#104
Post
by Lighthouse » Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:07 am
I'm most likely in the minority by preferring the Seydor cut of PG&BtK to the so-called Turner version.
The 2 biggest mistakes Seydor made was to restore the theatrical credits, instead of using the preview credits, and not to return for the end credits to the 1909 framing shots, which are there to close the circle. And the whole film is in it's episodical structure about circles.
These are the 2 decisions nobody else would have done besides Seydor.
His best decisions were the earlier presenting of the raft scene in the film's narrative and the including of the Knocking on Heaven's door lyrics, both like it was done in the 73 cut.
All the other changes are debatable for me.
I also think that some of the violence wasn't cut in the way Peckinpah has done this before. But Seydor hasn't tried to change it. An example is the Billy and Alias shooting of Chisum's men after the turkey chase. Here several slo mo shots are presented as a whole, whereas Peckinpah had them mostly (always?) intercut with other shots.
I had seen for many years only the theatrical version, and it was always Peckinpah's second masterpiece for me. Due to it's episodical structure the film wasn't as damaged as Major Dundee (still is) and the shorter versions of the Wild Bunch. It wasn't as complex as the longer versions, but PG&BtK already worked in this version. And you could see what it was about, you only had to look a bit closer.
When I first saw the Turner cut I was a bit disappointed as the film had, apart from the new opening scene, not improved as much as I had it expected. I still think the pacing of the Turner cut is not good, and that's why I prefer the Seydor version. Even if some beautiful moments are gone, the film leaves a much greater impact. But if you watch the deleted scenes on DVDs you always will find a lot of beautiful shots and scenes, and I often don't understand why some of those were cut. But to cut films to make them work often also means to get rid of some pretty good material.
I would cut some of the violence different, I would use of course the preview credits and the preview ending, and I would put some minor pieces back to the Seydor cut.
Then it would be the perfect version for me.