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Michael Haneke Plays Funny Games With Naomi Watts
Writer-director returns to the scene(s) of an earlier crime
A family is traveling to their country vacation home. As they drive, the parents take turns playing “guess the classical composer” (Schubert? Brahms?) with the CD player. Their son laughs approvingly in the back seat. The scene couldn’t be more bucolic or benign, until Mom slips in a new musical selection—and over the soundtrack, we hear a loud, jarring skitter-metal tune from avant-garde musician John Zorn. The happy trio looks peaceful and content; viewers, meanwhile, try to recalibrate their central nervous systems.
That opening of Michael Haneke’s 1997 meta-thriller Funny Games was the first indication that the German director’s pitch-black examination of screen violence wasn’t planning on playing by the rules. It’s such an effective sneak preview of the horrors that lie on the horizon in this house invasion tale that it’s not surprising Haneke repeats the sequence in Funny Games U.S., a remake of his breakthrough movie. If it wasn’t for the fact that the original’s Austrian leads have been replaced by Tim Roth and Naomi Watts, you’d swear the projectionist had thrown on the first version by mistake: The scene is replicated with such scrupulous fidelity that it’s almost a carbon copy. As is the next scene. And the next. And the next…
For folks who’ve been following Haneke’s career since Funny Games (and dipped into his earlier back catalog), the notion that he’d decide to do a shot-for-shot remake shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Despite the fact that his cold, clipped examinations of the worst aspects of humanity often make a misanthrope like Kubrick seem warm and fuzzy in comparison, he has always appreciated a good (albeit usually sick) joke and sought to thwart expectations. So what could be more unexpected than a director reproducing one of his most notable achievements down to the last minor detail? What is odd is that this longtime critic of the American entertainment industry is doing it with Hollywood’s money: The movie is being released by Warner Independent Pictures, the indie boutique arm of Warner Bros., starring a genuine A-list female star. While the domestic arthouse crowd that made Haneke’s last film, 2005’s Caché, a success will probably appreciate the gesture, it’s hard to say whether a mainstream audience is ready to embrace such an in-your-face indictment of their own complicity in treating torture as entertainment. In any case… let the Games begin.
David Fear (MM): Let’s get this out of the way: Why a shot-for-shot remake of Funny Games ?
Michael Haneke (MH): Well, the first film was made to reach an audience that consumes violence as entertainment… and that means it was made primarily for an American audience. Even the big country house in the original, you wouldn’t find something like that in Austria; it’s supposed to represent an American vacation house, built for a family. In any case, since the first movie is in German, it didn’t reach as large an audience as it might have here in the States. The film did well in the art houses, but that wasn’t the audience that, shall we say, needed to see this. So when [producer] Chris Coen approached me in Cannes and asked if I’d be interested in doing it, I told him I’d be glad to do it—on the condition that I could get Naomi Watts to play the lead. The film really was contingent on that. Since the message of the film hadn’t changed, I didn’t see any reason to change the aesthetics or dramaturgy.
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Kaela on 4/01/08 at 8:26 pm
I spent 16 dollars on this movie. It was boaring and predictable. Not interesting or thirlling. A waste of my time and money. I don’t know how I would get ahold of someone to get my money back but If anyone knows please contact me.
- Comment by Dave on 5/24/08 at 3:31 am
i want to see a movie about a canal boat holiday
....is a great way to combine tranquility with activity in a vacation- Comment by john evo on 6/20/08 at 12:38 pm
How Kaela could describe this movie as either “boring” or “predictable” is beyond me. The only way you could find it predictable, apparently, is if you saw the original. It was a deeply disturbing movie. A movie you think even more about the next day than when you saw it. I think of it as an exercise in setting up audience expectations, over and over, and then delivering something quite different. This is not your typical format, and is why the movie is anything but “predictable”.
- Comment by Warhammer Online on 6/28/08 at 3:41 pm
Seems interesting.
- Comment by nicky on 7/14/08 at 6:59 am
This videoclip does not work
- Comment by New Movies Trailer on 7/20/08 at 9:41 pm
This movie was pretty good. I like the performances by Tim Roth and Naomi Watts. It was really thrilling and scary at times, but that’s what movies are all about. After watching the movie I gotta give it a 7.5/10 and recommend it to people who enjoy thrillers/horror movie. A little drama in it too.
