That Thing You Do! Director's Cut question (1 Viewer)

[Harold Wazzu]

At least they didn't give it some corny name...

 

[GlennH]

That Thing You Do! "I Am Spartacus" Edition.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Enjoy!

 

[Radioman970]

The #1 with a bullet edition.

 

[ScottR]

So, the title song music video isn't included? Was it on the last release?

 

[James Luckard]

The original DVD has 2 music videos, "That Thing You Do" and "Dance With Me Tonight." Both are "live" performances at one of the state fairs.

The VHS had an alternate music video for "That Thing You Do" with clips from the film, including loads of deleted scenes. I remember shots from a deleted subplot in which Ethan Embry's character was dating one of the The Chantrellines. I sold the VHS a few years ago, so I can't check it, unfortunately.

 

[ScottR]

James, the original cut is on the new dvd.

 

[James Luckard]

Oops, my mistake, didn't read the description properly.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

My review's now up for this cut of the film. I thought I'd include a detailed list of the changes, helpfully placed in a spoiler spot!


3:52-8:34 - Guy drives home from work and runs into an irritated Tina; they then go back to his place to make out and talk about their relationship and the future;

9:15-10:15 - Guy tells Faye he dinged her bumper;

11:27-12:25 - Guy talks with his dad about moving the store;

12:58-13:20 - Aftermath of Chad’s injury;

15:41-17:28 - Tina at the dentist’s office and the guys start their rehearsal;

25:45-27:03 - Rehearsals and Guy flirts with Faye;

32:47-33:12 - Jimmy pushes to record a second song;

35:17-38:03 - Someone shoots off fire extinguisher during concert and starts a riot; we also see Guy’s family read about this in the paper;

41:07-43:48 - After the band signs with Phil, and Tina goes back to the dentist; the band waits to hear their song on the radio;

46:58-47:07 – A little more of Guy and Tina on the phone;

48:16-56:35 - A little more of Guy after the call, and Phil stops by to see him with a gig; we see the band arrive at the show and settle in at the venue; they also meet Boss Vic Koss and Guy chats with Faye;

59:17-59:20 – Brief shot of Koss;

1:05:05-1:06:00 - Guys tries to call Tina but she’s golfing with her dentist;

1:06:35-1:06:50 – TBP tries to meet the Chantrellines;

1:10:47-1:13:20 - Tina hears “That Thing” on the radio at the dentist’s office; Longer “rising up the charts” montage;

1:13:45-1:14:10 - Chad gets the job at Patterson’s;

1:18:46-1:19:23 - Faye discusses Guy’s relationship with Tina with Mr. White and we see Tina with the dentist;

1:26:20-1:26:32 – Mr. White asks about Faye’s illness;

1:30:02-1:30:19 – Faye sick at the hotel;

1:31:57-1:32:30 - More at the jazz radio station;

1:33:28-1:34:10 – Sol tells a story about how he “discovered” the band;

1:34:50-1:35:55 - More of Lenny and Kitty, and Sol shows how to make a sandwich;

1:44:40-1:47:43 - Margueritte drives a drunk Guy back to the hotel; Mr. White tells Guy that the band got a TV job;

1:49:38-1:50:43 - TV show rehearsals;

1:52:05-1:53:53 - Faye arrives at the studio, Jimmy pesters Mr. White before the show, and other preparations for the show;

2:00:25-2:00:45 – More of the after-show party;

2:02:52-2:03:20 – More of Faye’s breakup with Jimmy;

2:11:45-2:14:48 - Guy calls the jazz DJ to tell him about his jam session with Del Paxton and he gets a job offer; Guy interviews Paxton; Faye starts to leave the hotel but Lamarr detains her;

2:15:29-2:16:23 – The start of the diner chat between Guy and Faye.

Some of these sequences include footage already in the final cut; these pop in and out of some new pieces. We get a few very short extensions that were too brief to mention, such as an extra second when TBP announces his enlistment in the Marines.

