if it's any consolation, it's gotten revivals recently--a Netflix series and some other movies/specials, i think (at least, more Spirit stuff is on the juvenile DVD shelves at the library)
i can't speak to their quality, though
the best movies never made
- Thread starter Scarecrow
- Start date
i can't speak to their quality, though
Godfather of New York (1972)
The rise of Lucky Luciano (Al Pacino) and his eventual defeat of Joey Massiera (Gabriele Ferzetti) and Salvatore Maranzano (Rossano Brazzi) in the Castellamarese War.
Godfather of New York: Ambition (1974)
With Lucky Luciano (now played by Burt Lancaster) now retired to Sicily, Frank Costello (Richard Conte) and Vito Genovese (Marlon Brando) battle to gain control of the New York underworld.
Godfather of New York: The Final Chapter (1976)
Despite securing his position as New York's most powerful crime boss, Vito Genovese suddenly faces new challenges as Frank Costello, with the aid of Lucky Luciano, decides to enact one last plot for revenge.
The rise of Lucky Luciano (Al Pacino) and his eventual defeat of Joey Massiera (Gabriele Ferzetti) and Salvatore Maranzano (Rossano Brazzi) in the Castellamarese War.
Godfather of New York: Ambition (1974)
With Lucky Luciano (now played by Burt Lancaster) now retired to Sicily, Frank Costello (Richard Conte) and Vito Genovese (Marlon Brando) battle to gain control of the New York underworld.
Godfather of New York: The Final Chapter (1976)
Despite securing his position as New York's most powerful crime boss, Vito Genovese suddenly faces new challenges as Frank Costello, with the aid of Lucky Luciano, decides to enact one last plot for revenge.
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If it's not the ceremony from Danny Kay's "The Court Jester" it doesn't count
Randy
Clovis (1966)
Notable for having a cast of primarily Indigonous actors (with a few latino and Black ones that have the dark skin tones) with not a single white actor, as well as stop motion use for depicting many animals that can't be portrayed by surviving relatives (thus mammoth/mastodons, smilodon, and ground sloths are stop motion/horses, camels, and deer aren't).
- Released by: MGM
Notable for having a cast of primarily Indigonous actors (with a few latino and Black ones that have the dark skin tones) with not a single white actor, as well as stop motion use for depicting many animals that can't be portrayed by surviving relatives (thus mammoth/mastodons, smilodon, and ground sloths are stop motion/horses, camels, and deer aren't).
I assume this one has no English dialogue ala One Million Years BC?
No, I intend the actors speak in accented english, with a few indeginous words thrown in.
Also, I have no idea who'd direct it. I had George Stevens in mind writing it (Giant), but I'm not sure of it.
1960s is probably too early to invent a basic language as per Quest fir Fire. It does sound pretty neat though.
Sadly I can imagine Hollywood casting John Wayne as the Chief of the tribe and deciding that it needs dinosaurs. I'd rather see sheepskin-covered elephants for mammonths.
In fairness that didn't stop the guys who made One Million Years BC from trying. So (maybe) it's not out of the question?
Maybe at most we have him as narrator, or in a framing device as a scientist on a dig.
A few shots, mostly long distant ones do use sheepskin-covered elephants for such,
You two are welcome to PM me on further ideas.
Driftless
Donor
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - 1940
A fairly faithful version of the Agatha Christie classic
Cast:
Hercule Poirot - Charles Boyer* The un-glamorized off-screen Boyer was a bit balding and also had a bit of a belly. It didn't take much makeup to have him fit the Poirot persona (*I stole the idea of Boyer as Poirot from a Facebook notion)
Captain Hastings - Reginald Denny (Denny was a WW1 Gunner in the RAF and an aviation inventor, along with being a successful actor)
Inspector Japp - Miles Mander
Emily Inglethorp - Gladys Cooper
Alfred Inglethorp - James Mason (Christie wrote this character as being 20 years younger than his wife. Viewed by the family as a manipulative gold-digger)
John Cavendish - Henry Daniel
Evelyn Howard - Isabel Jeans
A fairly faithful version of the Agatha Christie classic
Cast:
Hercule Poirot - Charles Boyer* The un-glamorized off-screen Boyer was a bit balding and also had a bit of a belly. It didn't take much makeup to have him fit the Poirot persona (*I stole the idea of Boyer as Poirot from a Facebook notion)
Captain Hastings - Reginald Denny (Denny was a WW1 Gunner in the RAF and an aviation inventor, along with being a successful actor)
Inspector Japp - Miles Mander
Emily Inglethorp - Gladys Cooper
Alfred Inglethorp - James Mason (Christie wrote this character as being 20 years younger than his wife. Viewed by the family as a manipulative gold-digger)
John Cavendish - Henry Daniel
Evelyn Howard - Isabel Jeans
He's a quality actor who could cover the urbane socialite side and the hard man convincingly.
