My opinion:
AMERICAN:
-Fincher didn't do as good as I thought he would, but maybe my expectations were too high.
-Even though being a rail thin fashion model, Roone Mara, didn't have the sort of boy-like/asexual look described in the book as much as the Swedish.
-The bit mentioned before that was at the end of the American and not in the Swedish was a little out of character for Lisbeth based on the book, no? Fincher has been known for doing this, actually Brad Pitt in the Flight Club extras said he didn't like the like "it was a sport-****" because it sounded frat-boy and out of place of the character, which I agree with.
-Ross and Renzors score was awesome....awesome....awesome. It blended so well yet added so much.
-The wardrobe was cool, but, I found some of it a little to 'fashiony' for the character. Like, the perfectly fitting black clothing, the multilayering, the complex wardrobes, hair and makeup work, just seemed a bit much for her. It was supposed to be edgy and they accomplished that, but, I couldn't picture the character in the book putting that eyeliner on each day
SWEDISH:
-I also liked the novelty of the subtitles and listening to it in the Swedish language, it just sounded right
-The second and third installments, however, had pretty poor production quality.
-I actually liked this Lisbeth better.
I don't think the American version is bad business, I just prefer seeing an original to an obvious imitation (even used some of the same location shots). I don't think the Fincher version was bad, so much as just not better.
Yeah, I was actually expecting a bit more out of Fincher. I think he did a good job, but I just thought this was so up his alley that he would be perfect for it and make a huge improvement on the adaptation.
You almost need to see the original to be able to keep up with the pace of the remake and I'm glad I saw them both. I appreciated the differences and liked the remake better as a film but liked certain parts of the original better.
The opening scene alone was worth the rental, very cool.
Yeah, I really liked that opening. I still think if you watched the Swedish one and are looking for a rental it's worth a look. But, I'd still say start with the Swedish.
Europeans are neighbored by multi lingual nations and within their own countries they have a large variety of spoken languages being used. In the majority of America, English is it and one would have to travel far and wide to find anything but English in common use (FL, CA and NH being exceptions). The cool reception to foreign language films I think is the result of common experience making it difficult to adopt a foreign reality. How is a Texan suppose to develop language skills? By visiting Louisiana? It works a lot better for a German visiting France ... and then maybe occupying it.
This is very true from a language standpoint, also a cultural.
I don't think Americans are too ignorant to deal with a foreign film with subtitles.
I find that subtitles get washed out, (sometimes) depending on the background color.
My bigger problem with both movies was my disappointment with film makers beating the same dead horse.
'The powers that be' in Hollywood are still making movies with the Nazi's as the boogie man? Seriously?... in the 21st century?
Well, it was in the book, and there are still powerful families that aren't 'active' Nazi's per say, but believed in the 'cause...' mainly because it was passed down from generation to generation. In ultra-wealthy 'old-money' families this is more true, because ultra-wealthy tend to be secluded on some level.
