Over the years there have been many attempts to update treasured movies. Whether it’s the sacrilegious colourisation of nevergreen classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life or the (more interesting) bookending of revered films with sequels and prequels there’s nothing quite as enticing to an eager studio as a well-known and well-loved classic.
Problems arise however when technological and social advances become obstacles to those filmmakers insistent on sticking as closely as possibly to the beloved original. Mobile phones, for example, would save hundreds of those previously in peril, CCTV and GPS tracking would have made a mockery of many a murder mystery; and Google Earth comes to the rescue of those lost in any number of haunted woods.
We’ve taken a look at some classic films and what an update might mean. Let’s begin with a beloved film –
Casablanca
Set in the heaving backstreets of tourist-ridden Morocco the nightclub Rick owns today would look very different but as always Sam is on hand to evoke the perfect mood. Spin it again, Sam…
Bullitt
In 1968 Steve McQueen made one of the greatest car chase movies of all-time in the form of Bullitt. The film showed his Ford a Mustang GT 390 Fastback storming around the streets of rising and falling streets of San Francisco.
The year is now 2014 and the Mustang is more prominent than ever…. and no doubt McQueen would still one to use one for his movie; the only difference… His car now a 2015 S550 with a 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine to make sure he’s keeping one eye on the environment as well as being able to keep up with the bad guys.
The Shining
While a sturdy router and a cabled internet connection would have put paid to the majority of the Torrance family’s problems while at The Overlook Hotel, we think that a laptop with Microsoft Word would have been the saving grace when the mean reds kicked in. 
Maybe not.
Rear Window
This is a perfect example of how modern technology would ruin a good movie. Firstly Jimmy Stewart’s Lionel Jefferies would probably be too into his Candy Crush to notice anything outside his window while on his convalescence, and a quick check on Facebook would put his mind at ease as Mrs. Thorwald is certain to have updated his status with: Arrived at Mothers just fine! Miss Lonelyhearts would be too busy checking Blendr to fall for a failing piano player (with no piano – just a MacBook Pro and a copy of Garageband) and Jefferies would certainly appreciate the near-distant relationship Skype would allow him to have with Lisa. Although, that might not be to his advantage…
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
With the current stringent research done on the regulation of E-Cigarettes, as well as the many sightings around Hollywood of A-Listers making good use of their JoyTech or Vapestick UK, it’s no surprise that the cigarettes which once pervaded so much of mid to late 20th Century cinema have been removed from the screen. Perhaps Holly Golightly would be able to get her fix from an E-Cigarette – the look is just as iconic.
Although this wouldn’t happen…
The Wizard of Oz
Though Dorothy moved from the sepia strewn studio set of her Kansas farm to the gaudy, garish technicolour of Oz there’s a fair chance that she never felt as out of place as she would in the modern day. Certainly plummeting agriculture futures would have forced old Em and Henry to sell their farm and move to the big city in search of work. There’s a whole new depression to escape from.
Although this would make for a fine addition to a new cast for the film…
This amazing painting, “Bad Mutha Wizard”, by Dave Macdowell
