http://horrorchannel.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5091 I actually liked the original version, although the cheese does get a little thick near the end.
The spider/crab thing in the finale of IT was pretty weak.Other than that i thought it was a well done tele-film.No one can replace Tim Curry as Pennywise,so unless he reprises the role..it's got one foot in the grave before it even starts. Edit: Since Sci-Fi nabbed it prepare for the CGI Pennywise..Lol.
I've read the book twice and loved it. The mini-series, however, sucked serious ass. This is a remake I can actually support...
The second half I'll concede, but the first half? Really? "Sucked ass?" Pennywise scared the shit outta me. And all the high school stuff...well done, I thought. Tim Curry was perfect. Well, all right, the stuttering kid sucked ass. And so did his grown-up self.
The whole thing seemed like a really bad TV movie to me. Some books just don't lend themselves to film, IMO.
I don't care what anybody says. This is going too far for me. I remember vividly the first time I saw this; On my grandparent's big screen TV, sitting next to my dad and covering my eyes everytime I saw/heard Pennywise. Spoiler The scene where Pennywise is popping those balloons in the library and blood is exploding everywhere, then he starts laughing and spinning that noisemaker? It gave me nightmares for months I think the acting was solid (Jonathan Brandis AND John Ritter?! Sign me up!).... This totally depresses me. Bah.
IT has always been one of those films that I never "got" for lack of a better way of putting it. It seems to be be fairly popular among horror fans but I've always thought it pretty awful. Pennywise, especially. I remember seeing it for the first time and my brother and I would just crack up laughing whenever he was on the screen, we thought he was so ridiculously bad. But in the book, I thought he was pretty freakin' cool. Oh well, to each their own. I'm looking forward to the remake.
Wow, the horror remake virus is spreading...now we're talking mini-series remakes here. Although "Salem's Lot" redux was pretty good, IMHO. Even though I'm not a fan of any of these remakes, I'd like to see this as a feature film. Hell, it'd beat the $2 CGI special effects Sci-Fi will most likely be using.
"IT" was certainly the best low-budget adaptation of King made so far ("Dead Zone" being the best big-budget one ). It got a surprisingly good DVD release, by the way, with one of the most entertaining commentary tracks ever recorded this side of the "Spinal Tap" track... Its low budget certainly hurt Part II (oh, that velure cookie made me wince already when I was 13), but the atmosphere oozing from everything from Richard Bellis's score to the exteriors more than made up for it. If there is anything that I wish Tommy Lee Wallace had included, it's the story of Patrick the Preteen Psychopath. (But, while TLW didn't include this, he also omitted parts that should have been cut - such as the pointless Mellon substory, or that cave pedophile orgy from the ending...) Oh, I'd love to once see the place where the "swamp" scene was filmed... what a lovely location it is. Anyway, after trying to stay awake through Filardi's dead, plastic "reimagining" of Salem's Lot (and the only thing that did keep me awake was having the book and the disc with Tobe Hooper's adaptation by my side), I already know what to expect. And so I just hope he'll take it down a few levels below: cast Chris Rock as Pennywise! Have a rapper write the score! Cast Jake Lloyd and the kid from the "Omen" remake in some of the main roles! Invite the pedophile from "Salem's Lot" once again! Consult Jon Peters on the creation of the spider!
I read "The Stand", and "It", and I enjoyed both of the movies. They aren't bad for television miniseries. I'd like to see a theatrical remake of "The Stand". I think Peter Jackson could possibly do a good job. I think he's probably the only director out there who could do it justice. One film probably wouldn't be enough.
The first part of IT was good, not great. The second part was terrible with some good stuff in it. The main problem for me was that I thought all of the adult actors were horrible. Hoooorrrriiiiiblllleeee! I like it that they're remaking this one. I'm actually excited about it!
I read the book back in high school (late 80s) and while I remember enjoying it, I can't say that I recall that much of the characters. I skipped the mini-series simply because it was a TV movie and I assumed it wouldn't be very good. If the Stephen King Book Club ever sends me a copy of "It" I'll be sure to re-read it before watching either TV version.
Are you for real? One scene from the book that was missing from the movie is when Eddie happens upon the dead kids playing baseball. I don't think I've ever read any passage as terrifying as that. It could really be made into a great visceral scene in a movie.