Its there is a Hollywood classic that hasn't been remade as a TV movie, bide your time, it will eventually be done. This got more attention because of the casting of the Redgrave sisters, Lynn and Vanessa, in the roles originally created by Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Watching this when it was originally on, I wasn't completely disappointed but it just had that feeling of another unnecessary TV movie remake of something that had already been done and well enough to where they should have left it alone. Lynn Redgrave is cast as Jane, not as garish looking as Bette Davis, but still silly looking in a Pippi Longstocking wig, and chewing the scenery even more than the Oscar nominated Davis. Vanessa Redgrave doesn't look anywhere as helpless as Joan did as Blanche, and the fact that she couldn't figure out a way to get out of her situation is one of this version's notable flaws.
The fact that this is lacking the unintentionally funny moments of the original film makes it a disappointment too, and while it is admirable that they would want to have a version that took the storylines more seriously reflects on the fact that it is a story that in all seriousness isn't all that funny. The role of Edwin, the character played by Victor Buono, and has been renamed with a black actor, Bruce A. Young, cast in the part, and the humorous elements of that character have been removed as well.
So while I cannot call this a bad TV remote, I would highly recommend watching "Feud" over again with Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange recreating what Davis and Crawford did onscreen originally. This tries to take the sentimentality of the horror of the situation to keep the viewer interested, but it's difficult to watch without thinking of the original lines and the clips way in which Davis said her lines and Crawford's horrified reactions. A one-time viewing of this is enough, as its efforts to be a more serious version of the dark tale turns it into a dull retelling of a story that did indeed make you chuckle but also had you horrified as well.
The fact that this is lacking the unintentionally funny moments of the original film makes it a disappointment too, and while it is admirable that they would want to have a version that took the storylines more seriously reflects on the fact that it is a story that in all seriousness isn't all that funny. The role of Edwin, the character played by Victor Buono, and has been renamed with a black actor, Bruce A. Young, cast in the part, and the humorous elements of that character have been removed as well.
So while I cannot call this a bad TV remote, I would highly recommend watching "Feud" over again with Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange recreating what Davis and Crawford did onscreen originally. This tries to take the sentimentality of the horror of the situation to keep the viewer interested, but it's difficult to watch without thinking of the original lines and the clips way in which Davis said her lines and Crawford's horrified reactions. A one-time viewing of this is enough, as its efforts to be a more serious version of the dark tale turns it into a dull retelling of a story that did indeed make you chuckle but also had you horrified as well.