Major Dundee

Discuss releases from Arrow and the films on them.

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ChunkyLover
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2020 8:22 pm

Re: Major Dundee

#26 Post by ChunkyLover » Thu May 06, 2021 11:28 pm

Drucker wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 9:43 am
ChunkyLover wrote:
Sat May 01, 2021 3:39 pm
M Sanderson wrote:
Sat May 01, 2021 4:49 am
So how was the old restoration?

And can anyone clarify for certain whether this is or isn’t a new restoration?
It'll be the same master that Sony has had since the DVD release.
Sorry where are you getting this from? The specs outline that these are 4k and 2k restorations (presumably the same editions that were on the Twilight Time blu), but certainly more recent than a DVD master.
I should of used a better term, they're all taken from the same 4K scan as the DVD (it's one of Sony's older 4K scans). Not sure why Arrow is claiming a 2K restoration on the theatrical cut as it's the same footage/master used for the Extended Cut (I presume both cuts were 2K workflows).

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Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Major Dundee

#27 Post by Drucker » Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:46 pm

Watched this last night and I found it really enjoyable, but will concede that David Cairns' visual essay which details a lot of the shortcomings of the film is pretty spot on. The early characterization is very charming, and the part of the film that plays best is probably the first two reels when it's not exactly clear what direction the film is going in! The start/stop nature of the film (butchered editing? unclear source material? seems to be a bit of both) is a bit of a challenge at time. When the soldiers pause on their journey and characters are just allowed to flesh out their personalities organically work the best. I'll be damned if I could figure out how any of the action or fighting was connected to the plot of the film that supposedly opens the film, but I kind of just went with it. If you like the first few Peckinpah films, as I do, there's a lot to enjoy. The third act is definitely a slog, but the parts of the whole make up for what the whole lacks.

PS. I watched the director's cut. I was tempted to watch the theatrical but I'm glad I didn't, given some of the plot points that I learned were removed via the visual essay. It sounds like it really is a butchering and the DC is definitely a better watch.

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Lighthouse
Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 11:12 am

Re: Major Dundee

#28 Post by Lighthouse » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:09 am

The 135 min version is not a DC, but a producer's cut. It's the version Jerry Bresler wanted to release before Columbia cut it further down to 122 min.

A Peckinpah version would have run about 180 min, if the full prologue had been included (which most likely was not completely shot). There are conflicting informations about the probable length of a Peckinpah cut, but 152 is too short, while 164 could be possible, if the film starts (just like on the versions we have) after the raid at the Rostes ranch.
Keep in mind that the editing was done without Peckinpah, that all slo mo scenes were cut out (also most of the blood), and that some of the existing scenes would have been different in a DC .

Here is an interesting overview of all scenes of the shooting script: https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1632dun.html

But that would have become a film far over 3 hours, but I can easily imagine which of the scenes in red would have made such a 3 hours cut.

I think it is even in the 122 min already an interesting and complex film, which is largely underrated. And with every further scene added other scenes work better, so that the 134 min version is already a clear imrpovement. Jim Kitses called Major Dundee "one of Hollywood's great broken monuments". And as Kitses further states: "it is clear that the released version is a severely damaged work that Peckinpah could only look back on with pain and misgivings. However, for all this, in my view the power and meaning are still there, the structure and imagery clear, the deeply personal statement of the film undeniable."
I think he's right ...

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