- Comment by john evo on 7/20/08 at 9:51 pm
I’d have to go with a solid 8 on the movie and I’d lean toward 9. I saw it over a month ago, have probably seen 20 movies since, and yet still reflect back on it. I’m definitely going to watch his original European version of it at some point. If it was available on Netflix Instant Play list I’d watch it right now. Watts and Roth were indeed good. Don’t underestimate the two young actors who played the psychos. Sorry I don’t know their names, but they were chilling - and that means they did a good acting job!
- Comment by Jigsaw Games on 8/30/08 at 7:58 am
Great stuff.. I need to check this up for sure.Thanks a lot for sharing this.!
- Comment by norfolk broads boating holidays on 10/08/08 at 1:42 am
Thanks for the information you mentioned here, It’s very useful. I’ve already bookmarked it. My friend will be so happy to read that. Cheers ;)
- Comment by Identity Theft on 10/10/08 at 7:56 am
Couldn’t be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
compare credit report- Comment by Royal Caribbean Cruises on 12/05/08 at 3:02 pm
The movie sounds pretty nice. I can’t wait to see it. The plot is very interesting and captivating. I don’t know if I have ever seen such a good movie. Thank you very much for the information provided.
- Comment by Funny Sayings collection on 1/10/09 at 4:00 am
I’ve found this article beeing very useful. Thank you
- Comment by admin on 1/13/09 at 3:42 am
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- Comment by casininio on 2/22/09 at 2:10 pm
Naomi Watts is a real angel
- Comment by Runescape Ebook on 4/17/09 at 1:50 pm
It was a good movie to watch, Naomi Watts did good in that movie. Good piece of article!
- Comment by Free Online Television on 4/24/09 at 4:18 pm
Naomi Watts is one of my favorites! Great review on this!
- Comment by Erbs Palsy Information on 5/05/09 at 10:27 am
Naomi is still beautiful even in her years.
- Comment by Web Design Malaysia on 5/26/09 at 4:00 pm
Very good review on Naomi Watts, such a great actress.
- Comment by online oyun on 7/19/09 at 3:18 pm
Naomi Watts is wonderful
Great review on this
- Comment by tia on 9/24/09 at 12:19 am
the writer for this movie is very disturbed. Its pathetic. The only thing they have done is put sadistic thoughts like theirs into troubled minds. this writer and the people involved in this project need help...they make the characters look like idiots. I never even write reviews...but this movie is totally unnecessary..worst acting in scenario ever!!!Im in film so I now know not to ever work with the people involved with this film
- Comment by Aaron on 1/09/10 at 2:08 am
Please do not watch this movie. It’s pointless, disturbing, and just fucking awful. Worst movie i’ve ever seen. EVER.
- Comment by Funny Pictures on 4/14/10 at 12:23 pm
I’d play funny games with Naomi Watts if you know what I mean… *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*
- Comment by Lea Wilkins on 8/10/10 at 7:58 am
This movie is not really interesting because the story is not made well. But there are some lines of the story that has message but still not enough.
- Comment by firmalar on 11/25/10 at 6:13 am
Naomi Watts, omg she is so adorable!
- Comment by JAMES Bent on 10/31/11 at 8:01 am
I also enjoyed this movie a lot, I found it entertaining and full of suspense. I initially had low expectations because of the bad reviews but I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not the kind of person that would normally sit through a boring movie, I play aBttlestar Galactica online so I like action and excitement, and this movie gave me just that.
- Comment by NeilKirchoff on 12/18/11 at 6:21 pm
Pretty decent movie if you ask me! As James said before me I too had low expectations but surprisingly I enjoyed it. I have to admit I played Jewel Quest 2 the entire movie but this is a good thing! I normally play something more complex is I wouldn’t enjoy the movie. Jewel Quest is an amazing game and I remember I saw it in a movie once and the main character was playing it to solve a riddle.
This story was published in the Winter 2008 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Match Point
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