We also find a few altered lines. For instance, during the extended cut, when Tina tells Guy she’ll spend all day at the dentist’s office, he states “That sounds like H-E-double-toothpicks”. In the theatrical edition, he says “you’re going to miss 2000 screaming fans going crazy for yours truly”.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Colin: Well done! Very thorough. You have thoroughly whetted my appetite for this (though, admittedly, I was already yearning for Tuesday to get here). I can understand completely from your comments how the extended cut might just get an occasional view. I enjoy the original cut so much and your description makes it clear that the new footage really doesn't add much to the exposition of the film's plot. But, I'll need to see for myself. Thanks!

No commentary, eh? I thought one was expected.

EDIT**. The amazon listing does call for a commentary as well as DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio tracks. They're not there either? :frowning:

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Thanks for the nice comments! I actually ran the theatrical DVD on a separate player while I watched the extended cut so I could get all the new moments. Didn't need this for Big, since I know that film much better, though I'm sure I wouldn't have noticed the changed dialogue without that direct comparison - I rarely memorize lines well enough to detect changes.

No, there's no commentary. Not sure if Fox ever actually announced one, but it ain't there. Hanks doesn't participate in any of the new extras either - all the modern interviews come from various actors, but Hanks remains oddly absent.

In a VERY weird mistake, the DVD case to Big claims it includes a Penny Marshall commentary, but none appears. Quality control? Who needs it?

 

[Mike Frezon]

I dunno. Just looking at that listing at amazon (in which the five actors are named for taking part in the commentary track) makes me seem it was planned, recorded, and announced. Too bad.

And no DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1? :frowning:

 

[Matt Lucas]

Wow. What a disappointment. And I was SO looking forward to this release...mostly for the commentary. I rarely listen to commentary tracks [at least, I rarely listen to the *entire* commentary track from most films...], but I couldn't wait to hear this one. Steve Zahn is hilarious, so I figured it would be a riot.

I'll probably still buy the new version, but I'll likely wait a bit before I buy it. Oh well.

Thanks for the review, Colin!

mattl

 

[GlennH]

From Colin's review:A few interesting revelations appear. For one, Mr. White is gay, and for another, TBP bangs his Chantrelline girlfriend early in their relationship.
I don't think either of those really fit the mood or style of the film or characters. Sounds like they were good cuts to make.

My enthusiasm for this release has waned. But I still may pick it up at some point for the extras and to view the extended version at least once, although I'm pretty sure the theatrical version is what I'l stay with for future viewings, based on the changes described.

A better, if still not great, transfer is also a positive. I wonder (one-der?) why they can't seem to get better video quality for this movie. Maybe Blu-ray some day.

 

[Mike_Richardson]

The case I have says Deleted Scenes with Marshall commentary, not a Marshall commentary on the movie itself.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Look at the top of the back cover for a sentence starting with "Featuring a wish-list..." - that's where it mentions a Marshall commentary. It's not listed in the "Special Features" area in red...

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I was impressed that one featurette shows Tom Everett Scott, Jonathan Schaech, Ethan Embry and Charlize Theron all chatting together - especially since Theron has become such a big star and I didn't expect to find her here - but Zahn isn't with them. If they recorded a commentary, it didn't make the cut. Who knows - that might be a good thing, since maybe it was a bore.

I still think it's really weird that Hanks doesn't participate in any of the new interviews...

 

[Colin Jacobson]

DD 5.0 just like the prior DVD - sounds good!

 

[Mike_Richardson]

Gotcha. But it's not listed in the Special Features area, which is where you'd anticipate the mistake being made. Perhaps someone scribbling out the back jacket cover just wasn't paying attention to what was on the disc!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Colin: Thanks for all the info/time on this subject.

And, I agree with GlennH about both those revelations from your review. Both took me rather by surprise. I agree they add little to the effort and were likely wisely removed. I, too, am thinking all this extra footage may not be as great as I originally thought. But I am definitely willing to give it a try!

A man in a really nice camper wants to put our song on the radio!