Titanic (1997)
While this version is similar to the OTL film, there are numerous differences. ITTL, Cameron visited Dalbeattie while researching William Murdoch's role in the sinking and ended up having to rewrite the depiction of him from scratch. In addition, the scenes with third class passengers being trapped below are depicted differently - there are several shots of stewards escorting groups of them to the boat deck, a short scene where a steward goes down to order all the gates opened only to get sidetracked by another order, and the main issue being shown as a massive lack of communication and no concrete policy on what needed to be done.
One of the biggest changes, however, was the decision to flesh Cal out and give him a number of redeeming qualities (for instance, him genuinely loving Rose but foolishly believing everything her mother tells him) in order to make him a fully three-dimensional character.
The ending ITTL differs vastly from OTL. Here, Rose stays in the lifeboat while Jack and Cal head across to see if there's a chance to get off (with Cal telling Jack "You saved her life two nights ago, I owe you that at the very least"). At that point, the ship begins to take its final plunge, leading to the attempts to launch collapsible A (without Murdoch shooting anyone). Amidst all this, Jack and Cal come across Cora, whose parents have been washed overboard as the bridge went under, and get her onto the boat (with Murdoch allowing Jack on after Cora begs him to do so). Cal, who is trying to get as many people onto the boat as possible, swims off to try and rescue Cora's parents, but fails to do so and drowns in his attempt. Jack and Cora ultimately end up transferred to the same lifeboat as Rose's mother and are reunited with Rose on the Carpathia, with the three of them disembarking together in New York.
From Trivia/Titanic1997 (TV Tropes)
What Could Have Been: In the initial script, Cora had two younger siblings, and would have drowned after her family get trapped behind a locked gate. That's right, you would have seen three young children (including a baby) drowning. While Cora's siblings were dropped from the revised script, the scene still remained, until Cameron decided that it was too horrific to be included. Even then, she and her parents would still have perished, the three of them accepting their fate during the "Nearer my God to Thee" scene. However, Billy Zane's audition caused Cameron to rewrite Cal from someone who had been, in his own words, "very close to a one-dimensional character", to more of an anti-villain, and he decided to spare Cora and have Cal die while taking his chance at redemption, with the aforementioned moment (which, incidentally, is very similar to one in the 1996 miniseries) going to a depiction of the real-life Goodwin family, none of whom survived the sinking.
(This is partially based on a fan novelisation of the film, in which Jack survives and Cal, having had an epiphany, is crushed by the falling funnel while trying to help as many people as possible aboard Collapsible A).
While this version is similar to the OTL film, there are numerous differences. ITTL, Cameron visited Dalbeattie while researching William Murdoch's role in the sinking and ended up having to rewrite the depiction of him from scratch. In addition, the scenes with third class passengers being trapped below are depicted differently - there are several shots of stewards escorting groups of them to the boat deck, a short scene where a steward goes down to order all the gates opened only to get sidetracked by another order, and the main issue being shown as a massive lack of communication and no concrete policy on what needed to be done.
One of the biggest changes, however, was the decision to flesh Cal out and give him a number of redeeming qualities (for instance, him genuinely loving Rose but foolishly believing everything her mother tells him) in order to make him a fully three-dimensional character.
