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Post by DustinM on Dec 28, 2009 14:28:57 GMT -5
In case any of you weren't aware, the original ending to Phantasm didn't have the Tall Man re-appearing in the final moments to say 'Booooooy'. As originally filmed, Mike woke up in his bed, realized it was all a dream, and had to remain in reality to face the hardship of losing his brother and parents. The cemetery shot briefly glimpsed at in P1's ending of Mike standing over Jody's grave was much longer as first filmed. The camera pulls back until it passes a funeral in progress where we see the Tall Man in ordinary attire and of normal stature comforting one of the families.
So the question is this.
Which ending do you think better serves Phantasm?
Should it all have been just the fever-dream of a deeply troubled youth? Or should it have been more than that? Was the Tall Man really out to get poor Mike?
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Post by gopher in heat on Dec 28, 2009 17:24:10 GMT -5
I think it would have been really interesting to see the original ending where it was all a dream. There's not a thing wrong with the ending we have, and I love it as it is, but I think it would have given the film a completely different tone had the ending not been so "horror".
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Post by bigphan1990 on Dec 28, 2009 17:43:31 GMT -5
The ending we got was fine.
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Post by lmsunshine on Dec 28, 2009 20:16:48 GMT -5
I remember watching the x-tra's on P1 and Don said that there were a few different endings he had in mind. I would love to see some of the alternate endings. I'm not sure if I would of liked P1 ending where "it's only a dream". I never liked any movie that ended that way. On the Fatal Attraction DVD they have an alternate ending in the x-tras. But of course I liked the ending they used in the movie.
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Post by rijir (Russ) on Dec 28, 2009 20:26:05 GMT -5
You know what Don should do with Phantasm now that we have Blu-Ray. Utilizing seamless branching make multiple edits of the movie and have it where each time you watch it the movie is 20% different. Complete with alternate endings, different takes, alternate scenes, etc.. It would just totally mess with your mind as you wouldn't know how the next viewing would play out or end. Phantasm would be perfect for this. The massive storage capacity of Blu-Ray could hold this amount of data and would be a first, in my opinion, in movie making.
And before anyone mentions the 80's movie Clue I do remember that. But that was just alternate endings.
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Post by lmsunshine on Dec 28, 2009 20:39:20 GMT -5
And before anyone mentions the 80's movie Clue I do remember that. But that was just alternate endings. And don't forget Wayne's World...they had alternate endings
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Post by rijir (Russ) on Dec 28, 2009 23:20:23 GMT -5
And before anyone mentions the 80's movie Clue I do remember that. But that was just alternate endings. And don't forget Wayne's World...they had alternate endings Oh yes. Forgot that one.
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Post by 4barrelhemi on Jan 5, 2010 12:18:26 GMT -5
I think I'd liked to have seen the alt ending as an extra but I am fine with the ending Don gave us.
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Generator
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Post by Generator on Jan 5, 2010 16:41:48 GMT -5
I would have been highly disappointed if it was all a dream.
But if Mike woke up and THAT turned out to also be a dream that might have worked, like one of those false Wake Ups?? I think the Tall Man is always out to get Mike though.
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Post by pumpmonkey on Jan 11, 2010 16:28:25 GMT -5
The "Its only a dream" was used, with TTM in the background performing the duties as a normal mortician would have been an excellent ending. However, I also believe if that particular ending had been used, the chance of a sequel would have been substantially less, and we might not have had the other three. (The corollary would be that if sequels were to come forth from the alternate ending, that they would be substantially different than what we have~!) The is a great deal of power with a properly done Dream-Sequence theme. Even our own dreams can cause confusion in our waking hours (at least *I* occasionally experience some confusion...not sure about the rest of you~!) . When dealing with the 'dreams' they can part-time segments of the mysterious, frightening, and sensual. I have never done so; but I would suspect that creating such a heavy dream-sequenced movie would be essentially filming two separate movies at the same time, with the storyline coming out in the editing room. The end result would be a hope of pulling it off where the audience is confused & thoughtful, and the critics do not pan it. Had Don actually performed that and managed to get a 2nd film shortly thereafter, so many things that were to follow would have been labeled copy-cat variants, if not a 'tip-of-the-hat'. There are so many, and although Freddy is obviously a perfect example of the 'frightening', I would hazard a guess and state that the most famous dream sequence is probably Season 8 of Dallas. (ugh...I never watched that show anyway)
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briggs
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Post by briggs on Jan 15, 2010 14:47:55 GMT -5
I definitely have to go with the majority here; though I would LOVE to see the original (Please, someone read and follow through with that Blu-Ray idea!), I think the one we have is better. "It was all just a dream" would be daring, but not as original as what we have; IMO Phantasm is about more than simply the real world, in the Phantasm-universe, having an alien mortician chase you around is a real fear whether you want to acknowledge it or not
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Post by pumpmonkey on Jan 18, 2010 19:37:48 GMT -5
having an alien mortician chase you around is a real fear whether you want to acknowledge it or not I suddenly remember watching some movies with some friends of mine about 20 years ago...when one asked me: "Who would you rather have chasing after you: The Terminator or The Tall Man?" My answer was quick and decisive. "The Terminator." "Why?" "Because when he's terminated, he's f-ing dead. With The Tall Man, all you get is a brief reprieve."
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Post by Natalie on Jan 25, 2010 18:29:20 GMT -5
I think it would be interesting to see the other ending. I love movies that play with your mind. That is pretty much what that ending would have done. However, while you would be watching the film, and figure out that it really all was a dream after Mike wakes up, the mind boggling is over. We would know that it was never real. So I would have to side with the actual ending where the Tall Man appears in Mike's room. Because even to this day, after four films, we STILL don't even know if it was all a dream. We are still trying to figure it out if, as the Tall Man says at the end of Oblivion, "it's all in his head". This is what keeps us (well, at least me) still engaged into the films.
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Post by pazuzu on Feb 9, 2010 0:55:17 GMT -5
i love the way p1 ends with mike getting pulled through his mirror...awesome
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Post by phanfan on May 3, 2010 22:14:37 GMT -5
For me, I prefer the ending we have. Had the movie been wrapped up succinctly, PH's 2-4 may not have been made. As the first movie stands now, Mike is dreaming some of it, but not all. Or is he? With this series you never can tell.
The "Booooyyy!" ending keeps us guessing (and keeps the franchise alive).
Phanfan
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