27-02-2009, 01:52 AM
I watched the directors cut of Kingdom of Heaven by accident. I had absolutely no intention of sitting through that rubbish again and explained to my friends why the film was so bad. Of course all of those reasons were now obsolete and I looked quite foolish, as we enjoyed the film.
And I completely agree about redux except for one thing, the playboy bunnies at the camp. If that scene alone had been in the original I think Willards character would be truly terrifying. Finding the bunnies drugged up and being used as sex slaves, Willard uses it to his advantage. His river escorts had no problem continuing up river after that. And Willard is stripped of any humanity, or compassion that the viewer may have begrudgingly bestowed upon him prior to that.
Conveniently this brings us back to the boards topic. Why pay to watch an incomplete film at the cinema when the finished version will be released 6 months after the cinema version is published on DVD. Lord of the rings for example, is there any point at all in watching the cinema versions? As you say, most of the time a directors cut is just a way to squeeze more money out of people, I have the "Memento" boxset, which I understand (but have no intention of ever watching) has a version of the film re-edited so that the film runs in chronological order. POINTLESS thats not even interesting, it's just pointless.
And now I destroy any credibility I might have had as I admit that my favourite version of the Godfather was the "Epic" cut. This was a version of the first 2 films re-edited in chronological order that most people consider an act of barbarism. I know, I'm a dirty heathen but it is really really good, you just have to watch it all in one go (I downloaded a VHS conversion of it from the Piratebay, as you can't get it on DVD).
Why are good films so few and far between nowdays? When the best performace comes from a Batman movie I think thats a valid question. The past couple of years have been really poor with only a few truly memorable titles like "The Fountain", "The Fall", "The assassination of Jesse James", "Persepolis", and "Charlie Wilsons war". I'm struggling to think of more. This is why the PirateBay is as popular as it is. Until the corporations leave movie making to talented individuals instead of demographic surveys I don't think we'll see any improvment.
And I completely agree about redux except for one thing, the playboy bunnies at the camp. If that scene alone had been in the original I think Willards character would be truly terrifying. Finding the bunnies drugged up and being used as sex slaves, Willard uses it to his advantage. His river escorts had no problem continuing up river after that. And Willard is stripped of any humanity, or compassion that the viewer may have begrudgingly bestowed upon him prior to that.
Conveniently this brings us back to the boards topic. Why pay to watch an incomplete film at the cinema when the finished version will be released 6 months after the cinema version is published on DVD. Lord of the rings for example, is there any point at all in watching the cinema versions? As you say, most of the time a directors cut is just a way to squeeze more money out of people, I have the "Memento" boxset, which I understand (but have no intention of ever watching) has a version of the film re-edited so that the film runs in chronological order. POINTLESS thats not even interesting, it's just pointless.
And now I destroy any credibility I might have had as I admit that my favourite version of the Godfather was the "Epic" cut. This was a version of the first 2 films re-edited in chronological order that most people consider an act of barbarism. I know, I'm a dirty heathen but it is really really good, you just have to watch it all in one go (I downloaded a VHS conversion of it from the Piratebay, as you can't get it on DVD).
Why are good films so few and far between nowdays? When the best performace comes from a Batman movie I think thats a valid question. The past couple of years have been really poor with only a few truly memorable titles like "The Fountain", "The Fall", "The assassination of Jesse James", "Persepolis", and "Charlie Wilsons war". I'm struggling to think of more. This is why the PirateBay is as popular as it is. Until the corporations leave movie making to talented individuals instead of demographic surveys I don't think we'll see any improvment.
The worm has ate the apples core, beneath the skin lies curled.
Just so many a man lies sore, from the worm within the world.
Just so many a man lies sore, from the worm within the world.