Footloose
This blog post will compare Footloose the original from
1984, and the remake, which was released in 2011. It will look at the
production differences and if risking a remake of an already popular film is
worth it.
Both the films stick to a similar narrative, with the main narrative
strand being that due to the ministers son being in a crash and dying the small
town decides to ban dance or loud music. It follows the life of protagonist Ren
McCormack, who has moved from a big town such as Chicago in the original and
Boston in the remake, to a small country town. He starts a petition to try and
get the town to allow them to have a prom and lift the ban on public dancing.
Because of the time difference between the two makes of the
film, content and dialogue will be different to fit with the generation that it
is targeted at. Technology also plays a big part with remakes, the original
includes mise en scene that was up to date for that year with tape cassettes
being the main source to listen to music, they were popular till around the
late 1990s, meaning that many of the people who will go see the remake either
wont remember them or know what they are.
So in the remake, being made in 2011, we have more advanced technology
with iPods and Cds. Although it takes away from the ‘old school’ feel you get
when watching the original Footloose, remakes are there to adapt the ideas into
a more modern setting that new generations can enjoy.
The technology behind filming will have improved as cameras
have become more advanced over the years making the image quality HD, the
scenes have better lighting and shots will be allowed to have more flexibility
as we know more about cinematography now than in 1984. With the Budget for the
first one being estimated at $8,200,000 and the remakes budget being $24,000,000,
the increase will be due to the higher quality cameras and lighting used to
make the shots HD. It would also be used on the improved locations.
The original version of Footloose was released in 1984,
around this time sparked a rise in the dance genre for movies, with another
classic, Dirty Dancing, being made 3 years after Footloose. In the 80’s dance
was a big activity among young people so making movies based around this seemed
very popular, with some of the best dance genre films being made in this era;
such as Fame and Breaking, considered two of the best dance movies of all time,
along with the iconic Saturday night fever, which came out in 1977 and could
have sparked this rise in dance films.
As the style of dancing has changed over the years, so have
the style of dance films, this is easily seen with the remake of Footloose, the
remake to keep it modern adapts a more modern style of dancing for the 2011 era
compared to the 1980’s style. In the early 2000’s dance films weren’t that
popular, later into 2006 where Step Up came onto the big screen the dance films
targeted at young people again started coming back. However with movies such as
Footloose which the original and the remake focus more on just general fun of
dancing, movies such as Step Up and Make it Happen lean heavily on flashy dance
scenes. This seemed to be the theme among the new dance films, until Footloose
came back in 2011 it stuck to its roots, with no flashy dance competition or
big numbers, but focusing and the general idea of dance itself, to have fun and
bringing people together. Because of the rise in 2006 and the new renaissance
of dance movies, seeing the success of the new dance films could be the reason
why they decided to remake the original footloose
Along with the remake keeping the general idea of dancing
the same, a lot of the dialogue in the remake also remains the same, with all
the scenes barely being changed, but adapted to the update in technology, and
fashion which is important to the audience. The dance moves have changed over
the years as well, which we can see from a scene in both movies, which shows
the differences between dancing in the 80’s, and dancing in the 21st
century. In the 1984 version the dancing is more freestyle and then turns to a
slow dance, however in the 2011 version, the dancing switched from country to what
many believed to be sexual and caused some controversy, this could be because
in the industry now sex is considered to sell.
Because they don’t change much of the dialogue or any of the
overall plot of the movie, is a reason why the remake didn’t get notable bad
reviews or not gain as high of revenue. Both movies though are made through Paramount
pictures, which could be one of the reasons why it wasn’t drastically
different. Even though fashion has changed over the years, they still manage to
create similarities. For example as seen below, in the scene on Rens first day,
both version include him wearing a leather jacket and shirt and tie, which in
both is considered an unusual outfit to be worn to school and includes very
similar dialogue regarding the outfit from the character Rusty. It is also
important iconography to this character as he wears an outfit which he considers
‘cool’, he also considers himself individual from the rest of them as he’s from
the city and thinks he seems to know more than the rest of them.
With some remakes, such as the popular Total Recall,
original made in 1990 and remade In 2012, they completely change the plot of
the movie, one being set on Mars, the other London. Footloose is rather a
modern updated version than an improved plot version.
In the 1984 version of footloose now popular Kevin Bacon
plays the main character, Ren. Back in 1984 Kevin Bacon career was really just
getting started, doing a few movies and staring in a TV show, he wasn’t as
popularly known as Footloose and later movies would make him. The remake also
stars a lead actor who, before footloose, was not very known. Paramount aren’t
picking stars to gain popularity for the films, original and remake, rather
hoping that the acting and storyline is enough. This also meant that paramount
wouldn’t have to deal with the cast costing a high amount. However some use
well known actors in remakes such as Charlie and the chocolate factory, Willy
Wonka is Johnny Depp a very highly respected actor with his own fan base,
because Charlie and the Chocolate factor originally was a very successful and
legendary movie, many might not have gone to see it if it wasn’t for Johnny
Depp so in a way it has a built in audience and a unique selling point.
The original Footloose was rated R, for restricted meaning
that people under 17 cant see it without being accompanied by a parent. The new
footloose however is only a PG-13. Both contain hints of alcohol and drugs,
however the new footloose contains more sexually explicit content. The fact that the remake rating is lower
suggests that we have become desensitised to the explicit content being shown, maybe
reflecting on modern society.
In conclusion, I prefer the original Footloose still to the
remake, although the remake is more modern and is filmed with better quality,
the old Footloose contains this very unique old school feel which is hard to
find in films now, involving tape cassettes and tractor fights. Also because the storyline and screenplay hasn’t
changed much shows that the original was a classic in itself and in reality
didn’t really need to be remade.
