Have you ever had the specific feeling of déjà vu that comes from watching a movie play out, and recognizing another narrative rattling around inside it? Discovering that the sci-fi nonsense of Pamela Anderson’s Barb Wire was just a cover for a reworking of Casablanca, perhaps, or seeing the harrowing narrative of Bergman’s The Virgin Spring emerge through the exploitation muck of The Last House On The Left?
It’s that sensation – a kind of pop-cultural cosmic awareness – that John Semley, editor of the AV Club Toronto, investigates in his Remake/Remodel series, which pairs contemporary features with their rather obvious inspirations. It launched in November by pairing Point Blank with Payback – both based on the same Richard Stark novel, The Hunter – and tonight (Friday) it returns to the Toronto Underground Cinema tonight with a nifty double-bill of the 1950 pulp thriller D.O.A. and its batshit-crazy cousin Crank.
The connection is simple: both films follow a protagonist trying to figure out who’s killed him. In Rudolph Maté’s D.O.A., salesman Edmond O’Brien must turn detective after he’s given a slow-acting poison, setting up a ticking-clock mystery where the solution won’t change anything, but might at least explain the whys and wherefores of a man’s death.
Crank ups D.O.A.’s stakes by fusing the premise with the high-concept of Speed: Jason Statham’s hitman can temporarily stave off the effects of a lethal toxin by keeping his heart rate ridiculously high, which he manages through a series of increasingly preposterous – and very funny – improvised solutions. It’s the 21st century equivalent of pulp: spectacular and self-aware and consistently entertaining.
D.O.A. will screen at 7 pm, with Crank following at 9:30 pm both films will be placed in their proper context by Cinema Scope writer Adam Nayman, who’s quite the disciple of Crank directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. It’ll be worth a listen, especially in light of the duo’s Ghost Rider sequel having freshly arrived at the megaplex. Shame there’s no room for the underrated 1988 remake of D.O.A. by British music-video directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel it’s pretty much the midpoint between Maté’s original and Neveldine/Taylor’s upgrade, and it’d be interesting to see who’d show up for all three films.
If you’re looking for less fatalistic entertainment this weekend, Bell is sponsoring a free Family Day weekend at TIFF Bell Lightbox. All film screenings and events on Saturday and Sunday will be free of charge – including Saturday’s 10:30 am presentation of Wes Anderson’s delightful Fantastic Mr. Fox – with additional free events planned for Monday. Check the full schedule for programming and showtimes.
And yes, the offer extends to non-family entertainment, like the Nicolas Cage series (Con Air, playing at 10 pm Saturday) and Nicholas Ray series (King Of Kings screens Sunday at 1 pm). Just putting that out there.
