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Reindeer Games: Director's Cut
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Reindeer Games" is an oddball thriller from "Ronin" director John Frankenheimer. Overly twisty and silly at times, the film seems too satisfyed with the dialogue between the characters to worry about pace or providing any sort of thrills. Of the film's many problems, story is pretty much at the top. Belivability is strained, and I began to lose patience with the film quickly.
The film opens with Rudy Duncan(Ben Affleck) and his friend Nick waiting to be released from prison. Rudy is essentially walking out into nothing, but Nick has Ashley(Charleze Theron) waiting for him - a girl he's been having a pen pal thing with in prison. Before they're released, the two get into a fight and Nick is killed. When Rudy walks out and sees Ashley waiting there, he decides to become Nick.
I don't think I'd be revealing anything that's not in the trailer already by saying that Ashley's brother Gabriel( Gary Sinese, looking more like Steve Buscemi) stops by and things become less jolly in this holiday thriller. See, Nick told Ashley that he used to work in an major casino, and they think Rudy is Nick, and...well, you get the idea.
The screenplay by Ehren Kruger("Arlington Road") is essentially way too talky. That would be fine if the dialogue or story was the least bit interesting, but with the dull plot and slow pace, it makes for an awful long journey. He's the guy the're looking for, he's not the guy they're looking for. Sinse wants to kill him, he doesn't want to kill him, and on and on. The film could have made something entertaining out of the fact that Rudy has to rob a casino he knows nothing about, but the film takes the plot so absurdly seriously that it's no fun.
Affleck isn't too bad here, but I'm clueless as to why Theron accepted this role. This is a weakly written character with one too many mood changes and the actress seems out of place and deserves better. Affleck does what he can with the role, sometimes adding much needed comic relief to the otherwise dark proceedings. Sinise has previously shown himself to be a fine actor, but the combination of "Snake Eyes", "Mission To Mars" and this film is a fairly unfortunate trilogy.
"Reindeer Games" is one of those films where you want less talk and more action, more movement, at least. The performances aren't bad, but the story is slow and it's not intense enough to be much of an action film. Maybe if it wouldn't take itself so seriously it would be more entertaining, but oh well.
This director's cut does restore about 19 minutes worth of scenes into the movie (from 105 to 124), while still keeping the film with an R-rating. In the commentary, Frankenheimer explains that the testing process did not go as well as he expected and scenes were requested to go. Scenes are usually slightly extended, such as Affleck originally finding out about Theron's character in the prison, their original meeting, the sex scene, different version with when Affleck meets the bad guys, shopping, and several other small and medium changes.
I'm still not a fan of the film, but this addition of about 19 minutes does add to the picture, and not in simply the way of adding running time - but it still doesn't add or change enough to win me over on the film.
The DVD
VIDEO: Although I don't have the original version to compare with, this new director's cut doesn't look much different to me than the original version did. Presented in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and anamorphic, sharpness and detail are generally very good. Only a few darker scenes seemed slightly murky.
A couple of slight flaws did appear in the form of some minor edge enhancement and pixelation, although neither of these problems became too irritating, or even that distracting. I was pleased to see that there are hardly any print flaws visible - just a speckle or two.
The film's drab color palette of course remains here, and the majority of the film intentionally has a rather dark look to it - of course, it's not exactly a happy, bright picture. Some of the scenes do have slightly brighter colors, but these instances are fairly rare.
SOUND: I'd expected more intensity from the film and I suppose the sound goes along with that expectation as well. The early portion of the film really doesn't have too much to offer, with the sound mostly coming from the front, with the occasional light surround use.
The music does remain a constantly pleasant element, sounding clear and dynamic throughout. Once the film does get to about the halfway point, both the soundtrack and the movie begin to wake up a little more. Gunfire, car chases and a few more agressive sequences make for a more lively experience. Although it becomes more agressive, it certainly isn't anything too remarkable. It certainly doesn't compare to Affleck's "Armageddon" in the audio department.
There's a few good audio sequences, but for the most part, this is simply very talky - dialogue-driven for much of the way. Dialogue is clear and easily heard. Not bad, but don't go in expecting an all-out action soundtrack.
