More older flicks re-emerge in flashy disc boxes
By Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Today's DVD class assignment: Define the differences between "Director's Cut," "Extended Cut" and "Totally Awesome Edition."
Answer: None. At least this week, when the terms are applied to films that have been previously issued on DVD — two of them twice — that are differently composed from the versions shown in theaters and on earlier DVDs. That, of course, is not always the case. "Special Edition" or "Collector's Edition" or "Deluxe Edition" generally reflects that supplements, often an entire disc, have been added.
The addition of joke descriptions a la the "Totally Awesome Edition" of the 1998 comedy "The Wedding Singer" (New Line) starring the charming Adam Sandler (as opposed to the unbearably annoying Sandler of "Little Nicky") usually refers to new add-ons. In this case, it's an 11-minute documentary about the upcoming Broadway musical adaptation, and a feature called " '80s Mix Tape" that provides info about the 1980s songs on the soundtrack and directs you to the scenes where the songs are used.
This is a different cut of the film, three minutes longer as a result of reinserting a scene cut from the original and extending others. Even though the film is no longer rated, there's no Drew Barrymore peek-a-boo or sex stuff; the film remains as sweet as ever.
By contrast, "the extended cut" of 2000's "The Patriot" (Columbia-Tri-Star) — starring Mel Gibson as farmer-turned-fighter in the Revolutionary War and the young Heath Ledger as his son — has been rendered tougher by the 10 minutes that have been restored. The only scene that was originally cut to secure a PG-rating is one in which Gibson's children watch corpses floating down a river.
Most of the rest of the added material, which was included in the outtakes section of the previous "Special Edition," deepens the politics in the British obsession with catching the rebellious Ghost.
"The Director's Cut" of John Woo's " Windtalkers" (MGM), the 2002 war film starring Nicolas Cage as a sergeant protecting a Navajo (Adam Beach) who knows the U.S. secret code at the Battle of Saipan in World War II, is a single-disc reissue of a 20-minute cut far preferred by Woo. The director's cut was part of an earlier 3-DVD set that also included the theatrical version. Woo's version is obviously better, strengthening the relationship while making the battle scenes more realistic — i.e., bloodier.
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1946's "Ziegfeld Follies" is a star-studded revue (Garland, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Fanny Brice, Lucille Ball) with William Powell producing a show from heaven.
"Till the Clouds Roll By," also from 1946, is a sentimentalized bio of songwriter Jerome Kern, while 1955's "It's Always Fair Weather" with Gene Kelly is an inferior attempt to revisit the breezy G.I.s-on-leave formula. "Three Little Words," from 1950, is another derivative bio, of popular songwriters Bert Kalmer and Harry Ruby, but the casting of Fred Astaire and Red Skelton makes for good fun. Great extras abound.
