Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Say "No" to Director's Cuts.

Am I in the minority to be wary of director's cut of any movie?  2 movies particularly stand out in my mind.  The PG-fycation of "The Last of the Mohicans".  I got the sense that the director may have been pushed by the execs to make the theatrical cut more bloody, and he saw it as an opportunity to change it back to the way he wanted it.  Big mistake.  By changing what is possibly a few seconds of the film, the movie feels less satisfying and the thirst for revenge unquenced.  I'm not the only person that feels this way.  Read the comments of director's cut reviews, and you can see people keeping their old VHS copies after they've purchased the DVD or people in the forums talking about how they've gone through ordering theatrical cuts from Canada because they only were selling director's cut in the US.

Another movie was the director's cut of Amadeus.  I have no problems with this cut of the movie.  I think it is as good as the original.  But somehow the theatrical cut of Amadeus and the director's cut of Amadeus are entirely 2 different movies.  My only concern is for people watching the director's cut of Amadeus as their first time watching the movie.  It is impossible to communicate there is another cut of Amadeus that is better time tested, and there was a reason it won all the awards.  They got it right the first time.

These days, when I see how the directors have added extra footage back into the film, I no longer see it as a bonus.  I just want to buy the movie I loved the first time.  It's like going back to the restaurant and ordering the same dish you loved the last time, only to find out they've changed the ingredients.  What a terrible idea.

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