The ending ITTL differs vastly from OTL. Here, Rose stays in the lifeboat while Jack and Cal head across to see if there's a chance to get off (with Cal telling Jack "You saved her life two nights ago, I owe you that at the very least"). At that point, the ship begins to take its final plunge, leading to the attempts to launch collapsible A (without Murdoch shooting anyone). Amidst all this, Jack and Cal come across Cora, whose parents have been washed overboard as the bridge went under, and get her onto the boat (with Murdoch allowing Jack on after Cora begs him to do so). Cal, who is trying to get as many people onto the boat as possible, swims off to try and rescue Cora's parents, but fails to do so and drowns in his attempt. Jack and Cora ultimately end up transferred to the same lifeboat as Rose's mother and are reunited with Rose on the Carpathia, with the three of them disembarking together in New York.
From Trivia/Titanic1997 (TV Tropes)
What Could Have Been: In the initial script, Cora had two younger siblings, and would have drowned after her family get trapped behind a locked gate. That's right, you would have seen three young children (including a baby) drowning. While Cora's siblings were dropped from the revised script, the scene still remained, until Cameron decided that it was too horrific to be included. Even then, she and her parents would still have perished, the three of them accepting their fate during the "Nearer my God to Thee" scene. However, Billy Zane's audition caused Cameron to rewrite Cal from someone who had been, in his own words, "very close to a one-dimensional character", to more of an anti-villain, and he decided to spare Cora and have Cal die while taking his chance at redemption, with the aforementioned moment (which, incidentally, is very similar to one in the 1996 miniseries) going to a depiction of the real-life Goodwin family, none of whom survived the sinking.
(This is partially based on a fan novelisation of the film, in which Jack survives and Cal, having had an epiphany, is crushed by the falling funnel while trying to help as many people as possible aboard Collapsible A).
Driftless
Donor
Passing notions. Not thought through fully.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1940)
Butch Cassidy - Jimmy Stewart
Sundance Kid - Henry Fonda
Etta Place - Barbara Stanwyck
---------------
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (2030)*
Butch Cassidy - Chris Hemsworth
Sundance Kid - Tom Hiddleston
Etta Place - Scarlett Johansson
*Post Super-hero movie era when the stars are looking for alternative (and fun) roles
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1940)
Butch Cassidy - Jimmy Stewart
Sundance Kid - Henry Fonda
Etta Place - Barbara Stanwyck
---------------
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (2030)*
Butch Cassidy - Chris Hemsworth
Sundance Kid - Tom Hiddleston
Etta Place - Scarlett Johansson
*Post Super-hero movie era when the stars are looking for alternative (and fun) roles
The Rock (1996)
A young Marine officer (Dwayne Johnson) and a brilliant geneticist (Nicholas Cage) seek the aid of a disgraced spy (Sean Connery) to take down a rogue Marine general (Edward Harris) who's taken over Alcatraz with a battery of VX-laden missiles.
Basically the OTL movie but with (who else) The Rock in an ensemble role.
A young Marine officer (Dwayne Johnson) and a brilliant geneticist (Nicholas Cage) seek the aid of a disgraced spy (Sean Connery) to take down a rogue Marine general (Edward Harris) who's taken over Alcatraz with a battery of VX-laden missiles.
Basically the OTL movie but with (who else) The Rock in an ensemble role.
Men in Black II (2002)
Five years after joining the Men in Black, Agent J has risen to become the organization's top agent while Agent L as his partner. J's mentor, K, is enjoying a peaceful retirement at his Texas ranch with his wife Elizbeth, but is gradually has his memories reawaken after he discovers a secret cache of his old weapons.
Elsewhere, Serleena, a feared alien tyrantess, arrives on Earth looking for the Light of Zartha, a powerful alien weapon she had attempted to recover thirty years before from K. She interrogates Ben, a Zarthan incognito who operates a pizzeria on the location of the Light, but is forced to kill him. J fnds out about the murder by talking with Laura Vasquez, one of Ben's waitresses. Based on her information and on K's prior involvement, MIB head Zed orders J and L to to find K before Serleena can.
