1. #1
    AndyJWest's Avatar Senior Member
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    Dam Busters dog renamed for movie remake

    A tricky one, but I think the change is justifiable. As is pointed out, the film isn't about the dog...
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  2. #2
    GoToAway's Avatar Senior Member
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    It's a shame the remake isn't being done in Hollywood.

    Because that way Tom Cruise and Ben Afleck could lead a flight of B-17s on the mission to save all of Europe, capturing an enigma machine in the process.
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  3. #3
    Bearcat99's Avatar Senior Member
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    All things considered... I think it is justifiable.. however I do think that a disclaimer should be put at the beginning of the film.
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  4. #4
    Personally I think its the bloody PC idiot brigade having an affect on history, the dog's name was..well we know what it was and to change it shows weakness and a disregard for historical fact. Why don't they just call the dog tinky winky and have done with it or might that offend some people also? The film might not be about the dog but where does it stop? you cant call the planes Lancasters as it might annoy the Yorkists (or any other major city dwellers in the UK)? jeez, I really despair sometimes!
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  5. #5
    AndyJWest's Avatar Senior Member
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    Zooly, if you're worried about "disregard for historical fact", I think Hollywood has bigger problems than this.
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  6. #6
    To be honest it's damned if you do, damned if you don't (no pun intended).
    The people who scream for historical accuracy will cry political correctness gone mad if you do change the dog's name and most people will cry racism if you don't.
    I'm personally on the side of the latter, yes changing the dog's name isn't historically accurate but it is a small part and IMHO it is a change for the right reason.
    The last thing anyone here wants to see is what I reckon will be a good film overshadowed by a race row, just because some purists wanted such an insignificant detail like Guy Gibson's dog's name unchanged.
    Every film has inaccuracies, Saving Private Ryan had small historical inaccuracies, did those inaccuracies matter? In my opinion no, Saving Private Ryan was an excellent film, it had the right feel to it, it was realistic as to what went on and it didn't dishonour those that were there.
    I think it will be the same with The Dambusters, the one tiny historical inaccuracy won't make a jot of difference.
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  7. #7
    GoToAway's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally posted by Warrington_Wolf:
    Every film has inaccuracies, Saving Private Ryan had small historical inaccuracies,
    Actually, SPR had enormous historical inaccuracies. It's still a good movie, though.
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  8. #8
    Dumb thing to get upset about though I don't think the movie needs to be remade, WW2 aviation movies are not in vogue nowadays AT ALL so to get butts into seats I guarantee they'll try and tart it up and make it into a farce, I wouldn't be surprised if they made it into a Julia Roberts rom-com.
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  9. #9
    Bearcat99's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally posted by Mr_Zooly:
    Personally I think its the bloody PC idiot brigade having an affect on history, the dog's name was..well we know what it was and to change it shows weakness and a disregard for historical fact. Why don't they just call the dog tinky winky and have done with it or might that offend some people also? The film might not be about the dog but where does it stop? you cant call the planes Lancasters as it might annoy the Yorkists (or any other major city dwellers in the UK)? jeez, I really despair sometimes!
    I am all for historical accuracy.. but in this case IMO the dog's name was a reflection of the ignorance of the times and to alienate an entire segment of a market.. for the sake of historical accuracy.. is just not smart. Times are different.. and I think that the negativity associated with the film had the name not been changed would not be worth the quest for accuracy.. To equate this with any other "suppose the ____ had been renamed ____ ... " scenario is to be blind and totally out of touch with the realities of today's society.. Even if the dog's name added something to the film... the point would be debatable.. but it doesn't... unless the men in the DB unit were just a bunch of ignorant, insensitive, overly sheltered racists at heart...

    I don't know enough about any of them to form an opinion on their character.. but ............
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  10. #10
    Should the Works of William Shakespeare be edited to suit modern sensibilities? Would people like some of the words or meanings he used to diluted/sanitised? The past should never be changed, it should be embraced no matter how inconvenient or politically incorrect or how will we know about the real people no matter how ignorant they might seem.
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