Rainwater wrote:Yeah, basically Lynch doesn't need to recut anything because he already made exactly what he wanted to make, and it's complete.
Re: Blade Runner, Ridley Scott did not originally have anything like full creative control, AFAIK. And the so-called Director's Cut is that in name only. I do think the Final Cut is the best and definitive version of the film. I'm sure there are people who disagree, like with anything, but it is, at least, the closest to the director's vision. According to the director.
That's correct, and I don't think anyone could disagree. The Final Cut is the best, and the most complete. BUT, there are some out there who actually prefer the original, voiceover-heavy theatrical cut. That's very odd to me, but in a fascinating way.
Apocalypse Now final cut is releasing on 4k/Blu-ray later in the month, and I couldn't be more excited about it. The sound mix has been fully realized, and it bridges the gap between the theatrical and the Redux. I look forward to it potentially being the best cut of the film.
The Wicker Man is the most interesting one in the ways that give Reindeer OCD. A few different cuts of the film exist, and there's something a little different in each of them, and the preferred final cut, the latest release which was unearthed from one of its original, pre-release screenings, is SHORTER by 7 minutes than the longer cut of the film that was released years ago on DVD. No attempt was made to splice additional footage into the unearthed cut because Hardy simply prefers the way he cut that one back in the 70s, and so it is the only one that has been properly remastered.
Actually, the most interesting one, by far, is Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster, released in a Chinese cut at 130 minutes, an International cut at 122 minutes, and the US cut at 108 minutes. Each was targeted at different markets/audiences, and he took each version as a challenge to himself. Therefore each cut serves a different purpose - some more focused on atmosphere, some on the love story, some on the history, some focused on educating an audience - but each is a director's cut. There is connective tissue, including important character moments, left out of each version so that the only way to see The Grandmaster is to watch all three cuts, essentially having all three in your head when watching any version. And there's plenty of footage left on the cutting room floor, as well. I've been holding out for a definitive cut of that film as I think, more than almost any, it begs for one and would be a revelation.