the movie.

steve.othen · Post by **steve.othen** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 1:12 pm

Just thought I'd throw my hat in the ring, ( bowler, of course !), & say that I actually like the movie !, I think it captures the whimsical essence of the late 60's show, ok the plot is poor, & Patrick macnee will always be the definitive steed, & no-one will ever truly replace him, but as a visual tribute, I like the movie.
I here there was a lot of unused footage, & its a pity there hasn't been a directors extended cut yet.

Andrew Pixley · Post by **Andrew Pixley** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 4:06 pm

For all its faults (and it has many), I have still always enjoyed watching the movie. I can never be the same as the series (and in some respects wisely didn't attempt to be), but there was the same essence of fun and I always enjoy viewing it.

A full cut one day would - indeed - be terrific!

All the best

Andrew

Lhbizness · Post by **Lhbizness** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:23 pm

Y'know, although I hate the movie I would kind of like to see if it could have been better, given all the footage and recutting that the director had to do. Perhaps there was a better film in there somewhere.

MikeR · Post by **MikeR** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:33 pm

I don’t mind the film at all, as I find it captures something of the spirit of the series and if it happens to be on TV then I’ll watch it. Unfortunately, as with most of these revival films it is just about impossible to recreate the atmosphere of the original TV series. There’s a Man from Uncle feature film being shot at the moment and I’m sure however it turns out true blue Uncle fans will be disappointed.

As for all the missing footage that Jeremiah Chechik claims Warner Brothers made him remove from The Avengers film, personally I think there’s a big question mark there. I believe the amount of missing material could be as little as 13 minutes. In order to get to this figure, I have logged every missing scene from the shooting script as well as having read through three earlier versions of the screenplay. Should this edited footage ever be reinstated then unfortunately I don’t think that the narrative would be much better.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 3:11 pm

13 minutes could make a heck of a difference to the success of the narrative. It's about 1/7 of the current length of the film.

Lhbizness · Post by **Lhbizness** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 3:22 pm

It could shift the balance of the narrative, depending on where it was and what was removed - so if it was just a snipping of a minute here and a minute there, it might not make much difference, but if it was the cutting of whole scenes or pieces of dialogue, then it could be significant. I'm not certain if it would improve the performances of the two leads, though, which are my biggest problems with the film - they missed the characterizations entirely (that's where the "spirit of the show" lies, when you come down to it) and quite honestly those two make me angrier than any other narrative issues the film might have. It's a good argument for not trying to remake certain narratives outside of the time period/culture that created them.

We'll probably never seen a director's cut, though. Warner Brothers doesn't want to spend much time on it, and given the pretty round failure of the whole thing there's no reason why they should. It's not like Gilliam's Brazil or Scott's Blade Runner, which developed a cult following and a demand for the "uncut" versions. The Avengers film is pretty much an aberration to a lot of people, even if it might have been better.

MikeR · Post by **MikeR** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 12:30 pm

About 18 months ago I spoke with Mick Audsley who edited the film and he informed me that early on in production he could see that there were problems as he was watching the dailies and there was no rapport between Ralph Finnes and Uma Thurman. Having the film stopped, Mick called for Jerry Weintraub and Jeremiah Chechik and then ran the film again and pointed out the problem, saying, “Something needs to be done about this.” However, not enough was done. Mick lays the blame 50/50 on Weintraub and Chechik. In his opinion Weintraub should take fifty percent of the blame as he hired Chechik, who was too inexperienced to handle a multi million pound movie. The other fifty percent of blame goes to Chechik, who failed to stamp his authority on the production and allowed the three leads to interpret their characters as they wished.

mousemeat · Post by **mousemeat** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 1:08 am

MikeR wrote:About 18 months ago I spoke with Mick Audsley who edited the film and he informed me that early on in production he could see that there were problems as he was watching the dailies and there was no rapport between Ralph Finnes and Uma Thurman. Having the film stopped, Mick called for Jerry Weintraub and Jeremiah Chechik and then ran the film again and pointed out the problem, saying, “Something needs to be done about this.” However, not enough was done. Mick lays the blame 50/50 on Weintraub and Chechik. In his opinion Weintraub should take fifty percent of the blame as he hired Chechik, who was too inexperienced to handle a multi million pound movie. The other fifty percent of blame goes to Chechik, who failed to stamp his authority on the production and allowed the three leads to interpret their characters as they wished.

sums it up nicely. no chemistry between ralph and Uma. period.

Frankymole · Post by **Frankymole** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:56 am

Not only that, but they couldn't even "act" some chemistry between the characters. Performers of Romeo and Juliet manage that in school plays. Ralph Fiennes was okay in Schindler's List but acted off the screen by Liam Neeson, and Uma Thurman seems unable to act at all, in anything, ever.

mousemeat · Post by **mousemeat** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 2:37 am

Frankymole wrote:Not only that, but they couldn't even "act" some chemistry between the characters. Performers of Romeo and Juliet manage that in school plays. Ralph Fiennes was okay in Schindler's List but acted off the screen by Liam Neeson, and Uma Thurman seems unable to act at all, in anything, ever.

i used to get fiennes and Neesom confused ...and don't ask me why?

in any event, the film was ill fated, no decent script, good budget, but where did the money go to ? no chemistry between ralph and Uma. Connery was wasted in his role..and WB knew they had a turkey, when they refused to let the press in the U.S. screen and review..just put the film out with no press or reviews, and hence, a huge bomb....probably killed forever, the chance for another avengers film..