Serleena arrrives at K's ranch and kills Elizabeth before disguising herself. She tries to get K to remember the location of the light, but J and Laura arrive and try to stop her. Serleena seemingly escapes, and tthe trio of MIB agents decide to bring K to MIB's Texas headquarters in order to restore his memories. However, Serleena as secretly brainwashed him.
K's memories are restored, and he reveals that the clues to the light are back in New York. However, Serleena's brainwashing kicks in as she and her henchmen storm the building. K then tries to kill J and L, though they escape back to New York. Having learned from K that the clues are in New York, they start looking for clues. Back at MIB HQ, Serleena, disguising herself as L, arrives with K and takes over the building. J, and L then pick up Laura and based on clues that K left at the pizzeria, assume that the light may be at Jack Jeeb's pawnshop.
The trio arrive at Jeebs' shop and try to recover the Light, and manage to find a ring that K left behind. Upon finding a hidden compartment within, they discover a photo of K at the Statue of Liberty alongside Lauranna, the Queen of Zartha. But before they can act on the information, K leads a hit squad to recover the ring. In the crossfire, Laura and L are captured, but J escapes with the ring.
Later on, J is contacted by Serleena, who offers to trade the lives of K, L, Zed, Laura, and the rest of the the MIB agents in exchange for the ring. J seemingly agrees to a trade but co-opts the Worms, a quartet of friendly aliens hide in order to ambush Serleena. The exhcange takes place at MIB HQ, but the worms miss a shot and a shootout occurs in the building. During the fighting, J notices that K's memory is gradually returning. J manages to neuralyze his old partner, with all of his memories restored. K then reveals that the Light is actually on Laura's bracelet and that Lauranna had left an escape craft at the Statue of Liberty.
J, K, and Laura attempt to flee via their MIB jetcar, with Serleena in hot pursuit. L and Zed meanwhile try to stop a fusion core meltdown at headquarters from occurring and thus destroying the city. J manages to lure Serleena into being eaten by Jeff, an alien worm in the New York City subway. The trio then arrive at the Statue of Liberty, where K reveals that the Light is actually Laura herself - who is actually his and Lauranna's daughter. The ship is located on Lady Liberty's torch, but Serleena arrives in her true form in a final attempt to retrieve the light. After an extended battle on the statue, Laura manages to get onboard the ship before K and J destroy Serleena. Back at MIB HQ, Z and L manage to stop the core meltdown, thus saving the city. K then activates a giant neuralyzer on the Empire State Building to erase the city's memory of the battle.
Later, J, K, L, and Zed place flowers on Elizabeth's grave, which K had arranged to be beside Lauranna's. K feels remorseful for having lost both of the women he loved, while J seems regretful over having to say farewell to Laura. To cheer him up, K says that at least they both know that Laura will be safe, and assures him that she will be fine. J agrees, and resumes work at MIB with K and L as his new partners. Elsewhere, Laura arrives on Zartha and transforms into a being of pure light as she is welcomed home.
NOTE
The movie is based of the Men in Black: Retribution comic, with dashes of the OTL version sprinkled. As a primer, in that story, Edgar the Bug's offspring hatches and ends up rampaging across Texas. Kay's memory's spontaneously reawakens (although fragmented), and as such he teams up with Jay and Elle to defeat Edgar's offspring... who turn out to be more than just that one baby bug.
Five years after joining the Men in Black, Agent J has risen to become the organization's top agent while Agent L as his partner. J's mentor, K, is enjoying a peaceful retirement at his Texas ranch with his wife Elizbeth, but is gradually has his memories reawaken after he discovers a secret cache of his old weapons.
Elsewhere, Serleena, a feared alien tyrantess, arrives on Earth looking for the Light of Zartha, a powerful alien weapon she had attempted to recover thirty years before from K. She interrogates Ben, a Zarthan incognito who operates a pizzeria on the location of the Light, but is forced to kill him. J fnds out about the murder by talking with Laura Vasquez, one of Ben's waitresses. Based on her information and on K's prior involvement, MIB head Zed orders J and L to to find K before Serleena can.
