If It Were Made Back Then: Recasting Modern Movies: "Casino" (1995)

I've approved this with Zaz. This thread is very similar to the Recasting Classic Movies thread except it's the other way around. In this thread we will cast current movies(Pirates,Lord of the Rings,Star Wars,etc) with classic actors.

For example casting of Lord of the Rings might go like this

Boris Karloff as Sauruman
Orson Welles as Gandalf

Be sure when you cast an actor to state which era of the actor's life you mean. For instance if you cast Marlon Brando in a role state Marlon Brando(On the Waterfront era) or Marlon Brando(50's)

For the first casting it seems fair that we should do Star Wars since the other thread started this way.

Luke Skywalker...James Dean(50's)
Obi-Wan Kenobi...Claude Rains(40's)
Leia...Betty Field(Of Mice and Men)
Han Solo...Tim Holt(40's around his Treasure of Sierra Madre performance)
Grand Moff Tarkin...Boris Karloff(Late 30's)

 

I dont know where he'd fit in but Basil Rathbone IS a Sith Lord.

 

This is a terrific idea for a thread. Well done, Drac!

James Dean strikes me as having a bit too much coolness to be Luke. Luke must be a bit of a dag, a bit of they guy that you don't invite to your party because he'll start talking about serious things.

So, how I'd call it:

Luke Skywalker...Alec Guinness (in his earliest work, although admittedly even then he is a touch too old)
Obi-Wan Kenobi...Orson Welles (later on in his career)
Leia...Olivia de Havilland (in Robin Hood era)
Han Solo...Errol Flynn
Grand moff Tarkin...Basil Rathbone

 

Princess Leia - Jane Greer
Han Solo - Burt Lancaster
Luke Skywalker - Jeffrey Hunter
Grand Moff Tarkin - Basil Rathbone
Obi-Wan Kenobi - John Barrymore

 

John Barrymore is perfect for Obi-Wan!

 

This was so tough.

Luke Skywalker...Peter O'Toole ("Kidnapped")
Obi-Wan Kenobi...James Stewart ("Anatomy of a Murder")
Leia...Audrey Hepburn ("Roman Holiday")
Han Solo...Clark Gable ("San Francisco")
Grand Moff Tarkin...Anton Wahlbrook {"The Red Shoes")

 

Drac this is one of the best ideas for a thread I've seen in a long time!

I also had trouble but came up with these...

Han Solo - Humphrey Bogart circa Casablanca

Leia - Ingrid Bergman also circa Casablanca

 

Luke Skywalker - Matt Damon (Bourne Identity)
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Walter Pidgeon (Forbidden Planet)
Leia - Audrey Hepburn
Han Solo - Clint Eastwood - (Either from his early Westerns or Dirty Harry period) Do you feel lucky, Greedo? ZAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!! Nope, guess NOT!!!
Grand moff Tarkin - Basil Rathbone
Voice of Darth Vader - Orson Welles (from his 'War of the Worlds' radiocast)
C-3PO - Robby the Robot (Forbidden Planet)

 

Luke Skywalker - Stephen Bender (Superman Returns)
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Victor Garber (Alias)
Leia - Mackenzie Rosman (7th Heaven)
Han Solo - Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale)
Grand Moff Tarkin - James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi)
Voice of Darth Vader - Matthew Wood (Revenge of the Sith)

 

i would have James Dean as Han Solo

 

Brando. Solo. The names even look right next to each other.

Flying through hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops, boy. Can't you just hear Brando, circa On the Waterfront, snapping that one out?

 

I would have Toshiro Mifune as either Han Solo, or as Obi-Wan.

 

Mifune was supposed to be Obi-Wan.

 

this got me thinking... would you invite young anakin to a party?

i think i would, yes.

 

Hmmmmmm this was hard.

Luke- Jimmy Stewart (Philadelphia story)
Leia- Katheryn Hepburn (Philadelphia story)
Han- Cary Grant (Philadelphia Story)
Ok enough of that theme,
Obi Wan- Michael Rennie (the day the Earth Stood still)
Vader voice- Yul Brynner
Palpatine - Lon Chaney
Tarkin- Laurence Olivier (1940's)

 

No, no...Han (Cary Grant of "His Girl Friday")

IMO.

 

Bogart is easily a Han Solo.

E_S

 

I think you miss the point of the thread. We are casting older actors from the earlier decades of film in current movies

 

Perhaps the rule should be: no actor after the date of the movie.

 

Sorry, missed that entirely -- if I'd read correctly, would have caught it. My apologies.

 

Kathryn Hepburn as Leia is Fabulous!

And I could see James Dean more as a Han character. He's got too much swagger to play Luke.

 

Orson Welles could pull off Vader all on his own. Well, maybe - he was tall, broad shouldered, and spoke in a fairly deep voice.

That's what I think, at least.

 

Ha! I was thinking the same thing. Actually, I was thinking "We are not having Star Wars without Guinness. Where could he fit..." Except of course there is the problem that Guinness was never even in a play until he was 22 and never in a film until he was in his 30s. So instead I'd cast him as Tarkin, I think, say circa Zhivago? It doesn't really matter if Tarkin is younger since we know nothing about him.

I also wouldn't cast James Dean as Luke, because as Rogue said, he's too cool. I think I'd go with Anthony Perkins circa his Oscar-nominated role as a Quaker who decides to fight in the Civil War in Friendly Persuasion. One of the most ridiculous type-castings in history was Perkins always playing the psychopath after Psycho. He's always at his best playing the confused, aw-shucks young man. I'm biased because I love Perkins, but I think he'd fit, really.

Also I'm going to say if you just took Takashi Shimura straight out of Seven Samurai, costume and all, he'd pretty much already be Obi-Wan.

Other than that, I agree with things like Boggie for Solo... unless you wanted to go with someone a little less gruff and more suave, say, Paul Newman circa Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Actually the more I think about it, I like that one.



-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Newman as Solo. Now I like that. Circa Hud.

What about Redford as Luke?

 

I always thought that the Star Wars world needed (and needs) more Asians.
If Bruce Lee hadn't died back in 1973, I would have cast him.
And, back to Mifune, I still think he would have made a good Han Solo.
Disappointed in Lucas that he didn't have any Asians in the prequels either -- he only had Bai Ling, and her role was seriously small, and her scene was cut anyway.
(and, no, just standing silently in the background doesn't count as an Asian presence... nor does screaming/yelling while blowing up...)
And, not only would I have cast Mifune as Solo, I would have him speak in Japanese. Would add to that global/galactic feel of the space universe. And only Chewbacca understands him. (could also add some of that plucky humor that's only in the OT)
Having Mifune as Obi-Wan could be neat, it would be that ol' cliche of the wise Asian master... been there, done that....