Uncut, unrated Underworld. I need time to think about it. I remember liking the original at the cinema, but its magic was used up in one sitting, repeat viewings just made it more and more cheesy and contrived (in the way so many movies that came out at the time did).
But this changed it. For the first time I loved it again, and perhaps I still will later on. A lot of scenes I saw as cheesy actually underscored what was going on well (they typically had more to them as well, it was a sloppy chop job for the original that was given to us), so no longer cheesy.
A lot of choppy conversations were shown longer, and they flowed better and made more sense. Whoever chopped up the original for the public literally cut out half or more of the dialog! Why?
A lot of plot holes were plugged up as well by this uncut version, and many of the contrived scenes no longer felt contrived.
I'm not sure why they cut out some of the extra gory scenes of the werewolves attacking vampires on the train, or even the scene of Kraven with the blonde intriguer having sex. Was it some rating scheme in the US or some other country?
Though that specific scene (and how Kraven unceremoniously shoves her off when he gets a call that the protagonist has returned) makes a lot more sense of her character's actions later (combined with other scenes, a few left in what was released) I got more curious of that blonde, how she came to be among the vampires, and even if she wanted Kraven not just for the status, but also to assassinate him and take over. She seemed more dangerous (not in a warrior way, but in a Kraven way, and like she knew Kraven would be the only one she could assassinate, if only she could remove Selene from the picture). To get me interested in a side character I hadn't been interested in before is an example of why the uncut version was better, and I think they did the actress a disservice to cut much of her out (I wonder if she got cut out because she wasn't as into using sex to get ahead as the character was, so the crew was ordered to cut many of her scenes out).
Other than that, after the high action start, it simmers down and slowly builds back up with a world that was more thought out than what we were shown in theaters. One I loved is Michael explaining to Selene why he became a doctor, and how this is when Selene seems to empathize and identify with him due to her own background (which is so much better than the seemingly implied "love at first sight" in the subway that the cut version seems to promote).
I wonder, how many other movies did they butcher like this? (I tried watching sequels to Underworld and just couldn't get into them enough to finish, I wonder if they were hacked to pieces like the original, and maybe I'd have liked those better as well if uncut?) And what is their rationale for doing so? I can see why so many screenwriters get so frustrated and angry!
