What's the point? We never used to have them. You went to a movie (which only used to cost $5), ordered some popcorn and a soda (which didn't cost a week's salary), sat, watched, and that was that. But with the invention of DVD's, we now see everything that wasn't good enough to make it into the actual film in the first place. Yes, it's easy to think, "Those movie guys are so nice. They took the time to create a whole new ending for my personal enjoyment." Not so much. They just took the ending that test audiences thought was horrible, slapped it on the DVD and called it an alternate ending.
Case in point: I Am Legend. If you haven't seen it, don't worry. I'm not going to give anything away, so read on. I watched the film one weekend, thought it was great, and then watched it again the very next weekend with different people. But the second time we had the "limited edition, two disk special, with alternate ending" (marketing scam), so we decided to watch the one with the alternate ending. I must admit, I wanted to see the alternate ending. It peaked my curiosity (probably because they did such a good job marketing it as this whole separate entity, as if it was an entirely new film. I'll tell ya...those movie guys know what they're doing).
Anyway, we got into a huge discussion afterwards as to which one was the better ending, which is what sparked this blog. Not only do we have the actual film to talk about and discuss, but these days we have alternate endings, added scenes, so on and so forth. When is too much, too much? I personally liked the original ending the best. In my opinion, there is a reason why it made the film. In all reality, I really don't care, but I didn't have anything else to blog about. If you saw the film, let me know which ending you liked best.
3 comments:
i have yet to see the film but we had this conversation coming home from Philly last night and everyone in the car was in agreement that watching the alternate ending makes the movie terrible. i dont get it. if you make a film, you should have a beginning, a middle and an end. one end. one story. period. make up your mind and stick to it. maybe we should film an alternate ending to Until Death. What you think?
FWIW, I'm one of those people who watches all the special features on every DVD, though, and honestly, most of it isn't worth my time. I haven't seen I Am Legend yet, but alternate endings don't seem that uncommon anymore. The first alternate ending I can remember seeing on a DVD was the director's cut of The Butterfly Effect.
It seems like an excuse the studios are employing, to put more filler on a disc, but without lowering the price. Some of it is interesting, though. I dig most behind-the-scenes mini-documentaries. And sometimes, just sometimes, that "what ending did you like better?" conversation can be rewarding.
Does this post had an alternate ending?
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