Stargate: SG1....recut remastered re-imagined? (1 Viewer)

[troy evans]

Stargate SG-1 DVD news: Announcement for Stargate SG-1 - Children of the Gods: The Final Cut | TVShowsOnDVD.com That sounds very interesting.

 

[Greg_S_H]

That's weird. I wouldn't be surprised if the nudity is removed. For now, as big a fan of the series as I am, I'm going to wait to see why I need this.

 

[troy evans]

Greg I completely agree with you. Still has me curious, though. What's different: visual effects, alternate takes, characters, etc, etc? Will this be the first in a complete series remaster and/or overhaul? Or, has something been changed in this particular pilot movie that will affect an upcoming feature film release? When it comes to SG:1 I anticipate great things. They haven't let me down yet.

 

[Arild]

I think it's been about a year now since Brad Wright first talked about the new version of "Children of the Gods" in an interview. Nice to finally have a real date for it.

IIRC, it was said that they went back to the original footage and re-cut the thing from scratch, using sometimes different takes, different editing, etc - as well as reportedly having the cast doing some new ADR and re-scoring it. While I believe there will be some added stuff, some stuff that wasn't so good was taken out (yes - Sha're's nude scene will be gone) and supposedly the running time will actually be shorter than the original cut.

Personally, I always thought the pilot could have been better so I am curious to see what this will be like.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I believe this is out now. Anyone get it? What's the verdict?

 

[Mark Talmadge]

I think this is a bad idea ... I don't about you guys, I prefer the original. Only reason they released this is because Brad Wright has been upset all this time that the first episode of the series contains nudity. So, what do they do? Let's add some deleted scenes into the episode and call it an original release. Why would I want two copies of the same episode?

 

[Arild]

Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge /forum/thread/287789/stargate-sg1-recut-remastered-re-imagined#post_3590799

 

[Greg_S_H]

Sounds good. Didn't Sam reference that line later in the series, though? Maybe it was in Moebius? I think it was used to make fun of the line. At any rate, I'm gonna get this DVD soon.

 

[kingfish]

Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge

I think this is a bad idea ... I don't about you guys, I prefer the original. Only reason they released this is because Brad Wright has been upset all this time that the first episode of the series contains nudity. So, what do they do? Let's add some deleted scenes into the episode and call it an original release. Why would I want two copies of the same episode?

I remember seeing the nudity. This was due to the fact that the series originally aired on Showtime.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

The Season 1 boxed set contains the original "nude" scene and that's the only one I need. I think it's despicable that Brad Wright would actually want to remove footage. You don't remove footage just to add other footage. I wouldn't watch the new version even if someone gave me a copy for free.

Maybe instead of getting all excited about the nude scene, he should just add the new footage without deleting any of the footage already in that episode.

 

[Greg_S_H]

You've never heard of director's cuts that remove footage put in at the insistence of the studio that the director never wanted? Once he gets more control, out the offending scene goes. It's hardly despicable in any case. As you've said, the original version is on DVD. Nobody has to buy this one or even take it if offered it for free.

 

[Arild]

Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge

I think it's despicable that Brad Wright would actually want to remove footage. You don't remove footage just to add other footage. I wouldn't watch the new version even if someone gave me a copy for free.

So you don't really know what you're talking about, then. And as I already tried to explain, he didn't "remove footage just to add other footage". He could have had it include everything that was ever shot if he wanted to, he chose to remove some footage (NOT just the nudity) because it would make for a better version. "More footage" doesn't always equal "better movie"! You don't have to like the new version or even watch it, but it seems to me you don't really even know what you're criticizing. "Despicable"? Give me a break.

BTW - for the record, the "nude scene" is still there. It's just been edited differently, the same way the entire movie has been, in this case resulting in less explicit shots. So don't try telling me that anything of importance to the plot has been lost by the editing in this scene - the only difference is that in this version they don't actually show the woman's breasts and pubes. FWIW, 99% of the fan complaints I've seen about this re-cut has been from people who didn't even notice the numerous differences between the two cuts that contributed to making the new version far more tight and well paced and overall just plain better, but were apparently deeply shocked that "OMG NOO THEY CUT OUT TEH BOOBIES!". If that is where your priorities lie, then you absolutely should pass on the new cut.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Oh, I can see it now ... Brad Wright is going to release director's cut releases of every single episode. It's not very intelligent to do this in the first place. This is just another effort to get fans to double dip ...

