| DVD Roundup January 2003
 The
Director’s Cut: A Second Chance to Realize a Vision on DVD
Often films do not end up on the big
screen the way their creators originally intended. Cost overruns, feedback from preview
audiences, and nervous studio executives have a way of stripping a film of important
details. Characters can lose depth, plots can develop holes, and the finished product can
end up a cheap imitation of the original vision.
I can sympathize with the filmmaker. Having to compromise
on a vision into which you have invested a year or more of your life is not an easy pill
to swallow. Even the smallest change to a tight script can affect character motivation or
mood to a point where the final story makes no sense. Ever see Tobe Hooper’s Life
Force?
On the other hand, who can blame studio executives for
striving to make a film more marketable and therefore reducing the risk to their
multimillion-dollar investment? Good business does not always equate to a good film or a
filmmaker’s vision. Filmmaking, like everything in life, is fraught with compromise.
Even if a studio gives a filmmaker "final cut," chances are something will force
a compromise.
When DVDs came to the market they not only allowed
consumers to experience the highest possible sound and image quality in their home, but
also afforded filmmakers a second chance to make the film they originally intended. Here
are a few examples.
Though I didn’t care for its sluggish pacing, Steven
Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (***) was one of the
first films to be re-released in a completely re-edited "Special Edition"
version. But in order to make his film better, Spielberg still had to compromise on the
ending. And before it made its way to DVD it had a run in the theaters -- a feat
accomplished because of Spielberg’s considerable clout. More recently Spielberg
applied changes to his other alien hit, E.T. (****). Additional character-driven
scenes further deepened the relationship between Elliott and E.T., and some digital
trickery replaced guns with walkie-talkies.
In 1999, some underwater aliens got a second chance when
James Cameron fully realized his vision for The Abyss (****). After millions were
pumped into an incredibly realistic and intense underwater set, the 1989 production simply
ran out of money, so Cameron’s original alien-driven ending was ditched, which
required considerable cuts and changes to the rest of the story. Ten years later, fresh
off the success of Titanic, Cameron had the money and the technology to finish his
epic. He added 28 minutes, which punched up the alien plot and included some fine points
in his characters’ development that were glossed over in the original theatrical
release. The result is a "Five Star Collection" version of the film that feels
more complete and a final act that feels grander in scale.
Often a character, not the plot, needs clarification. The
original release of Luc Besson’s Leon (****) is an example of cutting
that robs depth from the film’s characters. The studio believed that scenes involving
Leon teaching Mathilda to be an assassin, and a more involved, but completely innocent,
relationship between the two would play badly to an American audience. As a result, Besson
was forced to edit 23 minutes out of Leon and release it as The Professional. Now
I won’t say The Professional wasn’t a good film, but those extra minutes
in Leon made the characters more believable, which led to a more compelling ending.
A sprawling epic adventure that both die-hard fans and
newcomers embraced, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (****) was a
compelling effort from the start. But amid all the praise sat one major point of
criticism: many felt the film didn’t take its time establishing characters. Some even
said that the three-hour film moved along too quickly with too much
action. And director Jackson agreed.
Jackson explained in numerous interviews that scenes needed
to be cut in the interest of time, so that the film would play better in the theaters. The
result was a theatrical release that omitted 30 minutes of character development and
subtle story details. Jackson promised that a director’s cut of the film, restoring
those 30 minutes, would find its way onto DVD. A year after the film’s theatrical
release, he delivered on that promise.
The new four-disc The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship
of the Ring -- Platinum Series Extended Edition (*****), is so seamless in its
presentation that I had to reference the chapter list to figure out what scenes were new
or extended. Jackson was able to retain the original production crew -- including composer
Howard Shore -- to assist him in creating an entirely new film from the ground up. This is
not a patchwork effort. It is a new movie that not only betters the theatrical release in
story detail, but also moves along just as efficiently.
An extended Shire sequence includes more back-story in
Bilbo’s memoirs and his plans to retire to Rivendell. The first hour also adds
details that build a stronger foundation between Samwise Gamgee and Frodo. A scene
involving the hobbits and Strider traversing a bog gives more weight to the dangers of
their journey and the obstacles facing them. One of the most impressive additions occurs
during the meeting of the council at Rivendell. Boromir’s weakness for the ring is
established with more impact -- with bass reinforcement that nearly brought down my house.
The same character’s death now feels more "finished" and dramatic. Overall
I felt as if I knew every character, and their relationships with one another, more than I
did in the theatrical version. The special DVD edition made an already great film a
masterpiece as well as the best DVD presentation I’ve seen out of Hollywood.
Before DVD, filmmakers who didn’t have the deep
pockets or clout of a Spielberg or Lucas had only network TV as a means to broadcast their
updated directors’ cuts. But network-aired films faced their own set of compromises
-- the least of which was commercials disrupting the dramatic flow of the film. With DVD,
filmmakers now have the potential of not only realizing their vision, but also keeping it
safe for future generations to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes.
...Anthony Di Marco
anthony@hometheatersound.com |
