

work.

If you’ve been alive during the Christmas seasonsduring last few decades, you assuredly have seen atleast pieces of this beautiful film. George Bailey is asuicidal, and his prayers bring him an angel — or an

angel in training, rather. Together they visit a worldin which George Bailey was never born and see the

tremendous impact this man has had on hiscommunity.

In the end, Bailey discovers that his life is worthliving and is embraced by the community he has

given so much to. It’s a Wonderful Life captures thesmall town essence that many people can relate

with. Bedford Falls is a real Anytown, USA.

Stewart’s performance is gripping and vivid. No onecould match it, let alone top it. In 2013 a group of

producers began pitching a sequel that would focuson George’s less likeable grandson. Fans were up inarms. The instant response online was cacophonous

and unanimous.

Luckily, Paramount Pictures, which owns the rights,publicly stated that no project involving the film

would or could proceed without their word and thatthey weren’t cooperating with the producers of

proposed sequel. The film’s legacy appears to be safefor now.