This comes as a bit of a revelation to me, particularly as I've seen this film hundreds of times before, from the original cut, to the directors, to the extended directors with added commentary, to the outtakes, to everything else.
However, I have never seen the film I saw tonight
Those who know the film, know the film, so I'm not reviewing the content of the film, I'm reviewing the experience of going to see the original 70mm print of the film, not remastered, not digitally enhanced, kept in a locked box for 40 years and brought out to view tonight.
Literally...
Every time a new edition comes out, you look for what's new in the version, the added bits, the extras, the new scenes. What's the one thing you don't ask?
What they took out...
And it turns out, the 70mm edition has a lot of things in it that every version I've ever seen doesn't have, from little side clips of the actors moving about, to reframed shots that you've never seen from that angle, to sounds that you've never heard before.
Because it's being shown with 6 track magnetic sound, exactly as it was 40 years ago.
So me, Mark, and my excellent friends Cory and Joel went to see a film that we've all seen loads of times, and came away with wonder that there was a whole film that we'd never even thought about.
If you get the chance, go see this in 70mm, it's worth it just for the atmosphere.
One thing though, just after the iconic moment of the film, watching the actors all stood there, knowing what we know now, knowing the rotten trick that was pulled on them, there was a moment of silence...
And a ripple of laughter ran around the theatre...
Pretty sure that didn't happen 40 years ago...
