High and Low through Chris Rocks eyes?

by Matthew Hardstaff

Here's a bit of weird and interesting news from comingsoon.net. Whilst we've reported on the impending remake of Kurosawa's classic 'High and Low' back in 2008, that was when it involved Scorcese, Mike Nichols and David Mamet, a team you'd think would be able to put together a solid film. However, it now seems none other than Chris Rock will now be writing the script, or re-writing Mamet's script. Either way, its going to be a Rock infused Kurosawa remake.

This will be Chris Rocks 4th remake, having already remade Eric Rohmer's 'L'Amour l'après-midi' as 'I Think I Love My Wife' and 'Death at a Funeral' as well, 'Death at a Funeral'. He's also optioned Lucien Jean-Baptistes 'Premiere Etoile'. He seems to be on a remake foreign films for American audiences kick, but I ain't really sure how this ones going to pan out. Instead of the tense, seething drama that is 'High and Low', will we be blessed, or not so blessed, with two actors yelling at each other in that oh so not very funny Chris Rock way? Granted, I haven't seen 'I Think I Love My Wife', nor have any intention of seeing 'Death at a Funeral' when I can watch the more than likely far superior original, but I don't imagine its going to have the same amount of wit and moral tension that Kurosawa infused into the original.

However, I could be wrong. It's supposed to be directed by Mike Nichols after all, with Scorsese lending a guiding hand, but we've had a lazy Scorsese his last few outings, and a remake is really the laziest form of filmmaking there is, so, could this be another lazy effort? And will they go back to Evan Hunters novel 'King's Ransom' as source material?