To take our minds off the election while the in-person voting and counting starts, let’s talk films, especially classic films.

I have expressed before my mystification with film makers who take classic films and then remake them. It is one thing to remake a poorly made original because you think you can do a better job with a story that you think is compelling. But the only reason for doing so when the original was successful and is now regarded as a classic is because you think that there is a new generation that would benefit from seeing it that would not watch old films which feature actors that current audiences are unfamiliar with and are often in black and white and lack the high production values of modern films. But we sometimes even have remakes created after barely one generation has elapsed since the original. Take the film The Karate Kid released in 1984 that was commercially successful. Naturally, it spawned sequels in 1986 and 1989. But it was then remade in 2010.

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Those of us old enough to have seen the first James Bond film Dr. No when it was released in 1962 tend to view Sean Connery as the best Bond of all, even though good arguments can be made for some of the others who came later. And so the announcement of his death today will bring with it a tinge of sadness as yet another film icon of our era leaves us. I was surprised that he was 90 years old. I guess that is because you tend to think of the actors who dominated in one’s youth as getting older but not becoming that old. Roger Moore, who also acted in numerous Bond films and brought a lighter, more comedic touch to the role, died three years ago, also at the age of 90.
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