I watched the alternate ending of Rocky Balboa on DVD when it first came out and it bugged me. I'd already fallen for the real ending, and it was so much better. The idea of Rocky winning the fight against Mason Dixon (as the alternate ending depicted) was a bit ridiculous and Rocky's motivation had nothing to do with winning anyway. It was about respect and it was about doing the thing that had been left undone. Thankfully, Sly Stallone chose the right ending.
I told you last Friday that something about alternate endings and commentaries at the end of DVD's bugs me. It didn't used to, but the more I watch of them, the more I'm bothered by them. I used to like the fact that they gave me special insight into the making of a movie, but I no longer think the tradeoff is worth it. I already know it's a fictional world, but I don't want the writers and producers to remove the curtain that shields us from reality so we can see them at work.
I don't want to know that a particular scene was shot in Los Angeles if the fictional world is supposed to be set in New York. I don't want to know that someone had to add an extra window in a room so they could get better lighting. I don't want to know that props needed to be added to make a scene look more realistic. If I'm into the movie, and if my mind is already in the story line, then I've already bought the illusions. And I like it that way.
Recently, as I listened to commentary about a television series that I'm working my way through on DVD, a couple of the actors made all sorts of mistakes about what their characters did and didn't do. The series has been off the air for a while, so I'm guessing that the actors are on to other projects and I understand that, but hearing them mangle their character's story lines didn't do the series much justice in my opinion.
So, the obvious answer for me is to stop watching all of the special features, and that's what I'm going to do. Anybody else feel this way or do the special features add to your experience?
