Merantau (2009)

[Guest Yi-Long]

While I think it would be nice to have the longer director's cut released alongside the international cut of the film I do think Yi Long is completely over-the-top. Merantau isn't hacked to pieces and completely ruined by this shorter cut of the film. It's a very good film as it is in the international cut and to put off people from buying it is absolutely ridiculous. It deserves to be seen and I would highly recommend it to any one. In fact I would agree that while there is an audience to see the full version, there is an audience that isn't going to appreciate 50 minutes of story before getting to the action. There's still an audience that can't stand subtitles whatsoever and miss out on some terrific action/martial-arts films because of it. Surely it's better that these films are seen and encourage more people to watch, making this type of film more profitable and for talented directors like Mr Evans to get funding to make more films of this nature.

We've heard that rgument/excuse for decades now. "ow, as long as people watch it, it's good for the genre and the industry", pretending people wouldn't watch the movie it was 10 minutes longer. It's ridiculous. Like people are going to hate on Fist of Legend when there's 30 seconds of extra character-building in a scene, or they're gonna walk out of the theater when Ong-Bak doesn't have a shitty new soundtrack instead of the original one...(!)

I'd like to say categorically that I don't feel cheated and in this case "it's not a big deal" and feel your comment calling anyone who doesn't feel ripped off a fucking idiot highly insulting .

That's not what I said. I said everyone who says 'it's no big deal' is a fucking idiot. Not everyone who doesn't feel ripped off.

Keep up the good work Gareth and I look forward to more of your projects with Iko Uwais.

Agreed.

[Guest Yi-Long]

Sergio Leone quit making movie because the movie studios kept chopping his films up without his consent. Then he dies and they come out with all his uncut works. Anyway man I think Merantau is fine the way it is. Sure it might suck a couple scenes were cut, but you get what you get Yi-Long. Directors don't like cutting up their movies, but it's a part of the business.

...if cutting up movies is 'part fo business', then I don't want to hear about these movies being 'art', or these directors being called artists...

... not to mention the fact that cutting these movies up very rarely resulted in a better product, plus like I said before, I very much doubt people will stay away or walk out whenever a movie has 10 minutes of extra footage which are an integral part of the story, or characterbuilding, or whatever.

I think it works the opposite. People who weren't interested in (let's say) Shaolin Soccer before the cuts, wouldn't be interested in the movie after the cuts and dub either. People who WERE interested in Shaolin Soccer before the cuts, will choose to stay away when they learn they'd be paying to watch a butchered version.

[Guest Yi-Long]

They usually cut films so the film will flow better and go more smoothly through the eye of the audience. Lord of the Rings theatrical cut flows and runs smoothly, while the Directors's cut has a bunch of slow parts in there slowing down the pace of the film. They make extra money off of dirctor's cuts these days. They release the theatrical cut first, then the studio sometimes releases director's cuts to bring in more money for the studio. Remember money is the reason they make movies. Whatever is the best way to bring in more money they will do it...especially in Hollywood.

Ask a 1000 fans of the LOTR trilogy about which version they prefer, and 999 of them will tell you they prefer the director's cuts.

I understand the point about making money out of multiple releases, and if that was the case with asian movies, I wouldn't have much of a problem with it. I would just wait 6-12 months untill the version that I want (the uncut version) would be released.

However, as we all know, 9 times out of 10, we won't be getting the uncut version. That's my problem. I don't really mind a 'trimmed' version for the cinema (although I certainly wouldn't watch it), as long as we'd get an uncut release on DVD/BR.

[mpm74]

Great movie. =D

I kinda hate it when the head gangster ends up knowing how to fight. lol I just don't buy it. But hey, it's a martial arts movie, so what else should i expect?

Anyways, I posted my review in the reviews section.

[blue_skies]

Unfortunately it is part of the business and every artist in the business has to compromise. And the end of the day as Dragon sword has stated its all about money.

Let's be honest, every director in every country has parts cut out of the movie by themselves or by others. I'm sure they would love to keep everything in the movie but they are trying to make the movie the most sellable and in the case of Merantau it was felt that, as the director posted, people responded better to the movie with the actions starting around 30 minutes rather than 50 minutes. A lot has been lost but tightening up the movie can give the film a better pace. I can certainly say I've watched movies and thought it could be trimmed down and would have been a better film. Longer is not always better.