MENUS: Menus are pretty basic, again using images from the film but with a "director's cut" title addition on the front menu.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director John Frankenheimer, who also gave a commentary for the original DVD release. I'm not completely sure since I don't have the original for comparison, but this commentary seems like new comments pertaining to the director's cut version (and there are a great deal of comments about it) were edited in with some comments from the original track. Still, the new information added here is quite entertaining and informative, especially some of the talk about Frankenheimer's opinions on the testing process that really begins to take us into the pressure and nerves involved in such discussions. Also interesting is that both this film and his last film "Ronin" scored the same in the preview process, but that studio was happy to get those numbers versus the opinion of those scores for this film - although the cuts were made by Frankenheimer's decision, not forced by the studio. We also hear from the director on what he would have done differently had he been able to do the final production process of the film over again (which, I suppose, in a way, he's doing here offering the director's edition).
The director does a fine job leading us through the differences both major and minor throughout this director's cut edition, as well as his opinions about the differences between the two editions. It's a good commentary worth listening to as we learn the details on why these scenes were cut and what's involved in the different versions of the film.
Original Theatrical Cut Scenes: 8 scenes played as they originally appeared so that the viewer can compare them to the director's cut (this set of scenes are only in Dolby 2.0, though) - "Oh, Ashley", "Sex Scene", "Welcome Home Nick", "Casino Shuffle", "First Time Robbers", "Cowboy and Indians", "The Chase Is On", "No More Games".
Trailer: The trailer, presented in Dolby 2.0/Full-Frame, which makes the film look like more action-oriented than it is.
Featurette: This is a short featurette that has some interviews and a lot of on-set footage. It's a pretty interesting little documentary, and better than the "extended trailer" featurettes that Disney usually offers on their DVDs.
Final Thoughts: If you're a fan of the film, you might find the new 19 minutes added back into the film interesting, but they didn't really do anything more me. Personally, I found Frankhenheimer's discussion of the differences and the testing process on the commentary track more interesting. Audio/video quality is fine, and although I don't have the original to compare to, I thought both releases seemed to look and sound pretty similar.
"Reindeer Games" is an oddball thriller from "Ronin" director John Frankenheimer. Overly twisty and silly at times, the film seems too satisfyed with the dialogue between the characters to worry about pace or providing any sort of thrills. Of the film's many problems, story is pretty much at the top. Belivability is strained, and I began to lose patience with the film quickly.
The film opens with Rudy Duncan(Ben Affleck) and his friend Nick waiting to be released from prison. Rudy is essentially walking out into nothing, but Nick has Ashley(Charleze Theron) waiting for him - a girl he's been having a pen pal thing with in prison. Before they're released, the two get into a fight and Nick is killed. When Rudy walks out and sees Ashley waiting there, he decides to become Nick.
I don't think I'd be revealing anything that's not in the trailer already by saying that Ashley's brother Gabriel( Gary Sinese, looking more like Steve Buscemi) stops by and things become less jolly in this holiday thriller. See, Nick told Ashley that he used to work in an major casino, and they think Rudy is Nick, and...well, you get the idea.
The screenplay by Ehren Kruger("Arlington Road") is essentially way too talky. That would be fine if the dialogue or story was the least bit interesting, but with the dull plot and slow pace, it makes for an awful long journey. He's the guy the're looking for, he's not the guy they're looking for. Sinse wants to kill him, he doesn't want to kill him, and on and on. The film could have made something entertaining out of the fact that Rudy has to rob a casino he knows nothing about, but the film takes the plot so absurdly seriously that it's no fun.
Affleck isn't too bad here, but I'm clueless as to why Theron accepted this role. This is a weakly written character with one too many mood changes and the actress seems out of place and deserves better. Affleck does what he can with the role, sometimes adding much needed comic relief to the otherwise dark proceedings. Sinise has previously shown himself to be a fine actor, but the combination of "Snake Eyes", "Mission To Mars" and this film is a fairly unfortunate trilogy.
"Reindeer Games" is one of those films where you want less talk and more action, more movement, at least. The performances aren't bad, but the story is slow and it's not intense enough to be much of an action film. Maybe if it wouldn't take itself so seriously it would be more entertaining, but oh well.
