In a Savage Land

[laban]

Thank you for yout advice. I will look at e-bay regurallity and hope I will find it.

[kissmekate]

I was looking for a good synopsis of the movie and came across these interesting reviews: www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=2462&s=reviews

The release version is subtly different to the one I first saw, which had a more melancholy ending. After much debate, Bennett has gently re-shaped the film's final 20 minutes, cutting about nine minutes and giving the ending a tad more romantic optamism, which delivers a better payoff for most audiences. In the process, we lose a plot point or two, but this doesn't detract from the scope and craftsmanship of this superbly creative piece of cinema.

This made me quite curious! I always thought the initial version ended when Evelyn and the missionary left and thus was shorter than the final movie. Now I wonder what they cut and how it would have ended. Does anyone happen to know?

Rufus Sewell, disarmingly roguish, has never been better

Awww!

On first viewing I was absorbed; the second time around I was enthralled. Visually splendid, In A Savage Land charters the waters of human behaviour, putting fundamental differences of human nature under the microscope. It has a melancholy that lingers.

Amen to that, especially the first sentence.

[kygal]

That's interesting. Make me wonder as well.

[robela]

Yes it is very interesting. I would love to know too.

[walt]

             !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Spoiler warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


If you don't know the (other) end of IASL, don't read further!





















The version of IASL I know: After the war Evelyn inquires about the pearl trader's fate. She returns to the island and finds a grave. She recovers the material they had hidden on the island when the war started and begins to works as a scientist again. She travels on a lecture tour. There, after a speech  she finds an envelope that includes the precious pearl Mick had showed her once and a sheet of paper:"Your winnings". She runs out to find Mick and finally discovers him on crutches.

[kygal]

This is the ending on my DVD. Now I am wondering what the short version is. Thanks Walt.

[Rachel]

I'm thinking what we have on the DVD is the short version. Given what Kate quoted from the interview, I'm wondering if the 9 minutes that are cut are from AFTER Evelyn finds Mick in the train station? What I'd really like to know is what plot points were left hanging? I can't think of any, it seemed the story wrapped up pretty well in the end.

[rueful]

This page is where I found information about changes to the ending. According to this, the new version is shorter, with small cuts to earlier parts of the film, and has an added voiceover. Presumably the train station sequence was added too.

21/10/99: IN A SAVAGE LAND - NEW ENDING


"I think so . . . .the only way I can tell that is that we tested the two versions and this latest one scored significantly higher satisfaction." Using California's highly respected San Rafael-based National Research Group, Bennett (in his capacity as producer) screened the film to 450 people each time. "The figures were always good, but with the changes, they were significantly higher."

The most important changes, Bennett feels, were the in the reinstatement of voice over narration by Maya Stange's character Ruth, particularly after she and Mick separate, in the final quarter of the film. "That actually makes it a more emotional journey as we are allowed inside her head."

The nine minutes cut out of the film, mostly in spools 1 and 2, are "hardly noticeable," says Bennett, who vows never to let a film go out without test screenings. "If we made a tactical mistake it was that - we should have kept it under wraps until we were 100% satsified. We had supportive backers and we are producers so we had control."

"This is a lot more satisfying as an ending," says the film's distributor, Richard Sheffield of Universal Pictures, "It was always a terrific film - it's just got better. "I always wanted a 'ride into the sunset' ending." Sheffield, who had long argued for the new ending, finally convinced Bennett after test screenings showed audience preference for the subtly more upbeat closer.

The reason why AFI members saw the earlier cut was a matter of timing. "Although the film was finished, with a film as sweeping and as complex as this one, you are always finessing it and test screening," says Sheffield. "This is a good case to back up what I've always felt was wrong with the AFI Awards; like the Oscars, the Awards should require entries to have a commercial release - even if limited - to qualify."

[kissmekate]

Thanks a lot, rueful! That answers my questions. I still wonder what little bits got cut and if they might have been worth seeing, but as you ladies might have heard, I love the film the way it is

I'm glad they decided to go with the voice-over narration after all. This technique makes you feel so much closer to Evelyn, creating a certain bond with her character instantly, and I like the way it makes things come full circle in the end (kind of).

I have to disagree with the article you quoted about the "ride into the sunset" ending. I don't think that's what it is. To me, it is a hopeful ending, but nothing is clear and everything is possible. I like the way it is left to the viewer to imagine what could or could not have happened after that chance meeting at the station. Which has me wondering again what future Bennett might have had in mind for Mick and Evelyn, if any.

[GreenEyesToo]

Thanks for the reviews and the extra info, ladies - very interesting reading.

[lovethemanrs]

IASL is such a lovely movie. Only downside is that because of the way the light is used (which is beautiful in the film itself), it is not that easy to get really good screen caps from it. A shame as Mick is just.... But that's just me being greedy I think!!

I remember the first time I watched it, when Evelyn went back to look for him near the end of the film and she found the concrete memorial thingy - I cried out, 'Nooooooo, he can't be dead'. That bit still upsets me when I watch it even now...

[robela]

Thanks Rueful that is very interesting reading. I agree with you Kate exactly.
It's a lovely film and the ending with Mick & Evelyn meeting again is much better than a ride off into the sunset.
?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kygal]

Thanks for the info Rueful.

[kissmekate]

Jun 14, 2014 19:37:13 GMT lovethemanrs said:

I remember the first time I watched it, when Evelyn went back to look for him near the end of the film and she found the concrete memorial thingy - I cried out, 'Nooooooo, he can't be dead'. That bit still upsets me when I watch it even now...

Same here! I cried my eyes out in that scene, and, funnily, the actual ending had me crying even more.

[lovethemanrs]

Yes the station scene was extremely emotional. Tissues at the ready. I was so relieved (and grateful) that Mick was alive....

And those eyes spoke volumes - wonderful acting by Rufus.