Lord Of the Rings is very good in the theatrical version and even better in the director's cut. However it is already extremely long at three hours for the theatrical. The 4 hours versions while giving you a more in-depth version of the film are a lot to sit through in one sitting at the Cinema. As much as I love the movies finding 4 hours to watch it isn't easy. I generally watch in two-hour segments splitting each part over two days.

or they're gonna walk out of the theater when Ong-Bak doesn't have a shitty new soundtrack instead of the original one...(!)

I have to disagree about the new soundtrack added to Ong Bak (I'm assuming you're talking about the UK version - at least I am) which I happen to think is fantastic. Having never heard the original version I found the UK score to really add something to the movie. I can't remember my exact thoughts and didn't even realise it had been replaced but it really impressed me.

[Guest Yi-Long]

Unfortunately it is part of the business and every artist in the business has to compromise. And the end of the day as Dragon sword has stated its all about money.

Let's be honest, every director in every country has parts cut out of the movie by themselves or by others. I'm sure they would love to keep everything in the movie but they are trying to make the movie the most sellable and in the case of Merantau it was felt that, as the director posted, people responded better to the movie with the actions starting around 30 minutes rather than 50 minutes. A lot has been lost but tightening up the movie can give the film a better pace. I can certainly say I've watched movies and thought it could be trimmed down and would have been a better film. Longer is not always better.

Lord Of the Rings is very good in the theatrical version and even better in the director's cut. However it is already extremely long at three hours for the theatrical. The 4 hours versions while giving you a more in-depth version of the film are a lot to sit through in one sitting at the Cinema. As much as I love the movies finding 4 hours to watch it isn't easy. I generally watch in two-hour segments splitting each part over two days.

Ow, I agree completely that some movies are too long. And yeah, I even fell asleep briefly during 2 of the 3 LOTR movies in the cinema...

However, knowing that the longer cut IS the better cut according to everyone and their mother, when I picked them upon DVD, I never even considered picking up the theatrical cuts, and I'm only interested in the director's cut. and judging from pretty much every forum and website in the world, so is everyone else.

...which is why I said I can 'somewhat' understand trimming it a bit for the theatrical release... but I can't understand why there isn't an uncut version getting released on BR/DVD.

Longer isn't always better, but whenever cuts are made to a great movie solely out of fear that a new audience might not enjoy it as much as the original audience, it very very rarely leads to a better movie. I sure as hell can't think of many, if any.

I have to disagree about the new soundtrack added to Ong Bak (I'm assuming you're talking about the UK version - at least I am) which I happen to think is fantastic. Having never heard the original version I found the UK score to really add something to the movie. I can't remember my exact thoughts and didn't even realise it had been replaced but it really impressed me.

I thought the new UK soundtrack was horrible, especially in the marketchase-scene where I REALLY missed the pumped up original soundtrack. I believe in the US version they had another different soundtrack which most people also seriously hated.

I bought the Region 2 DVD solely for the excellent 'making off' extra on the special disc. Whenever I want to watch the movie, I'll stick to a subtitled version of the thai release.

One of the problems of all this cutting bullshit, is that whenever I'm in a store and I see an asian movie that I'm interested in, I don't know if it's been cut or not. So I don't pick it up unless I checked and do know...

Ow,and once again the question to Ghevans: How was the reception by indonesian audiences to the uncut version!? Did they like/love the movie or not!?

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Yeah if you're going to release it on home video/dvd/bluray format at least give us everything like the director's cut, theatrical cut, shit cut whatever... Just give us the goods...

[blue_skies]

Ow, I agree completely that some movies are too long. And yeah, I even fell asleep briefly during 2 of the 3 LOTR movies in the cinema...

However, knowing that the longer cut IS the better cut according to everyone and their mother, when I picked them upon DVD, I never even considered picking up the theatrical cuts, and I'm only interested in the director's cut. and judging from pretty much every forum and website in the world, so is everyone else.

...which is why I said I can 'somewhat' understand trimming it a bit for the theatrical release... but I can't understand why there isn't an uncut version getting released on BR/DVD.

Longer isn't always better, but whenever cuts are made to a great movie solely out of fear that a new audience might not enjoy it as much as the original audience, it very very rarely leads to a better movie. I sure as hell can't think of many, if any.

I thought the new UK soundtrack was horrible, especially in the marketchase-scene where I REALLY missed the pumped up original soundtrack. I believe in the US version they had another different soundtrack which most people also seriously hated.

