41 replies to this topic

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Sensualist

Loomis, you being a nipponophile, will be interested to know that a Tokyo pop band did a song for TWINE that was to be a replacement for the Arnold/Garbage song for the cut for the Japanese market.  

Funnily enough, this was mentioned very recently on another thread: http://forums.comman...&threadid=12651:

Still, I rented TWINE on VHS when I was living in Japan last year, and noted that the end title music was the same old Arnold stuff, so I guess the Japanese pop song only made it onto Japanese theatrical prints and/or certain video/laser/DVD pressings.

Originally posted by Double-Oh-Zero

The only real "Director's Cuts" I'm interested to see would be TWINE or DAD.  

Interesting. Seems quite a few of think TWINE could do with a re-edit.

For some reason, I don't think John Glen would be a "director's cut" kind of guy. I reckon (huge assumption on my part, I know) he's perfectly happy with how all his Bond films turned out and doesn't have any desire to go back and change things. And I get the feeling that another director who started out as an editor, Roger Spottiswoode, would probably feel the same and consider that he got it right first time (certainly, TOMORROW NEVER DIES is an extremely tightly-edited film, and while I don't consider it a perfect Bond flick by any means I can't see how it could be improved on by another trip to the cutting room, unless there are some really great deleted scenes knocking around that would improve characterization and/or add substance to the story).

But I can picture Campbell, Apted and Tamahori being willing to give their Bond work another going-over. Especially Campbell and Tamahori, since they're relatively new on the feature directing scene and have reputations to nurture - and "director's cut"s confer a degree of prestige on directors. These days, if you're a director who gets to put out your own "director's cut" on DVD, you've kind of arrived.

Originally posted by Double-Oh-Zero

As a side note, I'm kind of amused as to how the term "Director's Cut" is used. The film you see in the theatre is exactly that, the director's cut. Most of the time, scenes are cut or shortened because that's the way the director wanted it.

Really? I don't know. I think a lot of people would contest that.

[[dark]]

The World is not Enough. Without a doubt. The original cut of the film clocked in at 160-something minutes, if I recall correctly. I'd kill to see the whole thing.

I'd like to see the original intended pre-titles, then the boat chase pushed back past the credits [it'd be nice to have Garbage's whole song over the titles as well, and not that horribly edited version of it], whatever else was cut [does anyone have any details? I know there was dialogue between Renard and Cigar Girl at the start of the film, Bond checking Valentin's pulse... I know there are others I'm missing]. Oh, and Scott Walker's song put over the end titles.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Licence to Kill, GoldenEye and Die Another Day, I'd also like to see.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by [dark]

The World is not Enough.  Without a doubt.  The original cut of the film clocked in at 160-something minutes, if I recall correctly.  I'd kill to see the whole thing.

That does it. They really need to give us a new version of TWINE. It's the very least they could do.

I can see it now: The Bond Quadrilogy DVD collection, with "director's cut"s of LICENCE TO KILL, GOLDENEYE, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and DIE ANOTHER DAY. Droooooool.

[[dark]]

The fact that they refused to include any of the lost forty-odd minutes on the original DVD release of The World is not Enough only adds insult to injury.

[Qwerty]

Very true [dark], and it's not like the DVD did okay without them either. I think the special features for that one are some of the worst in the series, sadly. I don't like the little 15 minute documentary, nor the Secrets Of 007 option, the audio commentaries are good, and the music vidoe and trailer are just average like the rest. That DVD could've benefitted greatly from the additon of lost/cut scenes.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

Originally posted by Loomis
Really? I don't know. I think a lot of people would contest that.

Well, it's just that if you watch some deleted scenes on DVDs, the director will often say something on the commentary like: "Well, we dropped this scene because of pacing, or it didn't fit in right, etc." Of course, there are major exceptions (Army of Darkness, as I said), such as the Alien films that were just realeased as a quadrilogy. I've just always understood that most directors are pretty happy with what they release, and most of the time the stuff that was cut were minor, unimportant scenes or a few extra seconds of violence, sex, or whatever. Don't mean to sound like a know-it-all or anything, but that's what I've come to see it as.

Anyway, back on topic. I would also have liked to see the Thames chase from TWINE pushed back to after the credits, just to see how it might've looked. Additionally, they must have shot some more scenes that dealt with Renard's unfeeling nature, so it'd be nice to explore that a bit more. Also, I would have wanted to see a version of TND with the song Surrender on the main credits instead. Didn't they also shoot a scene for GE where Bond and Trevelyan kill two soldiers playing chess while making their way through the dam? I can bet you any money that some sort of Director's Cut will be released on DVD when they come out again in a few years.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Double-Oh-Zero

Well, it's just that if you watch some deleted scenes on DVDs, the director will often say something on the commentary like: "Well, we dropped this scene because of pacing, or it didn't fit in right, etc." ... Don't mean to sound like a know-it-all or anything, but that's what I've come to see it as.  

Fair enough. You make valid points.

Originally posted by Double-Oh-Zero

I can bet you any money that some sort of Director's Cut will be released on DVD when they come out again in a few years.  

I really hope so. They could give us new DVD versions of films like GOLDENEYE and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, and they'd sell like hot cakes (being Bond), but they wouldn't be playing around with established classics (I mean, you'd need some very good reasons to re-edit FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE or THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, although, admittedly, a revised version of one of the more famous, "golden oldie" Bond flicks might create more interest than LICENCE TO KILL: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT).

[Turn]

If you are going to do director's cuts, there's something else I'd do. Revamp a few of the features. I know it all comes down to access rights, but there are a number of things I'd like to see if they were available. The first thing I'd do is take off the documentaries on Fleming, Cubby, etc. and move those all to a special compilation disc. Those are decent, but most go by all too fast.

But with those out of the way, they would have more room for the "holy grail" documentaries: The TWSLM making-of thing; the YOLT Wicker's World episode and the special Welcome To Japan Mr. Bond; The Incredible World of 007 that was on the TB laser disc; Happy Anniversary 007, which was out around the time of OP; and the anniversary documentary that came out around the time of TLD to name a few.

[ChandlerBing]

In the very special edition of Dr. No, Professor Dent will shoot first.

[Qwerty]

Originally posted by ChandlerBing
In the very special edition of Dr. No, Professor Dent will shoot first.

HA HA! That would certainly be special, in a good way, you tell me. Of course we could have FRWL, with Bond opening the suitcase under Q's supervison and KABOOM! The movie is over.

[[dark]]

Little off-topic, but is it likely/possible that future DVDs will feature re-edited documentaries? For instance, adding segments on Die Another Day and Bond 21, to the series-covered docos, i.e. The Men Behind the Mayhem, Designing Bond: Peter Lamont, 00-Stuntman, etc.

The problem with these amazing documentaries is that every few years, they're out-of-date. It'd be fantastic if they updated them every few years. Dragging poor Patrick Macnee out would be the only tough bit, I'd say.

[TGO]

Well, since enough time has passed, I would like to see John Cork-produced docs of GE, TND, and TWINE.