 

[smithb]

Interesting that this release is getting such outrage. Usually when a director's cut comes out it gets the royal treatment by fans or just flat out ignored by those not interested. Take Blade Runner for example.

I'm just curious Mark, based on your comments you have not seen the episode so why comment on it at all? It would be easier to try to understand your disdain for this release if you had actually seen it and provided commentary on why it is not as good as the original. But to show such contempt without ever seeing it makes no sense, and if you don't want to see it, that is fine but just don't expect people to take such comments seriously.

As mentioned before, there are many times director's cuts actually remove or shorten scenes when putting in new scenes to create a tighter story or to alleviate conflicts between scenes. Personally, based on the style of the rest of the shows the first episode does feel a little out of place with the nudity. I'm not adverse to it, shows like Rome have plenty of nudity and violence but it is consistent with the style throughout. Where in Stargate it feels out of place after you get a feel for the series as it continues.

 

[Arild]

Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge

Oh, I can see it now ... Brad Wright is going to release director's cut releases of every single episode. It's not very intelligent to do this in the first place. This is just another effort to get fans to double dip ...

Uh, sure. The new cut of Children of the Gods has been in the works for about a year and a half, so if your guess is correct instead of hilariously absurd then I estimate we should have a complete collection of SG-1 "final cuts" in about 160 years. Can't wait!

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Well, like I said, I have every season set of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis (Season 5, just ordered from Amazon for $22). I have no need to double dip for this Director's Cut. Perhaps, if Brad Wright had done it right the first time then there wouldn't be any need for this new release.

If you ask me, MGM should give a copy of that away for free to everyone who bought the season sets.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge

Perhaps, if Brad Wright had done it right the first time then there wouldn't be any need for this new release.

As has already been explained in this thread, Showtime requested the nudity. Wright *never* wanted it in the movie.

FWIW, I viewed the "Final Cut" this morning and thought it was a *huge* improvement over the original version of the pilot. Practically all of the "Gate Effects" have been re-done. The "puddles" now look more like they did in the latter seasons. There are new matte paintings in strategic locations. There are more ships in the final battle. A few of the scenes have been re-ordered (for clarity) and different takes have been used in various scenes. (Wright explained on the commentary track that the film stock used on one of the cameras for a major location shoot exhibited a scratch down the middle of the frame. None of the takes filmed by that camera on that day could be used in the original pilot. Now they can be since the scratch can easily be removed digitally.) Finally, the A/V quality is a *huge* improvement over the pilot as presented on the Season 1 set. That transfer appeared extremely grainy and provided just a DD 2.0 surround track. The "Final Cut" video now looks pristine and the provided audio is DD 5.1.

As a Stargate fan I'm extremely happy to have the "Final Cut" in my collection.

 

[smithb]

Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge

Perhaps, if Brad Wright had done it right the first time then there wouldn't be any need for this new release.

If you ask me, MGM should give a copy of that away for free to everyone who bought the season sets.

That could be said for every director's cut that has every been released. So you must feel the same disdain for every director that has ever released one. In addition, I would suspect you wouldn't have any director's cuts of any kind in your collection feeling that it should be given free to anyone that has the original release, and I have yet to see this happen.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

No, it's not that.

I have nothing but total disrespect for every director and every studio who releases a director's cut edition of a movie after having previously released the movie just months or years before.

When DVD's were originally released, it was seen by many entertainment fans as a new video media that would allow director's and studios to re-incorporate deleted scenes and other material back into the movie so that movie fans could enjoy the entire video. Unfortunately, the directors and studios saw the DVD media as a way to force consumers to "double dip," forcing fans to buy two copies of the same movie.

That's the reason why I have a lack of respect when they do something like this.

 

[Arild]

Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge

I have nothing but total disrespect for every director and every studio who releases a director's cut edition of a movie after having previously released the movie just months or years before.

And how does this apply here, when the new cut was made twelve years later?? Clearly, they didn't plan to create this new cut when the original cut was first made available. So are we to understand it was wrong of them to release this cut on DVD at all simply because the old version already exists on DVD?