Seeing double? The remaking of Alejandro's Amenbar's Abre los ojos as Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky

Abstract

This article begins by examining in general terms the remaking of European films by Hollywood and considers the reasons for the growth in this cultural phenomenon. It goes onto argue that analysis of this process has much to tell us about intertextuality: how texts are read and transformed. Focusing on Vanilla Sky (US 2002), the Hollywood remake by Cameron Crowe of Alejandro Amenbar's film, Abre los ojos (Spain 1997), it explores the similarities and differences between the two films. In addition, it also considers the extent to which a filmic remake like Vanilla Sky might be read as a self-conscious reflection on the processes which are at the very heart of intertextuality as we understand it.