Serleena arrrives at K's ranch and kills Elizabeth before disguising herself. She tries to get K to remember the location of the light, but J and Laura arrive and try to stop her. Serleena seemingly escapes, and tthe trio of MIB agents decide to bring K to MIB's Texas headquarters in order to restore his memories. However, Serleena as secretly brainwashed him.
K's memories are restored, and he reveals that the clues to the light are back in New York. However, Serleena's brainwashing kicks in as she and her henchmen storm the building. K then tries to kill J and L, though they escape back to New York. Having learned from K that the clues are in New York, they start looking for clues. Back at MIB HQ, Serleena, disguising herself as L, arrives with K and takes over the building. J, and L then pick up Laura and based on clues that K left at the pizzeria, assume that the light may be at Jack Jeeb's pawnshop.
The trio arrive at Jeebs' shop and try to recover the Light, and manage to find a ring that K left behind. Upon finding a hidden compartment within, they discover a photo of K at the Statue of Liberty alongside Lauranna, the Queen of Zartha. But before they can act on the information, K leads a hit squad to recover the ring. In the crossfire, Laura and L are captured, but J escapes with the ring.
Later on, J is contacted by Serleena, who offers to trade the lives of K, L, Zed, Laura, and the rest of the the MIB agents in exchange for the ring. J seemingly agrees to a trade but co-opts the Worms, a quartet of friendly aliens hide in order to ambush Serleena. The exhcange takes place at MIB HQ, but the worms miss a shot and a shootout occurs in the building. During the fighting, J notices that K's memory is gradually returning. J manages to neuralyze his old partner, with all of his memories restored. K then reveals that the Light is actually on Laura's bracelet and that Lauranna had left an escape craft at the Statue of Liberty.
J, K, and Laura attempt to flee via their MIB jetcar, with Serleena in hot pursuit. L and Zed meanwhile try to stop a fusion core meltdown at headquarters from occurring and thus destroying the city. J manages to lure Serleena into being eaten by Jeff, an alien worm in the New York City subway. The trio then arrive at the Statue of Liberty, where K reveals that the Light is actually Laura herself - who is actually his and Lauranna's daughter. The ship is located on Lady Liberty's torch, but Serleena arrives in her true form in a final attempt to retrieve the light. After an extended battle on the statue, Laura manages to get onboard the ship before K and J destroy Serleena. Back at MIB HQ, Z and L manage to stop the core meltdown, thus saving the city. K then activates a giant neuralyzer on the Empire State Building to erase the city's memory of the battle.
Later, J, K, L, and Zed place flowers on Elizabeth's grave, which K had arranged to be beside Lauranna's. K feels remorseful for having lost both of the women he loved, while J seems regretful over having to say farewell to Laura. To cheer him up, K says that at least they both know that Laura will be safe, and assures him that she will be fine. J agrees, and resumes work at MIB with K and L as his new partners. Elsewhere, Laura arrives on Zartha and transforms into a being of pure light as she is welcomed home.
NOTE
The movie is based of the Men in Black: Retribution comic, with dashes of the OTL version sprinkled. As a primer, in that story, Edgar the Bug's offspring hatches and ends up rampaging across Texas. Kay's memory's spontaneously reawakens (although fragmented), and as such he teams up with Jay and Elle to defeat Edgar's offspring... who turn out to be more than just that one baby bug.
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Elephant Man
John Hurt stars as Hannibal in this stylised and slightly surreal biopic. Hurt does a good job of depicting a tactcal genius who struggles with self-doubt as he tries to find a path to strategic victory and greatness, and captures his mood swings as he loses control of his destiny through his personal failings.
The creative depiction of how the gods interact with him shows how Troy could have approached this, instead of missing a trick by leaving out the Greek gods entirely.
John Hurt stars as Hannibal in this stylised and slightly surreal biopic. Hurt does a good job of depicting a tactcal genius who struggles with self-doubt as he tries to find a path to strategic victory and greatness, and captures his mood swings as he loses control of his destiny through his personal failings.
The creative depiction of how the gods interact with him shows how Troy could have approached this, instead of missing a trick by leaving out the Greek gods entirely.