NIGHT AND THE CITY (1992) Good. But noir way good as the original

As remakes of classic noir films go – and for my taste, most of them can’t go away fast enough – Hollywood's version of NIGHT AND THE CITY is entertaining enough, due mainly to snappy acting by veterans Jack Warden, Cliff Gorman and Alan King (sadly, now all deceased) and some role shuffling and plot simplification. But it ain’t noir or even particularly noirish. Jules Dassin’s 42-year old version hit the noir nail right on the head in mood and setting, but this version's director, Irwin Winkler, clearly toadied to '90s tastes and probably committee pressure by turning Harry Fabian, originally played by Richard Widmark and in this version by Robert De Niro, from a rat into a likable and well-meaning rascal, and switching the original ending from tragedy to just this side of comedy. The black-and-white original you'll never forget – the Technicolor remake, fuhgetaboutit!