Last of the Mohicans R2 - NOT the director's cut?

[Chief Brody]

How does the recent UK release compare with the R1 director's cut? I actually PREFER the shorter version of the film (Michael Mann removed my favourite line - "Someday i think you and i will have a serious disagreement." from the director's cut) and if the R2 is not the d.c. i may be tempted to trade up. Anyone?:confused:

[Gromit]

I have the R1 release and it's a very good DVD but I think Mann was being a bit of a silly b***** - he could easily have released a DC and theatrical version with branching and pleased everybody who likes the film. I actually like the Clannad track but seeing it without I can appreciate the points he's getting at. The extended battle scene in DTS is quite cool though :)

[MartinN]

I watched it last night, and it's the normal version - which is good news as far as I'm concerned.

The problem is that the sound, possibly the best thing about the whole film, is terrible. There is just way to much activity from the sub woofer. Now I'm all for some kick ass bass but this was just TOO much. Spoilt the film for me.


:( :( :( :(

[Grumpy]

Its one of my favourite films and I was a bit disappointed with the picture quality of the R1 version but as the R2 is not the directors cut I'll be sticking with it.

[Henry]

Forgive my ignorance, but what are the differences between the original and the director's cut? I've only seen the latter.

[Gromit]

Originally posted by Henry
Forgive my ignorance, but what are the differences between the original and the director's cut? I've only seen the latter.

A couple of things:

No Clannad music :(
Extended battle scenes from the French front line as they bombard the fort
Extended speech at the very end about "the white man coming . . . "
There are some other subtle cuts (although I didn't particularly notice this for the most part) to Hawkeye's interaction with the party. Some sentences were cut - an instance is given earlier in the thread.

[Henry]

Thanks Gromit.

[cykedout]

A friend of mine who's getting the R2 version stated that one of the reasons that he's getting it is that there is also an independent music track, similar to "Enter the Dragon" and "Superman". It's not a major difference, but he likes the music and felt that itwould be easy to transfer to mini disc, if he wanted.


However, if the actual music is different, does it matter???

[cirrus888]

Originally posted by MartinN
The problem is that the sound, possibly the best thing about the whole film, is terrible. There is just way to much activity from the sub woofer. Now I'm all for some kick ass bass but this was just TOO much. Spoilt the film for me.


Call me stupid but have you tried lowering your sub?

[urruri]

Originally posted by Grumpy
Its one of my favourite films and I was a bit disappointed with the picture quality of the R1 version but as the R2 is not the directors cut I'll be sticking with it.





The picture quality of my region 1 is fine what's the problem with yours?

[Goldeneye]

YYYYEEESSS!!!!

Watched the R2 last night and loved every minute of it! Not as much as the missus mind you - favourite film for her, went to see it 6 times at the flicks when it came out.......... still, it takes all sorts!!;)

Had previously got the US Directors Cut but moved it on quickly when i saw the butchered job they had done with it. I know they "dumb" down for our US bretheren occasionally, but removing all the best lines from a popcorn movie is just going to far!!

I know what you mean about the bass, but i just turned the sub down a bit and wallowed in the glory of a great 2 hours entertainment.

[Richie]

I've always been a big fan of this film but never bothered to get the dvd!

I think I'm gonna go for the theatrical version as I really like the 'I will find you' Clannad sequence which is missing from the R1 director's cut. Have the US only ever had the 'director's cut' version on dvd?

Anyway, how does the UK R2 hold up (quality wise) a few years after release?
Also, does anyone know if this is one of the WB dvds now available in an amaray case?
cheers
Richie

[DVDwishes]

excellent film and completely underrated.

[Drpepper]

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=1393

R1 No cuts - But it's the Directors Cut and to best explain the differences we shall let Michael Mann tell you, taken from an interview between Amazon.com and the director Michael Mann

***spoilers are included***

What are some of the scenes that you most wanted to restore or re-edit?
Mann: For example, Chingachgook's [Russell Means] soliloquy at the end of the film [in which he eulogizes the end of a way of life for his people and the frontier] was removed, and that was a mistake. I wanted that back. This may be very personal and subjective to the filmmaker, but his line, "But once we were here," to me really is the heart of the movie. I also wanted to enhance the character of [British Major Duncan] Hayward [played by Steven Waddington], so that he became truly three-dimensional. Then his rejection by Cora and his sacrifice at the end mean more. I wanted to make him competent. That's why I restored [the sequence of] the infantry charge that he leads, which is a diversion when Hawkeye launches the courier.

What other scenes do you think benefit from this director's cut?

Mann: I prefer this cut of the massive assault on the fort. It's more stately. The theatrical cut intercuts both Hawkeye's group trying to get to the fort and the assault by the French. This doesn't. It's longer and larger.

Why did you remove [popular Irish group] Clannad from the soundtrack?

Mann: I think the music was taking some of the emotional power away [from the story] because it was a little too sentimental.

What is the end result of all these changes?

Mann: I took out four or five minutes and added eight minutes. The film's metric length won't indicate the effect. The reason to do these changes is to make the story much more profound. Some of these things have an exponential effect out of proportion to their length."