Disney Actor is Remaking What Hitchcock Classic?

In the entertainment world, there are just certain untouchable films. Under no circumstances should they ever be remade. It’s an understanding that we all have that these films have reached perfection, and you just don’t mess with perfection.

There would be serious problems if anyone tried to remake Citizen Kane (1941). Orsen Welles’ film is nearly perfect. For a first-time filmmaker, he hit it out of the Park. The American Film Institute has twice named Kane the greatest American film ever made, and they’re not wrong. There is no reason to try to remake that classic film or any other like it.

Some actors have become synonymous with the characters they have portrayed, and it would be impossible to envision anyone else playing them. Marlo Brando is Vito Corleone. He perfectly captured the fear and empathy of Vito, even though he was mostly just mumbling the entire time. Dustin Hoffman is Benjamin Braddick in The Graduate (1967). Hoffman had the perfect combination of innocence and awkwardness to create an all-time great character.

But now it appears that Robert Downey Jr. will break the rules of cinema and try to remake one of the greatest films ever made. The Guardian reports that Downey is about to take on the role of John “Scottie” Ferguson in a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Vertigo (1958). 

Vertigo is widely considered to be Hitckcock’s greatest movie. The British Film Institute named it the best film ever made in 2012. The role of Scottie was made famous by Jimmy Stewart, who worked with Alfred Hitchcock on four films, including another classic, Rear Window (1954).

This isn’t the first time a filmmaker tried to remake a Hitchcock classic. In 1998, director Gus Van Sant reshot Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) exactly like the original but in color. Actor Vince Vaughn played the iconic role of Norman Bates, made famous by Anthony Perkins. The film was a disaster and widely panned by critics.

Since his run at Tony Stark in the Iron Man and Avengers films, Robert Downey Jr. has had some trouble at the box office with remakes. His version of Doolittle bombed at the box office. But in the past, Downey has had great success playing characters already on the big screen. Downey successfully played Sherlock Holmes in two films, with Sherlock Holmes 3 in pre-production.

Let’s hope Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t make the same mistake Van Sant made with Psycho and remake the same movie. But even if Downey doesn’t, it’s hard to say this is a good idea. There are just some movies that should be left alone.

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