Comments | freakylynx: Legend: Director's Cut vs Theatrical Release

freakylynx

Legend: Director's Cut vs Theatrical Release

Nov 17, 2008 09:39

I watched the director's cut of Legend last night, overall opinion - not as good as the theatrical release. The biggest noticeable change is the soundtrack; the eighties sounding Tangerine Dream did the theatrical while Jerry Goldsmith did the original soundtrack which ended up as the music for the European release and director's cut ( Read more... )

review, movies

Comments 8

sabotlours November 18 2008, 02:19:13 UTC

We just watched the director's cut of "The 40-year old Virgin" the other night. I kept waiting for the damn thing to end. Romantic comedies like that should not be longer than 90 minutes. There was no reason why it should have clocked in at over 2 hours. Leave some on the floor!

freakylynx November 18 2008, 04:44:18 UTC

The only movies I liked adding a ton of extra minutes to was the LoTR trilogy. I can't think of anything else... except maybe the original Dune, where adding actually improved the final product.

foxymoonheart November 18 2008, 03:13:49 UTC

Wait wait... they rereleased Legend with a brand new soundtrack? Why?! I remember loving the movie as a kid (I was really into unicorns), and Tangerine Dream's music for that film is something that still stands out in my mind today. Kudos about that one good extended scene, but why they changed the soundtrack is anyone's guess....

freakylynx November 18 2008, 04:43:08 UTC

Not... exactly brand new. Apparently it was the original soundtrack that went with the European release. When they released it in the US they decided to change the soundtrack and edit it a bit, which I think ended up improving the movie. You watch some of those extended scenes you feel like it loses some focus, also the dreamlike quality gets diminished; as I said, the only extended scene worth seeing is with Meg.

foxymoonheart November 18 2008, 14:09:32 UTC

Ok, that makes a bit more sense, thanks for clarifying. I'll probably skip on the director's cut, and find a copy of the theatrical release someday.

freakylynx November 18 2008, 14:29:02 UTC

You should consider looking for it soon, sometimes the regular version becomes difficult to find when they release a new version. It shouldn't cost too much at this point, probably in the $6 range - and next friday might be even cheaper if it falls under the Black Friday discount :P

What's interesting is when I looked up the soundtracks for the movie, it mentioned that the Tangerine Dream version has become harder to find - and then I checked out Amazon and it showed the same thing :/

euro cut anonymous June 19 2011, 06:10:19 UTC

I grew up with the European theatrical cut so I am used to the score and the movie in a totally different context, In my opinion the US theatrical version is pretty cheesy with its electronic music and pop song over the end credits, plus revealing Darkness near the beginning of the movie lessens the impact when he comes through the mirror later, which is one of the greatest character reveals ever, and in that scene in the US version he is shown with bright blue light and fluro finger nails and eyes, which instantly dates the movie into the 80's, while the euro version and DC remain free from the look of any particular decade.just my opinion.

anonymous December 27 2013, 16:55:28 UTC

"Jerry Goldsmith by contrast, an enjoyable yet forgettable soundtrack. More typical of a fantasy film, especially of that time, yet doesn't stand out at all."
Funny that you'd write that, i think it's the total opposite.
Jerry Goldsmith's version stands the test of time while TD's is typical 80s synth crap. Also, they changed the soundtrack because they butchered the movie's cut for the US theatrical release...not sure why they did, maybe they thought in the US you need more action.