. . . is only good if you're Art.
There is this great passage in FINAL CUT: Dreams and Disaster in the Making of HEAVEN'S GATE, after the studio execs finished watching a 5-1/2 hour cut of the movie.
(pp. 338-339, edited)
"No way is this company going to release a movie that's five and a half hours long," said Albeck, minutes later in my office, his mouth a line that could have been drawn with a ruler.
"I couldn't hear anything," said Dean Stolber.
"This isn't a case of trimming or losing a sequence or two. The battle sequence alone is an hour and a half long!"
"I'd get on the phone fast if I were you," I advised.
"I don't know," Goodman said, trying to cheer himself up. "I didn't think it was that bad."
"Yes, it is," I said. "It's intolerable, unbearable."
"Some of it's beautiful," he said wanly.
"All of it's beautiful," I said. "It's just unwatchable."
That is how I felt watching THE ENGLISH PATIENT. The female lead was tremendously beautiful, and visually the movie was elegant and beautiful, but as a movie for me it was horrible, and I went to see a movie not an art exhibit.
It's hard to make good entertainment. I finally got back around to 24 and picked up Season Three, which so far is worse than Season Two, which was worse than Season One. Ratatouille, however, was great. We saw that Saturday. And there are several inspired cartoons on Nick that are wonderful. Not much else that comes to mind.
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