Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

And on the same vain, I would have ditched the modern sound track used in Moulin Rouge (2001) blew!




I think a huge part of the appeal of Moulin Rouge is the use of contemporary music in a period setting.

I would take out all the dialogue and narration in The Thin Red Line. Actually a buddy of mine tried watching it with the sound off and some great theme music playing instead, but he said it didnt help. Ok, so I would change them hiring Terrence Malick, that's what I'd change about that movie! I didn't like it.

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

I know! I'd remove the ear splitting intro music that plays when you first pop in a DVD:mad:

I always rip DVDs and watch them through my digital library instead of directly. It's a lot more convenient, much better playback controls, and I don't have to be annoyed at any mandatory no-skip content.

I actually watched a DVD directly the other day for the first time in like a year, I forgot how annoying it is.

The main reason I started this is because I can crop out content, I now have a massive collection of falls, jumps, foot chases, car chases and fight scenes. For whenever I want to create one of those in my own films I have all the reference material a director could want.

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

I would have replaced Mos Def in The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy as well as the rest of the cast with the exception of the guy out of the original The Office. And the directors Hammer & Tongs (gotta be the stupidest name for a couple of directors ever) That would have made the absolute car wreck of the film better in my opinion.

I don't understand this paragraph...

I've never seen a critic say "I could have improved this film and here's how." Criticism does have an air of pomp to it, but I still think odd to retroactively change someone's work. The difference between this as criticism is critics judge the work as presented to them and this thread is about "I can do better." I don't know any critics who say "I can do better."

That said, I'm still in favor of fan edits and, yes, I know this is contradictory to my point, but no one read my first post in this thread... :(

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

There is nothing unreasonable about having this discussion in this context.

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

Siskel & Ebert always used to say on their show "It would have been better if they had... "

I'm saying that I agree with you that directors work under constraints, so there are things that may be more obvious to those outside of those constraints. This includes viewers, critics, and even the filmmakers once they're done with the film. It's not a knock on them, nor a compliment to us, really. It just means that we have the advantages of time and hindsight, and lack the disadvantages of schedule and budget. It's not saying any of us could do better in total, under those constraints. It's saying some of us might have a better idea in one specific area, without any constraints.

Suggestions certainly can be presumptuous, if they take the form of "Why didn't they just do X?!" rather than "I think, in retrospect, they should have done X." But so far it looks like most of the suggestions have appropriately taken the latter form.

Not in those words, but lots of reviews contain suggestions about what could be done differently. I guess I can try to find examples, but I feel like this is pretty common.

Anyway, I think there's a pretty minor difference between "I would do this to make it better" and the more general "this should have been done better."

I did see your post, but since you admitted it was a contradiction I didn't see the point in belaboring it. But I think the contradiction can be reconciled by drawing a distinction between suggesting changes after the fact, and pretending they were obvious, or that we could have done better under the same constraints.

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

I would make all watered down PG-13 films like World War Z and Expendables 3 the R they should have been in the first place. There by giving the film they should have shown in the theater, and none of this "Unrated Cut" DVD double dip BS.

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

Bogart and Bergman in The African Queen might have come off as a way to cash in on their success in Casablanca, thinking that lightening would strike twice. The casting of Hepburn gave a little integrity to the piece and a little less exploitative than if Bergman had done the role. I think people would have spent the whole movie comparing it to Casablanca, which wouldn't have been fair to The African Queen.

This most recently cropped up with X-Men: Days of Future Past. Magneto claims that he didn't assassinate Kennedy, but tried to save him because he was a mutant. I personally find the alternative far more compelling: Magneto using the "Magic Bullet" to assassinate the man that tried to kill him and his team durig the Cuban Missile Crisis and who, by proxy, is a threat to the lives of mutants everywhere.

The Bent Bullet: JFK and the Mutant Conspiracy - X-Men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByCY2UYLHG8

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

First thing that came to mind for this topic was recast Daredevil with Matt Damon. I know we were all thinking it when watching the film especially. Funny enough, I'm actually looking forward to Ben Affleck's portrayal of Batman.

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

Something I always think about when watching the first X-Men movies... is their height.

Cyclops should be Wolverine's height. Wolverine should be Storm's height (if not shorter). Storm should be Jean's height. And Jean should be Cyclops' height.

I know, I'm weird, but it would be more faithful to the comics.

Yes that is very strange.
As a casting director your #1 priority should not be the height of an actor. Most people can't even tell how tall someone is on film anyway.

Two of the most common reactions on seeing a star in person
You're way shorter than I thought you were!
You're so much taller than I thought you would be!

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

If I remember correctly, Wolverine's supposed to be 5'2". Hugh Jackman is perfect for the role, however, so I don't really think his height is that much of an issue.

Also, gbgoodies, that video is awesome.

I would have jar jar binks die from the shock in his tongue from the podracer in the Phamtom Menance... if this actually happened in the film then I would have way less wrinkles on my face.

Re: How would you change certain movies?
 

The casting of Ben Affleck was just scratching the surface of the problems with Daredevil

Or better yet, have Quigon Jinn let the Trade Federation tank run him over in his first scene.