Dad's Army - The Movie

[Tramp The Dirt Down]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29536370

Very impressive cast, I'm trying to imagine Michael Gambon as Godfrey.

I don't envy the script writer(s)

[Freestyling buck wilding Stijn Stijnen]

Dad's Army - The Movie

I hadn't heard of this, will definitely catch it.

And it might be a bit of a stretch, but Jimmy Perry is still knocking about at the tender age of 91.

[Sean of the Shed]

Dad's Army - The Movie

The film will be directed by Oliver Parker, who made Johnny English Reborn, St Trinian's and Othello starring Sir Kenneth Branagh.

The script will be written by Hamish McColl, who wrote Johnny English Reborn and Mr Bean's Holiday.

This does not instil me with confidence.

[Andy C]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Oh please don't. Please.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Dad's Army - The Movie

The 1971 feature film was nothing to write home about.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Oh please don't. Please.

ha ha! I totally get that. It'll be interesting to see how much they can limit the damage, though. And it looks superbly cast, except perhaps for Mainwaring, who was probably uncastable.

[Andy C]

Dad's Army - The Movie

It'll be interesting...

Enough said.

[Jah Womble]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Why does this need to exist?

[treibeis]

Dad's Army - The Movie

They could take that cast and remake Are You Being Served? instead. It would be better for everybody.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Dad's Army - The Movie

It doesn't need to exist, of course, any more than any other remake needs to exist.

It might not be completely awful, though. I mean, it's not as if they've cast Martin Clunes as Private Walker or something.

My late father hated the 1979 remake of The Lady Vanishes because he thought Arthur Lowe and Ian Carmichael produced pale imitations of the performances of Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford as the cricket nutters in the 1938 original. So maybe it's about time somebody came up with a pale imitation of an Arthur Lowe performance.

[moo cowe]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Hmmm, to be filmed in Yorkshire? Should be Thetford Forest to keep it real.

[Haddock]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Will Jose Mourinho be taking the role of a captured German U-boat captain? He seems to have based his entire persona on Philip Madoc's portrayal of such in the original series.

[Jah Womble]

Dad's Army - The Movie

It doesn't need to exist, of course, any more than any other remake needs to exist.

Nah, can't agree with that - where a powerful story is the significant factor, the occasional remake can be validated. (There have many remade classics that have worked fine.)

But this clearly isn't the case with an entity like Dad's Army. It's entire charm lay within the characters and the relationships between them: Mainwaring, Wilson, Jones et al are so deeply entrenched in the nation's consciousness that to have others try to ape this - regardless of how good they are as actors - just seems an utterly futile exercise to me.

When will folk learn that it just doesn't work? I mean, look at what an abortion that TV 'remake' of Reginald Perrin was. (Or that Godawful Ant and Dec Likely Lads thing?)

But then again, if the alternative is The Inbetweeners, I can perhaps see why folk might have been tempted...

[Stumpy Pepys]

Dad's Army - The Movie

It's not impossible to pull this off, but it's certainly difficult.

But we shouldn't mythologise too much — the spin-off sitcom feature films of the 70s were, for the most part, uniformally terrible. On the other hand, more recently, The Inbetweeners movie did well and Alpha Papa was actually pretty good.

[Jah Womble]

Dad's Army - The Movie

I don't remember hating the Dad's Army film especially, though I agree seventies movie spin-offs tended to be weaker by comparison. (Porridge, anyone?)

But it isn't really 'mythologising': I think it's pretty well-established that Dad's Army has a place in the nation's heart. And the performances of Lowe, LeMesurier, Dunn, etc were key in this. Trying to persuade its audience that they can be entirely replaced seems a waste of time to me. I mean, it's not going to surpass the original, so why bother? It'll likely exist only as a curio. (Why not try coming up with some 'new' characters/scenarios for that audience? Just a thought...)

Viz today's spin-offs, The Inbetweeners didn't need to veer too far from the crassness set out in the TV version (endless 'c*ck' jokes are easy to write), so that was never going to be a problem for its makers/fans. And, as documented on these pages, I didn't particularly rate the Partridge movie.

http://www.wsc.co.uk/forum-index/30-film-tv/410113-alan-partridge-the-movie

[Borracho]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Anyone seen either of the Sweeney movies?

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Jah, I totally accept that distinction you're making and its applicability here. Having said that, the proportion of remakes that are justified by the story being the more crucial element in the original film than the charm or power of the original acting performances is pretty small I'd say. The largest part of that small category is probably adaptations of novels, isn't it? Anna Karenina, for example.

Haddock's Jose Mourinho/German U-boat captain observation was brilliant. Maybe with Rafa Benitez as Mainwaring and Arsene Wenger as Wilson.

[Jah Womble]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Jah, I totally accept that distinction you're making and its applicability here. Having said that, the proportion of remakes that are justified by the story being the more crucial element in the original film than the charm or power of the original acting performances is pretty small I'd say. The largest part of that small category is probably adaptations of novels, isn't it? Anna Karenina, for example.

Yes, probably - but obviously it's significant enough to warrant brief distinction from the rather 'lazy' cinema vogue for remakes for their own sake (viz Dad's Army, etc). That was my point, really. (And I don't think we disagree on it.)

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Dad's Army - The Movie

indeed

[Come along, Min]

Dad's Army - The Movie

I think if they all do direct impressions of the characters from the series they're on to a loser.

But I can see how a Dad's army film would be nice to show the world, there's a wonderful charm to the Home Guard story outside of the TV series.

The cast is impressive. If the script and story are there I'm not sure it'll matter too much who directs it.

[treibeis]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Evariste Euler Gauss wrote: Haddock's Jose Mourinho/German U-boat captain observation was brilliant. Maybe with Rafa Benitez as Mainwaring and Arsene Wenger as Wilson.

And Terry Venables as Walker. Gordon Strachan or Alex Ferguson as Frazer.

I'd like to see Jim Smith in there as well, possibly as the verger.

[Gangster Octopus]

Dad's Army - The Movie

Surely Alf Ramsey is Mainwaring.

[Jah Womble]

Dad's Army - The Movie

But I can see how a Dad's army film would be nice to show the world, there's a wonderful charm to the Home Guard story outside of the TV series.

Then you write a new story, no?

If people somehow still haven't seen Dad's Army, then the whole lot are readily available on DVD, etc.

[NickSTFU]

Dad's Army - The Movie

There’s nothing charming about the Home Guard. Half the recruits were under 30 while ex – veterans of WWI would have been in their mid to late 40s. There were of course equipment issues, but the highly developed and quickly reorganised industrial base, lend lease etc soon overcame that.

They weren’t averse to shooting parachuting pilots of both sides who they thought were German para’s during the BoB either. Fog of war and all that.

They were a superb propaganda tool, showing that despite ‘standing alone’ (another myth) Britain was prepared to fight.

So maybe the new film could explore the myths and realities around the HG?

Or will the remake be what the series was always really about – class?

[Come along, Min]

Dad's Army - The Movie

As longs as it's funny though eh?