The Eye (2008)

Directors:

David Moreau
Xavier Palud

Writers (WGA):

Sebastian Gutierrez (screenplay)
Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui (2002 screenplay "Jian gui") ...

Release Date:

1 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

How can you believe your eyes when they're not yours?

Plot:

The remake of the Hong Kong film "Jian Gui", a woman who receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world.

Plot Keywords:

Eye | Violinist | Eye Transplant | Mexico | Seeing Dead People

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Dec. 27	8:00 PM	SHOW
Wed. Dec. 30	9:45 AM	SHOW

Cast

Jessica Alba	...	Sydney Wells
Alessandro Nivola	...	Dr. Paul Faulkner
Parker Posey	...	Helen Wells
Rade Serbedzija	...	Simon McCullough
Fernanda Romero	...	Ana Christina Martinez
Rachel Ticotin	...	Rosa Martinez
Obba Babatundé	...	Dr. Haskins
Danny Mora	...	Miguel
Chloe Moretz	...	Alicia (as Chloë Grace Moretz)
Brett A. Haworth	...	Shadowman
Kevin K.	...	Tomi Cheung
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Mrs. Cheung
Esodie Geiger	...	Nurse
Karen Austin	...	Mrs. Hillman
Ryan J. Pezdirc	...	Nurse Room Attendant

Also Known As:

El ojo del mal (Argentina) (Mexico) (Venezuela) [es]
O Olho do Mal (Brazil) (Brazil) [pt]
Глаз (Russia) [ru]
A szem (Hungary) [hu]
Eyes (Japan: English title) [en]
Göz (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
L'oeil (Canada: French title) [fr]
Oko (Croatia) [hr]
Silm (Estonia) [et]
The Eye (France) [fr]
The Eye (Italy) [it]
The eye - Visiones (Spain) [es]
To mati (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence/terror and disturbing content.

Runtime:

98 min | Turkey:92 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44048) | Singapore:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Hong Kong:IIB | Finland:K-15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Italy:T | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | France:U (with warning)

Filming Locations:

7th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

To prepare for her role, Jessica Alba took violin lessons for 6 months, which she started while filming 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). She also learned basic Braille.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene when Sydney witnesses the fire in her apartment, a man grabs her arm and drags her forward. Later, when we see the burn marks on her arm, the mark of the man's palm is on the wrong side, as if he dragged her backwards.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Teen on Skateboard: Oh shit! Thanks, I didn't see that.
Sydney Wells: Neither did I.
Sydney Wells: [voice-over while Sydney walks in the street and settles in a café] People say seeing is believing, but for me, that's not entirely true. I lost my sight when I was five years old. Those memories of what I have seen have faded so much that I doubt I'd even recognize myself anymore. Now I see using my other senses. I can smell the rain before it drops, but I can't watch it fall. I can feel the sun on my face, but I can't see it rise or set. I want to see the world like everyone else, to see the sun, the rain, the music. Oh I bet music looks beautiful.

Movie Connections:

References Ghost (1990)

Soundtrack:

Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 5 in F Major (Spring), Op. 24

Typical remake...it stunk!!

***Spoiler Warning***

Having owned the Chinese version of The Eye, I wanted to see the American remake of the film--and compare it to the original, and the remake delivered as I expected...a total disappointment!! Some scenes, however, stayed close enough to it's original predecessor, but the scares were just plain cheap. Having loved the "why are you sitting in my chair" scene in the Chinese version as Wong Kar Mun was learning calligraphy, I could not wait to see what they did on this one; the scene took place in a crowded restaurant! I couldn't realize that the woman standing in front of Sydney Wells was a ghost until she looked around to realize nobody else acknowledged this apparition...and the scare was a total cheap spoof!! The ghost in the Chinese version comes towards Wong Kar a bit slower, but her appearance makes her creepier--that was scary...the loud track in it adds the kick to chill my spine every time I watch that scene.

Moreover, the death of Ying Ying was saddening for Wong Kar since she had a good friendship with the little girl, and it made the drama great, plus it helped in convincing Dr. Lo to believe his nephew's claim that Wong Kar could see ghosts. The scene with Sydney Wells having seen Alicia Millstone walk away with a demon(yes, I called it demon) out through the door was just quick and cold--almost insignificant; as if she didn't even care! I'm surprised Alicia didn't just tell Sydney "see you later, alligator" on her way out!! I could not tell whether she was dreaming or if she actually got up. either!! All I could do to this point was just roll my eyes and almost shout curses at the movie screen with disappointment; but I wanted to see how the ending sequence was executed in the remake.

Of course, Sydney and her new boyfriend/doctor saved everybody from the exploding truck--as far as the story went...everybody lived--and cost Sydney her new sight. Wow...I'm surprised Dr. Faulkner and Sydney didn't get on a white horse and rode into the sunset!! In the original version, however, Wong Kar Mun attempted in vain to get everybody out of their cars--they all saw her as if she was insane; and by ignoring her warning, it cost everyone of them their lives as the fuel tanker holding up the traffic exploded--geez, even the rat in the sewers got fried...and Wong Kar Mun was blinded by the flying debris once again.

Overall, the Chinese version proved much more superb by a mile ahead--but that is my opinion, nonetheless. Of course, many viewers have a big problem with reading subtitles; they prefer a dubbed movie over a subbed any day of the week, and remakes at times are the best substitute as far as they think. However, if the remakes continually become one disappointment after another just like this one, please just stop doing them overall.

As the phrase goes: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"