I bought the Region 2 DVD solely for the excellent 'making off' extra on the special disc. Whenever I want to watch the movie, I'll stick to a subtitled version of the thai release.

But in the case of Merantau we don't actually know that the longer cut is definitely better than the international cut. There may be demand from fans on forums like this but how many current members of this forum have actually seen it to know it is better?

I can understand why they didn't release both versions in the same package. It's a relatively unknown movie, with a largely unknown cast outside Indonesia, with a relatively unknown director (no offence Mr Evans if you're reading) that has only had a limited theatrical release (as far as I know mainly in Indonesia, but correct if I'm wrong) so distributors are not going to spend the money releasing it as they would for something with a renowned reputation. Especially at the moment I think we should count ourselves lucky that we actually got extras, although on that count I do feel extremely disappointed with Merantau knowing that there was so much on the internet that never got on the DVD.

Anyway regardless of your feelings about the theatrical cut surely you could just wait until the price drops and then pick up a copy? I mean the last time I looked a few weeks ago I could pick up a copy for the price of a rental. Then even if an opportunity appears you could always buy the director's cut in the future.

[Guest Yi-Long]

But in the case of Merantau we don't actually know that the longer cut is definitely better than the international cut. There may be demand from fans on forums like this but how many current members of this forum have actually seen it to know it is better?

We don't know, which is why I've been asking Ghevans about the reception it's gotten in Indonesia, and we can't know, cause we aren't being given the chance to form that opinion about which cut is better. It's already been decided for us.

I can understand why they didn't release both versions in the same package. It's a relatively unknown movie, with a largely unknown cast outside Indonesia, with a relatively unknown director (no offence Mr Evans if you're reading) that has only had a limited theatrical release (as far as I know mainly in Indonesia, but correct if I'm wrong) so distributors are not going to spend the money releasing it as they would for something with a renowned reputation. Especially at the moment I think we should count ourselves lucky that we actually got extras, although on that count I do feel extremely disappointed with Merantau knowing that there was so much on the internet that never got on the DVD.

I've got the DVD of Love Exposure here. Unknown Japanese movie, uncut, 4 hours long. And it doesn't even have martial arts in it either. How come distributors are perfectly OK with releasing that movie uncut!?

Anyway regardless of your feelings about the theatrical cut surely you could just wait until the price drops and then pick up a copy? I mean the last time I looked a few weeks ago I could pick up a copy for the price of a rental. Then even if an opportunity appears you could always buy the director's cut in the future.

I'm kinda in a dilemma here. I'm not spending money on a cut movie, nor do I spend money on censored movies, or dub-only movies, or whatever. In fact, I hardly ever even decide to watch such a release, deciding I will just wait for an uncut version instead, and if that will never come, then I'm shit out of luck...

So that's why I hope that this movie will get an uncut release somewhere, sometime, so I can check it out...

[slinky]

I bought a couple blu rays of movies i watched when i was younger and came to find out they were missing parts, that makes me mad. I had good memories of those movies now tarnished by someone else because they thought it be better. I think it is wrong especially when i go to a theatre see a movie buy it a few months later on blu ray and it is missing parts. Personally i wish they would just give both versions i don't think it be a big deal or atleast make sure both are available so i can make my own decision not someone else making it for me. Just my opinion.

[Guest Yi-Long]

Yi-Long you sound like a spoiled brat. I've never seen someone whine so much over a "cut" movie and you should be thankful they are still even making martial arts movies. It's not like these filmmakers are rich and can just shit out a dvd release when they want to. If you don't want to buy the movie then don't buy it, it's your loss, life is too short to miss out on cool things like the Merantau movie. The director posts here and you sound like a jerk-off when you should be saying "thank you" for making a cool movie.

Thank you for your opinion and obviously I completely disagree with you.

First fo all, this is a kung fu cinema forum, and we've pretty much all complained about the treatment asian cinema has been given for ages now by the western distributors.

Now, when someone makes a (by many accounts) great movie, and then takes time out of his undoubtedly busy schedule to come here and respond to some of us and answer some questions, ofcourse I admire that and like that.]

However, I'd be the biggest hypocrite asshole ever, if I'm not gonna ask some questions about the cutting of the movie. Right!?

I mean, we all complain for years about this kinda shitty stuff, and as soon as a director comes by we should all forget our concerns and wishes, and crawl into his ass, kissing his internal intestines, and sucking our way all the way up to his heart!?

