More often than not, the movies that end up being projected onto screens isn’t the fully the product of the director’s vision. But sometimes, directors are given a chance to return to their work and exercise full creative control. The final films can be slightly changed, or radically different. All this week at Mogwai, we’re going to take a look at these alternate takes, observing what a singular vision can do for a film.
JUNE 15 – MONDAY
8 PM – Dark City – Director’s Cut
Directed by Alex Proyas
Written by David Goyer, Lem Dobbs and Alex Proyas
A man wakes up with fragments of memories of a life he once lived; a life with a wife that he can’t remember. He seeks out the truth in a strange city where the sun never rises and a secret cabal controls everything around them. The Director’s Cut adds fifteen minutes of footage. There are only minor changes, but the overall effect is more mysterious and moody, in contrast to the more mainstream approach of the studio cut.
JUNE 16 – TUESDAY
8 PM – Southland Tales – Original Cannes Cut
Written and Directed by Richard Kelly
Here’s the story: Richard Kelly submitted a rough cut of Southland Tales to Cannes thinking that it wouldn’t get accepted. Much to his surprise, the film was placed in competition for the Palme d’Or. It was widely derided by critics and audiences, which led Kelly to re-edit it heavily before it got a release. This is the rare, original cut from Cannes, fifteen minutes longer and a lot stranger than the mainstream release. In all its glorious imperfection, this cut of Southland Tales is also a representation of the grand ambitions behind the film.
JUNE 17 – WEDNESDAY
8 PM – Payback: Straight Up
Written and Directed by Brian Helgeland
Based on the novel by Donald E. Westlake
Porter (Mel Gibson) is a crook that gets double crossed after a heist. But he survives the gunshots, and as soon he gets well enough to stand, he sets out to get his cut. Payback was meant to be a modern take on noir, complete with a shady anti-hero as capable of evil as the guys he’s chasing. But the studio deemed the movie too dark for modern audiences and had it reshot and recut. Straight Up restores Brian Helgeland’s original vision, resulting in a much darker, more difficult film.
JUNE 18 – THURSDAY
8 PM – Léon: the Professional – International Version
Written and Directed by Luc Besson
Léon (Jean Reno) is a hitman living a solitary life in Little Italy. But he soon finds himself having to care for Mathilda (Natalie Portman), a 12 year-old girl whose family was murdered. Mathilda urges him to teach her to kill so that she may exact her revenge. This International Version is 23 minutes longer, restoring many of the more uncomfortable scenes that were cut from the conventional release.
JUNE 19 – FRIDAY
8 PM – Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut
Directed by Richard Donner
Written by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman and Robert Benton
Based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
In 1980, Richard Donner was called upon to direct a sequel to his successful Superman film. But in the middle of production, he clashed with studio heads, who wanted the movie to be campier. Richard Lester replaced Donner, reshot over half of the movie, and the rest is history. But in 2006, Donner recut the movie using his original footage, creating a radically different movie that has a greater connection to the original Superman film.
JUNE 20 – SATURDAY
8 PM – Blade Runner – The Final Cut
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples
Based on the story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick
In 2019, Deckard (Harrison Ford), a retired Blade Runner, is asked to help out in a hunt for a group of escaped replicants. When people talk about Director’s Cuts, they cannot avoid talking about Blade Runner. There exists six different cuts of the film (seven, counting the cut-for-broadcast version), all released under various names in the years since the film premiered. The Final Cut is the only version of the film that director Ridley Scott had full creative control over, and is the most complete document of Scott’s original vision for the film.
