The Vanishing (1993 film)
Encyclopedia
The Vanishing is a 1993 thriller starring Jeff Bridges
, Kiefer Sutherland
and Nancy Travis
. It is an American remake
of a 1988 Franco-Dutch film, also directed by George Sluizer
.
) goes on vacation with his girlfriend Diane Shaver (Sandra Bullock
), who vanishes without a trace at a gas station. Three years later, Jeff is still obsessed with finding out what happened. One day, Barney Cousins (Jeff Bridges
) arrives at Jeff's door and admits that he was responsible for her disappearance. Cousins promises to show Jeff what happened to Diane, but only if he agrees to go through exactly the same thing she did.
In a short series of flash-backs, the build-up to the crime is shown. Jeff is taken to the gas station where his lover went missing, and is told that if he drinks a cup of coffee which has been drugged, he will discover her fate by experiencing it. He does, and wakes up to find he has been buried alive.
Jeff's new girlfriend, Rita (Nancy Travis
), has traced him and his abductor to the area, and discovers just in time what has happened. She gets Cousins to drink drugged coffee by talking about his daughter, but does not realize the drug takes 15 minutes to take effect. She goes in search of Jeff, but is thwarted at the last minute by Cousins. Fortunately, Jeff has revived and is able to climb out of the grave and kill his tormentor with the shovel he had used to bury Jeff and Diane. The remake ends with Jeff and Rita back together, selling the story as a novel to a publishing company.
Hollywood remake." Mark Kermode
would later summarise that "the original was about the banality of evil
, but the remake became about the evil of banality. It was a mess." Salon.com
named the film as the worst remake of all time.
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
, Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
and Nancy Travis
Nancy Travis
Nancy Ann Travis is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady , Married to the Mob , Air America , Internal Affairs , So I Married an Axe Murderer , Greedy , and Fluke...
. It is an American remake
The Vanishing (1988 film)
The Vanishing is a French/Dutch film adaptation of the novella The Golden Egg by Tim Krabbé, released October 27, 1988. Directed by George Sluizer and starring Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, the film is about the disappearance of a young Dutch woman and her lover's obsessive search...
of a 1988 Franco-Dutch film, also directed by George Sluizer
George Sluizer
George Sluizer , is a Dutch filmmaker whose credits include features as well as documentary films....
.
Plot
Jeff Harriman (Kiefer SutherlandKiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
) goes on vacation with his girlfriend Diane Shaver (Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
), who vanishes without a trace at a gas station. Three years later, Jeff is still obsessed with finding out what happened. One day, Barney Cousins (Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
) arrives at Jeff's door and admits that he was responsible for her disappearance. Cousins promises to show Jeff what happened to Diane, but only if he agrees to go through exactly the same thing she did.
In a short series of flash-backs, the build-up to the crime is shown. Jeff is taken to the gas station where his lover went missing, and is told that if he drinks a cup of coffee which has been drugged, he will discover her fate by experiencing it. He does, and wakes up to find he has been buried alive.
Jeff's new girlfriend, Rita (Nancy Travis
Nancy Travis
Nancy Ann Travis is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady , Married to the Mob , Air America , Internal Affairs , So I Married an Axe Murderer , Greedy , and Fluke...
), has traced him and his abductor to the area, and discovers just in time what has happened. She gets Cousins to drink drugged coffee by talking about his daughter, but does not realize the drug takes 15 minutes to take effect. She goes in search of Jeff, but is thwarted at the last minute by Cousins. Fortunately, Jeff has revived and is able to climb out of the grave and kill his tormentor with the shovel he had used to bury Jeff and Diane. The remake ends with Jeff and Rita back together, selling the story as a novel to a publishing company.
Cast
- Jeff BridgesJeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
as Barney Cousins - Kiefer SutherlandKiefer SutherlandKiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
as Jeff Harriman - Nancy TravisNancy TravisNancy Ann Travis is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady , Married to the Mob , Air America , Internal Affairs , So I Married an Axe Murderer , Greedy , and Fluke...
as Rita Baker - Sandra BullockSandra BullockSandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
as Diane Shaver - Park Overall as Lynn
- Maggie Linderman as Denise Cousins
- Lisa EichhornLisa EichhornLisa Eichhorn is an American actress, writer and producer. She made her film debut in 1979 in the John Schlesinger film Yanks for which she received two Golden Globe nominations...
as Helene Cousins
Reception
This remake was poorly received and almost universally seen as inferior to the original, with particular criticism for its new happy ending. Variety called it "schematic and unconvincing" while Time Outs Nigel Floyd called it "a misjudged, lobotomizedLobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
Hollywood remake." Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
would later summarise that "the original was about the banality of evil
Banality of Evil
Banality of evil is a phrase coined by Hannah Arendt and incorporated in the title of her 1963 work Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. It describes the thesis that the great evils in history generally, and the Holocaust in particular, were not executed by fanatics or...
, but the remake became about the evil of banality. It was a mess." Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
named the film as the worst remake of all time.