Like I said, I appreciate Ghevans coming here, and from what I've seen the movie looks great... but that doesn't mean I won't ask the stuff that's on my mind. And what's on my mind is mainly how we are getting a cut version of a great movie.

Now, Ghevans is undoubtedly a fan of the genre, so I'm pretty damn sure he has been pissed off over the issue of cut asian movies as much as most of us here have been pissed off about it. So that's why I ask about his own movie now being cut, and what pressures and challenges he faced with the western distributors, and what the chances are of also seeing an uncut release, ever, in the west.

You say we're lucky that there are still martial arts movies being made. What the hell!? It's one of the most popular genres in the world, one which transcends languages and traditions borders more easily than thrillers, musicals, etc etc. People all over the world love the universal language of asskicking, revenge, etc.

I bet you're one of those idiots who also feels we should be thankful to a guy like Harvey Weinstein for releasing horribly cut and dubbed versions of asian classics here in the west!?

[daisho2004]

See I have to agree with Yi-Long to a certain point we all hate to see movies cut up and he is just expressing his opinon and I'm with him on that, I did the samething with The Good ,The Bad and The Weird the other day when I watched it on BR they cut the ending up I was totally pissed off, and still am.

[ghevans]

About the local reaction to the film, fans of the film embraced it in a big way, but at the same time we had detractors comment on the slow build up of the film as one of the key issues.

We also had some complain about the ending, which naturally I'm not going to spoil here. I had a lot of suggestions to change it, but stuck by what I felt was right for the film and although I still get emails and comments criticizing it in my mind there was no other way for me to close the story. Any changes between Indonesian and International Cut are for the most part changes I agree with, only a few sequences I would have liked to have kept for building stronger characterization in some of the supporting roles.

Regarding a chance to see the full Indonesian cut, I'm pushing to get a local re-release of the DVD to include english subs. If this comes to fruition I'll let you know. My hope is to at least have them start work on it before we begin production on The Raid in March.

As always I'll keep you posted on any developments.

[Guest Yi-Long]

About the local reaction to the film, fans of the film embraced it in a big way, but at the same time we had detractors comment on the slow build up of the film as one of the key issues.

We also had some complain about the ending, which naturally I'm not going to spoil here. I had a lot of suggestions to change it, but stuck by what I felt was right for the film and although I still get emails and comments criticizing it in my mind there was no other way for me to close the story. Any changes between Indonesian and International Cut are for the most part changes I agree with, only a few sequences I would have liked to have kept for building stronger characterization in some of the supporting roles.

Regarding a chance to see the full Indonesian cut, I'm pushing to get a local re-release of the DVD to include english subs. If this comes to fruition I'll let you know. My hope is to at least have them start work on it before we begin production on The Raid in March.

As always I'll keep you posted on any developments.

Thanks for your comments, G.

So you would say the majority of the indonesian reception was mostly very positive, with a small portion of the people complaining(?) or commenting on the slow build-up!? Did they feel the movie paid off the slow build-up!?

If the vast majority of the fans in Indonesia accepted and loved the uncut version, why were you or the western distributors affraid a western audience might not accept it!?

The ending was already spoiled here btw by another member

I really hope there will be some way to get our hands on a subtitles uncut release some day.

I'm sure you're fed up with this whole discussion about this issue, especially with my nagging, but I'm sure as a fan of the genre yourself you must have had simular complaints about other releases you were interested in which were cut!?

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

I bought a couple blu rays of movies i watched when i was younger and came to find out they were missing parts, that makes me mad. I had good memories of those movies now tarnished by someone else because they thought it be better. I think it is wrong especially when i go to a theatre see a movie buy it a few months later on blu ray and it is missing parts. Personally i wish they would just give both versions i don't think it be a big deal or atleast make sure both are available so i can make my own decision not someone else making it for me. Just my opinion.

Dragon Dynasty/Weinsturd/miramax always butcher Asian movies... I didn't know Bluray format was that old, how young were you when you bought your first bluray, LOL...

[mpm74]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha Yi Long you don't know anything about me hahahahahahahaha.

I don't get it.

[daisho2004]

See I'll be honest I just got myself a BR player for Christmas, I couldn't see spending money on movies that I already had. But I still bought it anyway, but what really pisses me off is that, I thought that when you got the BR movies everything would be on them uncut versions etc: So myself yes I'm disappointed that they don't come complete! And I really don't know why the distributors think that Western audiences aren't going to like the extended versions. Like I post about Merantau the cut scene at the underground fighting was a great scene that I wish was left in, and I know that ghevans also loved that scene as well, given that these movies are released on DVD we really should have the choice to watch the versions that the directors wanted us to see and not what the distributors felt would be better!

