For those who have seen the Director's Cut, how does Brad Dourif's performance compare to the theatrical cut one? He has always said he felt his first take on the character was the best one, I wonder if the difference is noticeable.
sharePersonally speaking, I think his performance is about the same. The only real difference is that Brad gets to do the entire role in the DC, where as he only had to redo certain scenes in the theatrical cut. I am sure that influences his feelings that his first time around was superior. He is excellent, regardless.
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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.
He's still great but he's a bit more subdued I think.
shareNow I need to get this Director's cut.
Did Brad ever get noticed by the Academy Awards? Terrific performance.
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Brad was nominated by the Academy for Best Supporting Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
I'm not a control freak, I just like things my way
NICE! Very cool. He definitely is a great actor.
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He's underrated and just has a personality we all can get into for some reason. His zany exhibitions are just enjoyable for some reason. The ironic thing is that, the role he received a nomination for is perhaps his least edgy or eccentric one.
I'd love to see what Tim Burton could do with him. Incidentally: Have you seen him in Body Parts?
I'm not a control freak, I just like things my way
He's a great character actor and I hope I get to meet him some day. I'll need to watch "One Flew Over..." again. I saw that one a long time ago.
I think Brad and Tim are a great combination, a la Johnny Depp. I saw Body Parts over 20 years ago, I vaguely remember it, but I think it's about a serial killer or a murderer who dies and his body parts are donated to people who need them and then later one, he comes back for them. His head was saved by a scientist, or something like that. If I'm not mistaken.
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Brad Dourif is still so menacing in his perfomance - I would say even more so in the Director's Cut.
shareJust saw the Director's Cut myself, and I'll leave my own impression. This might be an unpopular opinion, given that Brad Dourif is universally loved for his presence in this movie (in it's two versions), but I didn't like him in the older footage at all. This has nothing to do with the VHS quality of the original scenes, and while I liked Jason Miller in the final product, I'm not really factoring in his absence in Blatty's original take on the film.
Though I do think Dourif did went a bit over the top at times in the theatrical cut, there's not question that he gave a powerful, energetic performance, and you could really believe that this was a serial killer who was proud of his own crimes, who would taunt his adversaries, who would write to the newspapers telling all about his latest "art projects".
In the director's cut, however, his performance is so subdued that, while you may think that this was somebody who has been experiencing catatonia for over a decade, you can't really feel threatened by him. Dourif made it possible in the theatrical cut to appear menacing even being inside a dead man's body in a straitjacket; in the director's cut, he's just... some guy in a straitjacket. Very little energy or sense of doom coming from his side. Dourif himself may have liked his earlier take on the role, but I'm sort of glad they had to reshoot his scenes. I wonder what made Blatty and Dourif go in this completely different direction, though.
A Friend, thanks for sharing this interesting data about the Director's Cut. I saw a little of it on You Tube and Dourif's performance strikes me the same way - perhaps too understated for the story's own good...
shareI like Brad's performance in the Director's Cut better without the voice modulation they did to make it deeper. He didn't need it, just his regular acting was enough.
shareGlad to hear that. One major problem I have with the Theatrical Cut is the phony soundtrack amps, growls, and effects...
shareBastasch, be prepared - though there is a little less demonic gnarling, which is good, there is also Brad Dourif doing some other annoying sounds such as imitating a train in a scene that I did not like at all, which his character kind of did in the novel.
The demonic sound effects are a bother, but I do like the modulation of his voice during the monologues in the theatrical cut ("oh, yes, good showmanship, lieutenant, the effect!"), I think it enhances Dourif's lively performance.
Incidentally, do let us know your opinion of the director's cut once you have the chance to see it!
Absolutely, the passenger train imitation was really silly.
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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.