The next film Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson will be involved in will be a remake of the classic British war film The Dam Busters (the original Michael Redgrave-starring film dating from the mid 50s), although he will be producing, leaving helming duties to his King Kong animator Christian Rivers according to Screen Daily. Apparently Jackson has been interested in remaking the film for many years, even before making the Lord of the Rings trilogy and has pledged to stay as close to the spirit of the original as possible.
Although not an SF&F film the original showcased special effects which may look dated to our eyes but which were genuinely stunning to audiences at the time – my own father among them. He and I have often wondered what the attack on the German dams by the crack Lancaster 617 Squadron would look like with modern effects but were worried that the stiff-upper lipped courage and style of those war-time movies would be lost in a modern version. Jackson’s pledge to remain true to the spirit is therefore reassuring and I must confess I am now thinking how amazing Weta will make that climactic attack with the astonishing bouncing bomb (a secret weapon so odd it sometimes still seems like science fiction today). The new film will draw on secret material declassified in the years since the original to add to the detail. Jackson’s next actual directing job is planned to be an adaptation of the international bestselling book The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I am wondering if the name of Guy Gibson’s faithful dog will be changed in the interests of political correctness though.
Fri, Sep 1, 2006
Film, TV and radio, News