[LydiaRowling]

Helen McCrory cast as the Grand High Witch in Guillermo Del Torros

'THE WITCHES'

http://i50.tinypic.com/3442qyp.jpg

[tracystapes]

Ooh this looks good!

[grimtales1]

Could be interesting.. the 1989 version was actually really good (IIRC)

Spoiler

apart from the ending - why did they change the book?

[cy_bones]

Originally Posted by grimtales1

Could be interesting.. the 1989 version was actually really good (IIRC)

Spoiler

apart from the ending - why did they change the book?

Spoiler

I think the original ending was in line with the book, but in true Hollywood style test audiences though it wasn't happy enough.

[felixrex]

I was unsure when I heard about this film because The Witches was my absolute favourite film during childhood and I still love it now. I even remember almost every line. But I was willing to give it a chance, nevertheless.

However, I am far from a fan of McCrory and I'd bet my last penny on her not even coming close to Huston as the Grand High Witch. I can't say I'm excited about the film.

[LydiaRowling]

Helen McCrory is one of the best actresses in the business at the moment

[felixrex]

Originally Posted by LydiaRowling

Helen McCrory is one of the best actresses in the business at the moment

I disagree emphatically.

Anyway, I've been unable to find any other information about McCrory being linked to this film or even to the film being any more advanced in production than it has been for the past couple of years. Did you make the poster/find it on a fan art site?

[Motthus]

I didn't even know that Del Toro was doing a new version of The Witches!

[LydiaRowling]

Originally Posted by felixrex

I disagree emphatically.

Anyway, I've been unable to find any other information about McCrory being linked to this film or even to the film being any more advanced in production than it has been for the past couple of years. Did you make the poster/find it on a fan art site?

Go and watch her in the bbc film Messiah 4

her final scene alone wipes the floor with every other actor in the business

[felixrex]

Originally Posted by LydiaRowling

Go and watch her in the bbc film Messiah 4

her final scene alone wipes the floor with every other actor in the business

I've seen Messiah IV. I've seen a lot of her work. I still disagree.

I don't think she's a particularly bad actress at all, she's perfectly competent; I just find her very unremarkable and ordinary. Which is fine if she's playing a somewhat 'ordinary' role, but a character like the Grand High Witch would require somebody with a lot of character and screen presence, like Huston had - two things I find McCrory distinctly lacking in.

[performingmonk]

The 1989 film is so good I really don't see the point of a remake. Usually I don't mind remakes happening but not in this case. Everything about that first film was perfect, especially the cast and it's both genuinely scary and hilarious in places.

[LydiaRowling]

Originally Posted by performingmonk

The 1989 film is so good I really don't see the point of a remake. Usually I don't mind remakes happening but not in this case. Everything about that first film was perfect, especially the cast and it's both genuinely scary and hilarious in places.

it could benefit from updated effects though?

[PunksNotDead]

Watched the 89 version last week it surprisingly stands up quite well today, not sure on a remake although i do love Guillermo's Pans Labyrinth

[Mr_Eye]

I think this could be excellent - hopefully darker than the 1989 version, which I think is just anaemic toss.

[downtonfan]

Excited about this.

[LydiaRowling]

me too

[jamespondo]

Originally Posted by LydiaRowling

it could benefit from updated effects though?

Not really. I saw a bit of this on sunday, it looks fine. The makeup is excellent too. This new version will possibly be filled with glossy CGI and Torro is hit and miss.

[Rhodes666]

It looks like a fan made poster,no info about a remake on imdb or del torro directing so i wouldnt hold my breath for something soon.

[downtonfan]

It's an awful lot of effort to go to for a fan made poster

[Creamtea]

Didn't know this was being remade! The book was brilliant, the film merely ok, so in this instance I think a remake could be better!!!

[Dex_Bracewell]

Originally Posted by LydiaRowling

it could benefit from updated effects though?

Total Recall didn't!

[RebelScum]

Personally I wish he'd just get on with 3993.

[felixrex]

Originally Posted by jamespondo

Not really. I saw a bit of this on sunday, it looks fine. The makeup is excellent too. This new version will possibly be filled with glossy CGI and Torro is hit and miss.

Totally agreed. I think a lot of the original film's charm lies in the fact that it was made in a simpler time. They didn't have to resort to tacky CGI drowning everything out. They made a big impact with a magnificently cast villain; fantastically camp styling and, as you said, excellent makeup work; as well as the brilliantly kitsch special effects. I don't know a single person born in the 80s or 90s who doesn't remember that scene of the Grand High Witch peeling her face off.

I think another big element in it's enduring cult status is that it's tongue was firmly placed in it's cheek. It blended what was, essentially, a genuinely sinister plot - an organisation of women systematically murdering children - with a sense of total camp madness, which worked perfectly. I don't think you'd get that now. Everything has to pretend to be so serious these days. I'd imagine a big-budget remake turning out to be a combination of Twilight and the Potter films; over-glossy, over-serious, generic and soulless.

[Motthus]

I can't find any news online about this remake that isn't from 2008 or 2009!

[Hound of Love]

Originally Posted by LydiaRowling

it could benefit from updated effects though?

Not to mention the original ending.