[mpm74]

Gotcha. =D

[slinky]

Originally Posted by:OpiumKungFuCracker

Dragon Dynasty/Weinsturd/miramax always butcher Asian movies... I didn't know Bluray format was that old, how young were you when you bought your first bluray, LOL...

Like 36.

[Guest Yi-Long]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha Yi Long you don't know anything about me hahahahahahahaha.

Yi-long thinks I like butchered movies.

Yi-long is wrong

In that case, I know you're a fucking hypocrite.

You say you don't like butchered movies. Neither do I, so I ask some questions to the director of a cut movie, and you attack me over it, saying I act like a spoilt brat.

You say I sound like a jerk-off, and that might be true, but it certainly isn't my intention.

I'm just asking the questions I'm interested in knowing the answers to, especially considering this is a subject that has affected us all for many many years now, and we now have a rare chance to ask a director straight on about it all. A director who is a fan of the same genre and who also understands our frustration over stuff like this, and thus hopefully will also take our opinions into account next time this issue comes up.

[daisho2004]

Guys lets stay on topic and not veer off here! Yi-Long I see your points and I do agree with them about movies being uncut, and I'm glad you also ask ghevans about this also.

And DragonSword it really is a shame how much hype they put on BR Movies and when you read a lot of the reviews the clarity & audio really isn't that good. But they want us to believe that BR is the future!

[Guest Yi-Long]

@ Yi-Long I don't like butchered movies but I'm not going to stand around and weep, cry and moan to the filmakers until they release the version I want. I can appreciate things, because life is too short and the film is entertaining in its current version. I don't have time to wait around for special editions so I support these movies regardless of what cut I'm getting. I may not like what I eat for dinner every night, but I eat it anyway and appreciate what I have.

You're part of the problem. It's a shitty release yet you still pay them money for it, so they will just continue to fuck up these movies.

Filmmakers and distributors need to know that there's a big part of their potential target-audience who won't buy their product, if they have gone and fucked it up. That's the ONLY way how this is ever going to change.

Sadly, not every 'fanboy' has a spine, and thus a fool and his money are easily parted...

[daisho2004]

OK I think its safe to say we all agree that we hate films that are cut up! Again I agree with you Yi-Long that we the consumers should have the say in which version we want to see. They should really do a poll at all stores nation wide & on-line as well to get the consumers opinions on this. The Overseas distributors should also take a poll and see how wide the Asian market is over here. I wouldn't be surprised if the market over here was just as big or even bigger.

[Drunken Monk]

"Merantau" finally arrived at my house last night. I'm looking forward to watching it as soon as possible!

[ben]

I wish they could make a poll on what movies are released, that way we don't get all these crap movies. I don't know why people think martial arts films are big in the states, I can't remember the last time a truly good martial arts film was released in the states in the movie theater. If the martial arts movies are so big, then why are these companies struggling and going out of business one by one. I live in the states were even finding a martial arts section can be difficult sometimes. I buy the versions that are released, but I don't mind double dipping. I have bought other versions of the same film many times, I don't mind because it's a hobby. I support the films, I support the actors, I support the disributors, I support the fans, I support the arts, I support the websites and finally I support the industry. I'll leave the bitching up to Yi-Long, in the meantime i'll be enjoying the movies, while Yi waits for his version. Have fun wasting your movie time.

Yeah I'm going to have to jump in here and agree with you in response to Yi Long. Of course I would also prefer to see films uncut and enjoy them as they were meant to be. But film business is exactly that - a business to get their work shared with as many people as possible, and unfortunately comes with sacrifice or concessions, but in the end it provides us with the film in a proper package and in return we can support those behind it so they can keep making films, and hopefully, with further success, have more options in distribution and marketing etc.

The bad attitude is also unnecessary, attacking DragonSword like he's offended you personally, it's just a film, take it easy. A fanboy without a spine? Well I agree with him. I would gladly pay to support an official release because it supports those who made it.

Not to mention firing off your frustrations at Mr Evans, man would have loved the opportunity to discuss the film with him directly but you keep persisting with your heroism, so probably won't even have a chance for that now.