12. Work in pairs. Read the statements and agree or disagree with them. Agreement or disagreement should be followed by some appropriate

comment where possible:

1.

In the twentieth century people are much more fascinated by theatre than by cinema. 2. Cinema is an art of illusion. 3. It is

necessary for a film to leave certain shadows, unresolved fantasies. 4. Cinema can help a lot in the field of education. 5. In most films

music is seldom used to advantage as it is extremely difficult to achieve a harmonious collaboration between the plot and music. 6.

Violence should not be shown on the screen. 7. The success of a film mainly depends on the film director. 8. Cinema is not an ear nest

art. It is just entertainment. 9. Literary works should not be adapted for the screen as people simply stop reading fiction: seeing a film

is "easier" than reading a book.

13. Read the following text. Look for arguments and counterarguments for remaking films. Copy them out in two columns (I — "for", II — "against").

Make it Again

In the motion picture industry, remakes are^a fact of life. They have been with us almost from the birth of the art form and as

long as good fresh story material is ^carcejthey will remain.

A remade movie doesn't have to be a bad movie. Produced with a talented cast, a capable director, an intelligent screen-play, an

ample budget, and, most important, good judgement, these pictures can be thoroughly entertaining and, in some cases, surpass the

quality of the original.

Film-makers are not absolutely opposed to the practice, although there are a couple of schools of thought on the subject.

Henry Blanke, who has produced many "second editions" in his time declares: "Never remake a picture that was previously suc -

cessful. Remake one that was miscast, miswritten, or misdirected. In other words, a flop."

Producer H.B.Wallis takes the opposite viewpoint: "If you have a good piece of material that has not been filmed for a number of

years, there is probably a brand new audience for it. So, I wouldn't hesitate to re-do a script with a new set of characters."

14. Discuss the text in pairs. One of the pair will take the optimistic view and insist that remakes should be done, the other

will defend the opposite point of view. Be sure to provide sound arguments for whatever you say. Consider the following:

6. The public at large seems to enjoy comparing

the performances of current stars to the legendary

ones.

A g a i n s t :

1. Most subsequent renderings of the great cinema classics

have been complete failures.

2.The director doing a remake might decide to "improve" the

original story, to insert certain things, characters or eliminate

others.

3.It is dangerous to use the original script almost word for

word. Some stories require an updating of the dialogue.

For:

4.In many cases, the moral values of the situations in a once

1. There is always a shortage of new, fresh story material.

exciting story have become so antiquated that the plot is not

workable for contemporary audiences.

2. The public wouldn't notice or wouldn't care that they were