Monday, June 3, 2019 - 10:00 PM CDT

another telling review indicating the existence of a director's cut.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 12:47 AM CDT

DOMINO is middle of the road filmmaking by De Palma. Somewhat anemic film at times with jumping of scenes that seem somewhat patchy. Lack of intensity in it's forward momentum of the narrative. Paper-thin villians that are stereotypes and cliches. Some sequences work better then others. Still can't help but think and hope there's a better and stronger director's cut out there. Even though DOMINO has De Palma fingerprints on this film it's just doesn't feel right. Small budget to this film wouldn't have helped. Needed to be more over-the-top in it's visual mayhem. The You Tube video finishing the film with the explosive suicide bomber references John Cassevetes blown up at the end of THE FURY. The film didn't feel that tough and hard considering the nature of the subject matter. Will watch it several times again. 

Love to see De Palma progress next to SWEET VENGEANCE and PREDATOR with budgets that can result in vintage DePalma. 

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 1:00 AM CDT

It is telling of anything? Unless we hear this directly attributed to De Palma, who knows?

What does seem certain is that entire scenes were not shot, and many that were seem to have been either chopped up or elongated in post - as if an editor were desperately trying to piece together some scenes without enough material, and stretching out others so that the film would reach a 90 minute running time (which would explain the wobbly pacing).

Unless De Palma goes on the record, or explicitely allows someone to speak for him, we'll never know if there's a "director's cut." What seems more likely then a "director's cut" is that he walked out during post once he realized that the producers had put him in a horrible, no-win situation. He's of an age where he has no sh*ts left to give, as they say, so he likey moved on from this some time ago and won't be talking about it. Can you blame him? 

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 2:12 AM CDT

I can't think of a sinlge scene that seems to go on too long-- the pace of the movie is rather brisk, if you ask me, and edited very well. De Palma is on record as saying they (meaning he and his team) finished the film and handed it over to the producers, so I don't think he walked out during post.

His longtime editor Bill Pankow usually doesn't even need De Palma there these days because he already knows how De Palma would want the scene to move.  It's usually a "let me show you what I've done" followed by, "Oh, yes... during that one scene, though, we need to insert so-and-so and then back to the master shot" or whatever direction he might give to Pankow (if any), and then that's it.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 2:27 AM CDT

Geoff, I'm basing the possible "walked out" notion on the assistant editor you quoted in an earlier post who stated that there was no uncut version. If you follow the thread, someone asks if De Palma was in the editing room. He refuses to answer and says something cryptic about having to remain confidential. Which may nor may not be significant. 

We'll have to agree to disagree about some scenes seeming elongated, but many sequences with Christian and Alex felt unecessarily drawn out to me, with larger then usual pauses between their lines, for example, for no dramatic reason, especially when they're driving. De Palma isn't one to dally during dialogue scenes, so for me, many of them stood out as being "padded." 

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 3:07 AM CDT

I did see that, too, asking if De Palma was in the editing room. The only thing is... he does usually let the editor work on their own, and then they show him what they've done, so De Palma is not usually sitting in the room with them. So... maybe they needed to rephrase the question?

Regarding the scenes in the car-- there is one, my favorite, that is an unbroken take made up of a two-shot of them in the car, that works (and has been conceived) like an in-camera split-screen, letting the actors convey the emotional dichotomy. I was planning to post about it this week sometime (and I will).

But you're right, we'll have to agree to disagree, because the other car discussions are dramatically purposeful and not really very long, if you ask me.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 3:20 PM CDT

Given De Palma's general disdain for coverage, editing his films would necessitate fewer editorial choices than most. I recall him mentioning in regards to Get To Know Your Rabbit that although he'd been fired from the project, he'd shot it so that there really was only one way to assemble it anyway.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 1:50 PM CDT

Nayman writes: "A key, De Palmian detail: Once Christian joins the fight, he accomplishes nothing of consequence."

This is so untrue. He and Alex stop the Spanish stadium terrorist attack. Typical De Palma irony: had Christian not forgotten his gun, his partner would still be alive but the stadium spectators would be dead.