Betty Blue has long been one of my favourite foreign films, so I was excited when the Director’s Cut finally made it onto DVD… until I watched it.
There were a couple of things in the theatrical release that didn’t make much sense. For example, in one scene Betty attacks a guy and in the next scene it’s almost as if nothing had happened. No explanation. At the time I just put it down to a peculiarity of the French for a (well-off) man not to admit (make a police report on) being attacked by a woman. The DC has the deleted scene in the police station. But this and other restored scenes slowed the pace of the film so much that it loses much of its impact.
Betty Blue was an excellent two-hour movie. As a three-hour movie, not so much. One of these days I’ll have to transfer my LaserDisc to DVD so I can have a convenient version of the theatrical release.
I disagree to an extent only describable in metaphors involving entire galaxies of white-hot suns.
The extra scenes in Aliens help the movie quite a bit, in that they help explain a number of hazier plot details, but as with the extras of Terminator 2, I can’t say any of them were absolutely critical to the plot.
The Director’s Cut of Daredevil is way better than the theatrical version. It adds some really funny dialouge, a great subplot where Matt and Foggy take an innocent man’s case, and a couple great fight scenes. It also changes the relationship between Matt and Elektra, cutting the love scene, but adding some other scenes. Some dialouge was altered from the original, too, and a couple F-bombs were added. I gave the original a 5/10 when I saw it and the DC an 8/10.
I haven’t SEEN it, but the ending of Independence Day (yeah, I LIKE stupid movies) that has Randy Quaid carrying the fatal bomb into the saucer in his ratty, old Stearman (pausing for Johnny LA to say, “It was a WACO, numbnuts!”) biplane cropduster would be FAR more satisfying. Retro tech vs hyper-modern tech wins every time for me.
Okay, I like that movie, if only for the opportunities it presents for me to say, “Yeah, he was real,” and “No, they made that up, but don’t it look kewl?” There are few opportunities for me to dip my kids’ bills in “reel” history, but they are Python fans so I should get them Terry Jones’ “Crusades.”
I didn’t like Apocalypse Now Redux but thoroughly enjoyed the as-theatrically-released version of Apocalypse Now.
IMHO Redux just dragged on, got bogged down, and simply wasn’t as enjoyable as the theatrical release version.
I liked the extra scenes in Aliens and Terminator 2, and I’m probably one of the few people out there who didn’t enjoy the Director’s Cut of Blade Runner. I haven’t seen the theatrical version but I’d like to, since I’m a big fan of film noir and what I’ve heard about the theatrical version intrigues me.
Hijack: I was lucky enough to be at a screening of this film. We all filed into the theater and Gilliam stood up and announced that the screening was on hold because the studio refused to let him show his version. He was on and off the stage to talk to the studio in real time to get the event going, but in the end, the film was not shown.
I got up to use the can during one of the “breaks” and ran into Terry in the lobby. He was waiting for the phone to ring. I said “Hi” and shoke his hand and he struck up a conversation with me! Gave me an autograph with a little doodle and everything. I was kinda shocked that he would even talk to me. Seemed like a regular nice guy.
With all the movie buffs around here I’m surprised no one has mentioned it. Once Upon a Time in America is pretty much unwatchable in it’s theatrical version. The studio demanded huge cuts because of the length. The uncut version is one of my all time favorites.
I like the DC of Blade Runner more then the narrated Version… It feels more like you are watching real people, if that makes any sense. The atmosphere is much better.
Redux was fine, but I never saw the original.
LOTR was just Too Long in the DC. It was nice to see some more detail, but near the end I just wanted the movies to actually end.
I came in to say Aliens. There’s a difference between “makes the movie better” and “fills in background” and the scenes cut out of Aliens should have stayed on the cutting room floor. The (pre-scouring) colony scenes just weren’t any good and didn’t need to be there. There’s no need to see kids on bigwheels. I get that it “makes it more like a real colony” or something, but it doesn’t make the movie better. The rolligan bouncing over the planet looks like a shitty model, and should have stayed on the cutting room floor. The scene inside the rolligan with Newt and her family is just stupid. “All the kids play in airshafts!” “I’m the smallest and I fit where nobody else does, that’s what makes me the best!” The actor who plays the dad just isn’t very good. Also, they went through all this trouble to make the environment of the colony seem really hostile: it’s always dark and the wind howls. There’s a permanent black cloud spitting lightning, and everywhere you look there’s billowing mist or smoke or something. So these two yahoos go out to investigate the ship they just found and, to protect themselves, they put on a pair of safety goggles? It just doesn’t work. The extra scenes are unnecessary: everything you learn is either or a distraction, or was presented better in the theatrical cut, anyway.
Here’s a link to the extended edition scenes on YouTube.
I was watching the Director’s cut of Amadeus earlier in the afternoon, and don’t think most of the added scenes are really necessary. A few fill in the background on Mozart’s increasingly desperate financial situation, and another explains Mrs. Mozart’s hostility to Saleri at the end of the film, but the film was trimmer without them. And a couple of scenes, particularly an addition to the part where Saleri figures out that the soprano has slept with Mozart, are heavy-handed and tedious.
Wow, I quite disagree. I came in here to say that the extended version of Amadeus is a lot more interesting, and gives more depth to a number of the characters, especially Constanze but Salieri as well, which in my opinion makes for a richer film.
Dark City the director’s cut is superior in just about every conceivable way. Characters are more fleshed out the pacing it a little better but most of all they cut the studio mandated opening which GIVES THE DAMN PLOT AWAY. First time I saw this movie I actually caught it on TV and missed the opening scene. I thought it was a great movie. I bought the DVD and my mouth dropped open at the horrible opening. It changes the whole feel of the film.
Seriously if you haven’t seen this movie don’t watch the Theatrical version. There’s no excuse for it.
Not only that, but it weakens the theme of redemption that runs through the series, in favour of establishing Han as a less ambiguous “good guy.” Bleah.
The director’s cut of Donnie Darko leaves me deeply conflicted. Some of the originally shot scenes that didn’t make it into the theatrical release are really nice. On the other hand, the video collage “mission control” inserts don’t really convey anything terribly interesting, but worse than that they don’t feel like they belong anywhere near the movie.
Whoa. Is there a full director’s cut of that? Because as I understood it, it was more like an alternate turning point than an alternate ending; that more than just the final scene was changed. I’ve seen the bit where the cops come to MD’s house and arrest him. But I thought that there were further scenes of his trial and conviction that were either not filmed, or not preserved at a time when DVDs hadn’t been thought of. Was enough of this alternate final act filmed to flesh out a separate version?
(Play Misty For Me was better anyway.)
As I said in another thread, the director’s cut of That Thing You Do! is rambling, lacking in oomph, and generally too long.
I prefer the director’s cuts of Aliens, T2 and The Abyss. Dunno what that says about me.
I had heard (I think they mention it in the director’s commentary) that the studio liked that ending as well until they realized how unrealistic it would have been for the biplane to be able to keep up with the fighter jets.
Not that realism was a big point with that movie, but you have to give somewhere.
