Raising Cain Re-Cut

As a huge devotee to Brian De Palma, I’m about to see a re-cut version of his 1992 film Raising Cain. The problem here is that I have not seen the theatrical version, so can you guys tell me if a lot has changed in the re-cut version?

View it here: http://vimeo.com/35398338

What? Big DePalma fan but Raising Cain has always been a problem for me. A re-cut can only help. What’s the story behind this?

here’s the story: http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/feature-brian-de-palmas-raising-cain

The climactic motel scene is the set piece, classic De Palma. Dazzling.

Movie was fantastic as it was…arguably the apex of De Palma’s trip career-long trip over the top (though BODY DOUBLE gives it a run for its money). Very surprised that I dug this one after all the flack people slung at it. Might check out the recut. Thanks for the heads up.

“Raising Cain Re-cut is my attempt to approximate Brian De Palma’s original vision of Raising Cain, before the director chose to compromise its structure in post-production. The re-cut uses all of the scenes in the theatrical release and puts them back in the order they were intended, giving rise to a dramatically different viewing experience”

So some chump decides he knows better than the director how to cut a movie. Give me a break.

A fan re-cut? Nope. The film is perfect as it is anyway.

Yeah, I hope he got DePalma’s permission or approval. If not, he’s all kind of asshole. Rule #1: you don’t fuck with other peoples’ films (which is reason #1 I’ve always disliked Robert Wise despite some of the decentish films he directed).

Actually, Francisco: De Palma has always regretted he changed things around at the last moment of post-production. The director himself is dissatisfied with the theatrical cut of Raising Cain. So this is not about me knowing better. It’s about finding out what the filmmaker’s original vision was like and get insight into his creative process. You don’t have to watch the re-cut, of course, but you might enjoy checking out the video essay, which is a summation of its findings.

I’m all for it, and am gonna check out this edit soon! The write-up makes it sound like the re-edit was justified and worth it. Did you make it, Peet?

" De Palma has always regretted he changed things around at the last moment of post-production. The director himself is dissatisfied with the theatrical cut of Raising Cain. So this is not about me knowing better. It’s about finding out what the filmmaker’s original vision was like and get insight into his creative process."

Thanks for the post, Peet. And I’ll check out the film but why not let De Palma come out with his own director’s cut? He would obviously know best what his original vision was. Also, I’m still curious about whether De Palma approved or not. It makes a difference in my mind.

Raising Cain is good for a laugh, and the effect is purely intentional, although it has a few creepy moments too.

wouldn’t mind revisiting it soon.

Lets all re cut other people’s films! Any excuse is good not to do real work.
I will begin with Cable Guy. I have not even seen it but it sounds like a good place to start.
And The Truman Show! Which I have never seen either. Any Jim Carey movie will do.

We will have an oinline festival of uselees re cuts!
With cash prizes! Coming soon!

Yes, Drunken Father Figure of Old: I’m the one (I can’t believe I typed that). This project started purely to satisfy my own curiosity, and then evolved when Press Play showed interest in publishing it as a piece of criticism. It’s an experiment, available for a limited time. No one’s making money on it. A link has been sent to mr. De Palma. I sincerely hope he will one day re-edit the film himself. He certainly entertained the thought in interviews (his editor even suggested it), but usually the man prefers to look ahead. That’s why I gave it a shot.

Mubi has actually featured some of my “real work”, Francisco. Not that it would be of interest to you.

Peet, where did you get the info that informed your structural changes? I know that for something like TOUCH OF EVIL, Welles’ set down a point by point list of changes the studio made that he disapproved of. Was there anything like that for you to follow on this, or just general comments by De Palma? Hope he responds to your rearrangement and notification. Skipped this movie on the big screen last year because of its reputation, only to catch it on DVD a few months later and end up kicking myself for missing the chance to see a print with a crowd…it’s great.

It says so in the video essay, Ben: De Palma discussed the matter in interviews, most extensively in a French interview book that’s currently out of print. The writer of that book gave me first-hand information. I also had a second draft of the screenplay at my disposal that was very informative, even if it contains sections he would later improve or decide to omit.

And no one has answered my question yet…

Dude: The scenes of the first half are the same but in a different order. Nothing is left out.

I’m very glad this new version is available to us. Thank for you for your work, Peet.

Nevertheless, I don’t think this new version “solves” RAISING CAIN by any stretch. This new structure makes sense in some ways, but not in others, and I suspect no amount of editing can quite resolve this oddball film’s problems. On the whole, I think I might prefer the original version.

@Pete: Thanks! Shout-out to Ed Gonzalez too for putting this on the “links for the day” section on the house next door

Peet, I’m curious as to where you got the second draft of the screenplay.

It was a pdf-scan of the original, including handwritten notes, provided to me by someone close to the source.

Some scene moved to other places. He approve Hitchcock fan himself! De Palma, mysterious man.

Saw it about five days ago. It was…interesting