When you remake a Hitchcock film you need to learn from Gus Van Sant – even if you remake it shot for shot it still won’t be half the film that Hitch made.
So the news from Latino Review that Paramount are looking to taxidermise one of Hitch’s finest, the 1941 suspense film Suspicion, does not make our hearts sing. Don’t get me wrong – in a world where the reboot time delay is down to four or five years I’m all for a sixty year old film getting another look (of course, you can just watch the original, as it is a wonderful film), but this one is a classic, with Cary Grant giving one of his most effective performances, so what’s the point in remaking it?
Two words – Will Smith. The man who played Hitch a while ago is now to step into the shoes of Cary Grant’s character if the rumours are true, but as the Hitchcock film bowed to pressure and had to make the true agenda of Grant’s character ambiguous, will this new film go all the way and reveal who and what he is?
I’d be happy if this rumour turned out to be nonsense, but we’re all about the remakes aren’t we? Maybe they can remake Vertigo with Tom Hanks and use CGI for that shot?
