Jeckyll

[palitoy]

Just finished watching the 2007 BBC Mini "Jeckyll" and I highly recommend it to anyone. I'd seen pieces of it when it first aired but I realized that I wanted to watch the whole story in a chunk rather than come in during the middle. Lucky for me a friend had it on DVD.

The story is simple, Dr. Henry Jackman has an alter ego, a superhuman uninhibited being who eventually calls himself Mr. Hyde. How does this relate to Robert Louis Stevenson? You find out.

They are going to remake this in the US, I say watch the original, James Nesbitt actually transforms without an ounce of makeup. His Jeckyll is a likable guy you feel sorry for but his Hyde is animated, hilarious and creepy as all hell.

[knight errant00]

A great show, for sure, and like "Life on Mars" I'm not sure why it requires an American re-make when they could just air the original -- other than some people are not-so-bright and easily confused by accents . . .

That said, I have read Nesbitt did wear make-up as Hyde, only it was much more subtle than the usual "Mr. Hyde" make-up. They'd fill in his hairline, he wore contacts, and he also had some kind of appliances to change the shape of his jaw. And then there were other tricks, like dressing him in different cuts of the same shirts and suits jackman wore to make Hyde look taller and thinner than Jackman. Subtle, and well done, especially in the one ep when Hyde meets Jackman's wife, and after initially mistaking him for her husband, realizes it's just someone who looks a *lot* like him. That was a nice touch . . . But yeah, most if it's in how Nesbitt *plays* the part, and he probably could have pulled it off without any makeup at all.

But go watch it. Overall, I agree, it's very entertaining.

[Gorn Captain]

It's excellent.
A great acting job by Nesbitt, very convincing...
His make-up changes were very subtle.

I love the scene where he walks into a lion's cage in the zoo and rips that cat a new one...

To be honest, most of the time I was rooting for Hyde! He just kicks ***!

If they remake it, (why oh why?), I'll let that pass.
Bloody remakes. It's a if English is foreign language or something...

[wolfie]

Have to agree on the remake thing. Don't take this personally but why do the Americans ( for it is normally you ) have to remake everything when there is allready a superb one out there.

[Werewolf]

Have to agree on the remake thing. Don't take this personally but why do the Americans ( for it is normally you ) have to remake everything when there is allready a superb one out there.

For TV series remakes, the US networks have longer seasons than the BBC and need more episodes. For movies and mini-series, cultural differences maybe? I don't know. More than likely just Hollywood cluelessness, lack of original ideas or just plain arrogance. Same as when a classic movie like The Day the Earth Stood Still gets "re-imagined."

Anyways blame Hollywood, not Americans.

Also to be fair, the UK has remade a few US shows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...British_market

[palitoy]

That said, I have read Nesbitt did wear make-up as Hyde, only it was much more subtle than the usual "Mr. Hyde" make-up. They'd fill in his hairline, he wore contacts, and he also had some kind of appliances to change the shape of his jaw. And then there were other tricks, like dressing him in different cuts of the same shirts and suits jackman wore to make Hyde look taller and thinner than Jackman. Subtle, and well done, especially in the one ep when Hyde meets Jackman's wife, and after initially mistaking him for her husband, realizes it's just someone who looks a *lot* like him. That was a nice touch . . . But yeah, most if it's in how Nesbitt *plays* the part, and he probably could have pulled it off without any makeup at all.

Whoops, I stand corrected, I had no idea he wore any other than the contacts.

[Gorn Captain]

Whoops, I stand corrected, I had no idea he wore any other than the contacts.

Yeah, the hair was slightly different, fuller and darker.
But you have to hand it to him: he can go from nice to evil pretty fluently.


btw; a recent Belgian movie that did well internationally was "The Alzheimer case". It's about an older hitman, who gets Alzheimers, and is mixed up in a plot, fighting against his failing memory.
An American remake is underway, but they want to ditch the word Alzheimer in the title, cause that might put off people, and they want to tone down the disease in the film.
That's like making a film about deaf people, who can, well, hear.....

[ctc]

>why do the Americans ( for it is normally you ) have to remake everything when there is allready a superb one out there.

There's so much money tied up in movies and tv that NOBODY wants to take any chances, so they smooth over anything that doesn't jibe with the current templates.

Don C.

[wolfie]

Anyways blame Hollywood, not Americans.

Fair enough.

[Meule]

Saw Jekyll a couple of months ago and it's a brilliant mini series, I highly recommend it

[Meule]

btw; a recent Belgian movie that did well internationally was "The Alzheimer case". It's about an older hitman, who gets Alzheimers, and is mixed up in a plot, fighting against his failing memory.
An American remake is underway, but they want to ditch the word Alzheimer in the title, cause that might put off people, and they want to tone down the disease in the film.
That's like making a film about deaf people, who can, well, hear.....

So true
On the other hand, the Americans are making a movie about Belgium's most famous reporter: TinTin

[cjefferys]

I'll have to check this out. How many episodes are there to look for?

[Megotu]

So true
On the other hand, the Americans are making a movie about Belgium's most famous reporter: TinTin

I heard Frank Miller is interested...Something about making it Dark and Gritty. I hear Keanu Reeves is in negotiations to star as Tintin.

[Vortigern99]

This Jekyll miniseries sounds intriguing. I'm a huge fan of the original Frederick March version, and to a lesser extent the Spencer Tracy remake and various other versions. I seem to recall a BBC film (1970s?) that was very close to the book as well. At any rate, I'd be interested in checking this out.

[samurainoir]

After suffering through My Own Worst Enemy, I love Jekyll even more now (and it rated really highly in my book when I first saw it). James Nesbitt's double performance is quite astounding given how distinct both characters were. Some great twists and turns as well, particularly with his wife.

With Christian Slater, the only way to tell the difference between his two characters was the fact that they were constantly telling the audience which character he was at any given time.