Okay, we just saw this last night, and we opted to see the Director’s cut rather than the theatrical version on the DVD. Can anyone tell me what the major differences were?
For some reason, I imagine the ending to the theatrical was a little less depressing, but wanted to know for sure. Perhaps it can bring me out of this funk the movie’s put me in…man, it was almost ‘Mission to Mars’ depressing.
Thanks!
How did the director’s cut end?
The theatrical cut, if I remember correctly, ended in much less depressing, and equally less thought-provoking way. In the scene in the mental hospital where what’s-his-face begins watching the home movie on the projector, it takes him back to his 5th birthday party. This is where he initally met that girl. Instead of being nice to her, he insulted her. They never became friends. When her parents divorced, She had no reason to stay in town, so she went to live with her mother. Everyone lived.
I preferred the director’s cut.
The theatrical ending is available on the Director’s Cut side of the DVD. Watch the film using the “Play Infinifilm” option, and just as Evan begins watching the home movies of his birth, you’ll see the option to watch the other ending.
I prefer the theatrical ending to the original one, because in a way I think it’s more tragic – in the director’s cut, Evan basically erases his whole existence, which doesn’t seem like that big a sacrifice to me (and essentially makes the world right again, if you buy that hokey fortune teller scene.) In the theatrical ending, however, he has to live the rest of his life knowing there’s a wonderful girl out there, someone he can never be friends with again. Plus, it’s got one of my favorite lines of the whole movie: “Who’s Kalie?”
The Director’s Cut also added a few extra scenes, such as teenage Evan finding his dad’s box of photos, and the prisoners taunting Evan by reading his journal to the entire prison. There’s also a few extended scenes that I don’t remember; the director’s commentary points out which scenes are new.
The Infinifilm Director’s cut also has “click enter for the theatrical ending”, and “click here for the happy sappy ending”. So there were three endings filmed.
The director’s cut ending was really depressing and freaked me out.
In the version I saw, the two pass on the street later in life and glance at each other, but fail to make eye contact.
All in all, I prefer his movies where he loses his car.