![]() ![]() So monkeying with an extraordinary film isn’t necessarily a folly. I didn’t remember the original film well enough to be able to pinpoint the additions, I just knew that its power had a new sheen. One exception: The extended cut of David Fincher’s “Zodiac.” It was richer, headier, and creepier in nearly imperceptible ways. Special editions, which are usually director’s cuts, have long since been the province of DVDs (and, before that, VHS tapes), and it’s rare to see one that improves on the original my own feeling is that nine out of 10 aren’t merely unnecessary but, in truth, inferior. ![]() And why wasn’t anyone there? (The subtext seemed to be: We can afford this shot, but we can’t afford alien extras.) When I came out of “Close Encounters: The Special Edition” and thought back on the incandescence of the original version, my only reaction was that I wanted the new one to go away. In “The Special Edition,” Dreyfuss walked onto that ship, and it looked like the world’s tallest disco bedecked with Christmas lights. The ending of the original “Close Encounters” was poetic perfection it showed just enough, and by leaving what was on the spaceship to our imaginations, it seemed to be sending Richard Dreyfuss off on a dream. I bring it up because it stands as an example of the risks of meddling with a movie that’s achieved a towering artistry and - in its original form - an iconic place in the culture. To this day, that sequence is the only thing I remember about “Close Encounters: The Special Edition,” and frankly that’s because I thought the sequence was terrible. ![]()
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