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20 years later, the movie "Total Recall" still kicks butt

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40hz:
Addendum:

Regarding Chinatown...

The original screenplay had a different ending. Roman Polanski changed it during the production of the film.

SpoilerPer Wikipedia:

Evans, the producer, intended the screenplay to have a happy ending with Cross dying and Evelyn Mulwray surviving. Evans and Polanski argued over it, with Polanski insisting on a tragic end. The two parted ways due to the dispute and Polanski wrote the final scene just a few days before it was shot.

See also this link.

In the script by Robert Towne (who also wrote the screenplays for The Last Detail and Shampoo) the monster Noah Cross was killed by his daughter, Evelyn. Evelyn had been raped and made pregnant by her father. In Towne's version, Evelyn killed her father to protect her daughter from the old man's predations.

This is the kind of ending you can imagine Raymond Chandler writing. Evelyn might die along with her father, the only way to put an end to his evil, but there would be some hope, with Evelyn's daughter having a chance at salvation.

Polanski changed Robert Towne's ending to let Noah Cross destroy Evelyn and take possession of his grand-daughter as his new slave. Why did Cross do this? Because he could. Because he was rich and politically powerful and normal human beings didn't matter next to his whims.
--- End quote ---



So I guess it's once again correct to say that Hollywood didn't OK Polanski's ending when it put the script into production. It was only when nearing completion that the ending got changed to what eventually became the released version.

Ok...I'm gonna go back to my earlier assertion that Hollywood doesn't greenlight films where human evil absolutely triumphs over good.

That's my story - and I'm sticking to it!  :Thmbsup:

(At least until I find the time to watch No Country for Old Men, There Will be Blood, Skeleton Key and re-watch Wicker Man to see if it happened in any of those. Thx Innuendo!  :Thmbsup: ;D)

4wd:
The Wicker Man

The Skeleton Key
-Innuendo (June 28, 2010, 09:01 AM)
--- End quote ---

Exactly two that I was going to mention, I was also going to mention Burnt Offerings because I seem to remember an ending similar to Skeleton Key but I wanted to review it first, (then again maybe it's ending is 'too' supernatural to be classed as human.)

I wouldn't necessarily have classed the ending in No Country For Old Men as evil/bad guy winning because it's left too open, it's not final.  Hollywood could go on to make 13+ sequels as usual.

Shades:
@40Hz:
Can you tell me how 'No country for old men' ends? I went to the theater to see it and was send out because I was snoring too loud. Rented it twice but I cannot get past the halfway point, before falling asleep. With 'There Will be Blood' I fell only asleep once.

Now I do not consider myself a movie-buff or average joe public. The first section I always look for in a videostore is the alternative movie section, because I enjoy well and/or diversely written stories. But I truly do not understand why both these movies were so highly regarded.

@Innuendo:
Which 'Wicker man' do you mean?
The most recent one with Nicolas Cage is hardly worth the trouble. Then again, I am not impressed by the latest works of N.C. in the first place. The first release was way more disturbing to me.

4wd:
@Innuendo:
Which 'Wicker man' do you mean?
The most recent one with Nicolas Cage is hardly worth the trouble. Then again, I am not impressed by the latest works of N.C. in the first place. The first release was way more disturbing to me.
-Shades (June 28, 2010, 07:04 PM)
--- End quote ---

It would have to be the first, as you have said, the remake was crap.

Then again, 40Hz can always use the 'out' that The Wicker Man (1973) was not a production of Hollywood and therefore not bound by their ridiculous taboos  ;)

40hz:
@Shades -

re: No Country for Old Men

Can't say or tell you anything about it. As I said, I haven't seen it yet.  ;)

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