This director's cut does restore about 19 minutes worth of scenes into the movie (from 105 to 124), while still keeping the film with an R-rating. In the commentary, Frankenheimer explains that the testing process did not go as well as he expected and scenes were requested to go. Scenes are usually slightly extended, such as Affleck originally finding out about Theron's character in the prison, their original meeting, the sex scene, different version with when Affleck meets the bad guys, shopping, and several other small and medium changes.
I'm still not a fan of the film, but this addition of about 19 minutes does add to the picture, and not in simply the way of adding running time - but it still doesn't add or change enough to win me over on the film.
The DVD
VIDEO: Although I don't have the original version to compare with, this new director's cut doesn't look much different to me than the original version did. Presented in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and anamorphic, sharpness and detail are generally very good. Only a few darker scenes seemed slightly murky.
A couple of slight flaws did appear in the form of some minor edge enhancement and pixelation, although neither of these problems became too irritating, or even that distracting. I was pleased to see that there are hardly any print flaws visible - just a speckle or two.
The film's drab color palette of course remains here, and the majority of the film intentionally has a rather dark look to it - of course, it's not exactly a happy, bright picture. Some of the scenes do have slightly brighter colors, but these instances are fairly rare.
SOUND: I'd expected more intensity from the film and I suppose the sound goes along with that expectation as well. The early portion of the film really doesn't have too much to offer, with the sound mostly coming from the front, with the occasional light surround use.
The music does remain a constantly pleasant element, sounding clear and dynamic throughout. Once the film does get to about the halfway point, both the soundtrack and the movie begin to wake up a little more. Gunfire, car chases and a few more agressive sequences make for a more lively experience. Although it becomes more agressive, it certainly isn't anything too remarkable. It certainly doesn't compare to Affleck's "Armageddon" in the audio department.
There's a few good audio sequences, but for the most part, this is simply very talky - dialogue-driven for much of the way. Dialogue is clear and easily heard. Not bad, but don't go in expecting an all-out action soundtrack.
MENUS: Menus are pretty basic, again using images from the film but with a "director's cut" title addition on the front menu.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director John Frankenheimer, who also gave a commentary for the original DVD release. I'm not completely sure since I don't have the original for comparison, but this commentary seems like new comments pertaining to the director's cut version (and there are a great deal of comments about it) were edited in with some comments from the original track. Still, the new information added here is quite entertaining and informative, especially some of the talk about Frankenheimer's opinions on the testing process that really begins to take us into the pressure and nerves involved in such discussions. Also interesting is that both this film and his last film "Ronin" scored the same in the preview process, but that studio was happy to get those numbers versus the opinion of those scores for this film - although the cuts were made by Frankenheimer's decision, not forced by the studio. We also hear from the director on what he would have done differently had he been able to do the final production process of the film over again (which, I suppose, in a way, he's doing here offering the director's edition).
The director does a fine job leading us through the differences both major and minor throughout this director's cut edition, as well as his opinions about the differences between the two editions. It's a good commentary worth listening to as we learn the details on why these scenes were cut and what's involved in the different versions of the film.
Original Theatrical Cut Scenes: 8 scenes played as they originally appeared so that the viewer can compare them to the director's cut (this set of scenes are only in Dolby 2.0, though) - "Oh, Ashley", "Sex Scene", "Welcome Home Nick", "Casino Shuffle", "First Time Robbers", "Cowboy and Indians", "The Chase Is On", "No More Games".
Trailer: The trailer, presented in Dolby 2.0/Full-Frame, which makes the film look like more action-oriented than it is.
Featurette: This is a short featurette that has some interviews and a lot of on-set footage. It's a pretty interesting little documentary, and better than the "extended trailer" featurettes that Disney usually offers on their DVDs.
Final Thoughts: If you're a fan of the film, you might find the new 19 minutes added back into the film interesting, but they didn't really do anything more me. Personally, I found Frankhenheimer's discussion of the differences and the testing process on the commentary track more interesting. Audio/video quality is fine, and although I don't have the original to compare to, I thought both releases seemed to look and sound pretty similar.
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