Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is, in fact, Bertolucci's original cut of 315 (!) minutes. Having seen both the 255 minute version and the director's cut, one may actually say what kind of difference can there possibly be between these 2 versions? One is 4 1/4 hours, the other is 5 1/4 hours. They are both incredibly long versions, so what's the point? The point is that there is a huge difference. As incredible as it may sound, the shorter version seems longer, as it doesn't have the same narrative flow as the longer version does. There are subtle differences between the versions that make certain scenes different. For example, there is a scene where the leaders of the town go duck hunting (warning! Bertolucci shows the actual killing of ducks here, along with animals being slaughtered for food). They then go into a church to discuss bringing a new fascist order to the town. In the short version, the church scene only consists of the men talking. In the longer version, Bertolucci intercuts the dead ducks with the men talking, giving the scene a graver effect. The sex scenes are longer and more explicit in the longer version as well. I saw this long version at a Bertolucci retrospective, and there were college kids in the audience who were laughing at the sex scenes! The sex scenes, like in all of Bertolucci's work, are meant to be serious and natural, which they are. I suppose the young people of America have a difficult time taking sex seriously after a decade or so of lowbrow, childish, teenage "comedies". Some of the magnificent camera work got lost in the shorter version, because Bertolucci cut some of the beginnings and ends of scenes, where they would be a wonderful camera move opening or closing the scene. As for the film itself, it is incredibly ambitious and amazing to behold. Bertolucci just came off the amazingly successful Last Tango in Paris, and did something grandly ambitious. He should be commended for that. Many current day filmmakers would probably do a sequel to their already successful film to fill their pockets, and not give a hoot about anything else. Bertolucci originally wanted to release it in 2 parts, but the producer Alberto Grimaldi, who was reeling from the financial failure of Fellini's Cassanova (a film he produced), wanted no part of a 2 part film. So Bertolucci compromised. He only cut one entire scene. He made cuts within scenes (a technique that Terry Gilliam used on his film Brazil, when he had to trim his film from 142 minutes to 131). While this film is magnificent, it took a ton out of Bertolucci. He never worked with Grimaldi again (Grimaldi had produced Last Tango in addition to this film), and he didn't really recover his reputation as a great filmmaker until 10 years later with another epic, The Last Emperor. Since then, he's been erratic, but he can still make great cinema (watch The Dreamers, one of Bertolucci's best films). Since this is in fact the director's cut, by all means see it, rent it, buy it. This is arguably one of the finest, most ambitious, and unique epic films ever made. When it was made in 1977, it was met with derision, confusement, and indifference. Many people are now able to view this film, and appreciate it for the masterpiece that it is.