Hollywood Remakes of Iconic British Films

Class, Gender and Stardom

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by Agnieszka Rasmus

Type

Studies

Subject

Countries > Great Britain

Keywords

remake, Hollywood, Great Britain

Publishing date

2024

Publisher

Edinburgh University Press

Collection

Screen Serialities

1st publishing

2022

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 192 pages
6 x 9 ¼ inches (15.5 x 23.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4744-4879-6

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Book Presentation:
This is the first book-length study to address film remaking from a unique perspective of a cross-cultural exchange between two countries which not only share a language but also a history of film cooperation. It examines a selection of cult and classic British titles made at the time of Hollywood’s active involvement in the domestic film production, with case studies from a number of genres. The book investigates the ways in which these ‘60s and early ‘70s films are remade by Hollywood in the new millennium by focusing in particular on how class and gender representations are updated to accommodate for cultural, societal and technological transformations. It shows a tendency for remakes to revise old power dynamics by means of gender reversal and to replace class conflicts with sex wars. Since all the British originals feature iconic British actors, analysing their Hollywood alter-egos becomes another important indicator of adaptation strategies where casting American or British actors determines the remake’s gender politics and genre markers.

Book Presentation:
Explores how cult and classic ‘60s British films are remade by Hollywood in the new millennium
• Provides the first book-length study devoted to Hollywood remakes of British cinema
• Studies the relationship between the British film industry and Hollywood in the context of remakes
• Examines strategies of updating class and gender in the new millennium
• Analyses British and American screen masculinity and stardom
• Explores remakes as examples of cultural dialogue and exchange
• Shows the impact of the digital revolution on remakes, originals and their paratexts

This is the first book-length study to address film remaking from a unique perspective of a cross-cultural exchange between two countries which not only share a language but also a history of film cooperation. It examines a selection of cult and classic British titles made at the time of Hollywood’s active involvement in the domestic film production, with case studies from a number of genres. The book investigates the ways in which these ‘60s and early ‘70s films are remade by Hollywood in the new millennium by focusing in particular on how class and gender representations are updated to accommodate for cultural, societal and technological transformations. It shows a tendency for remakes to revise old power dynamics by means of gender reversal and to replace class conflicts with sex wars. Since all the British originals feature iconic British actors, analysing their Hollywood alter-egos becomes another important indicator of adaptation strategies where casting American or British actors determines the remake’s gender politics and genre markers.

About the Author:
Agnieszka Rasmus is Assistant Professor in the Department of English Studies in Drama, Theatre and Film, University of Łódź, Poland. She is the author of Filming Shakespeare, from Metatheatre to Metacinema (2008) and numerous articles on film remakes and adaptations.

See the publisher website: Edinburgh University Press