The Sapphires (2012) - August 6, 2013

[vocalhouse]

Finally watched this tonight. Anybody else notice that the US version is missing scenes? For example, it is missing the scene

[Show spoiler]where they get stopped and almost get shot by the Vietcong (?) on their way to Nhang Tran

. Is shortening a movie a de facto practice by Weinstein? I know they removed about 30 minutes from the US version of Dragon (Wu Xia).

[Arlington]

Originally Posted by vocalhouse

Finally watched this tonight. Anybody else notice that the US version is missing scenes? For example, it is missing the scene

[Show spoiler]where they get stopped and almost get shot by the Vietcong (?) on their way to Nhang Tran

. Is shortening a movie a de facto practice by Weinstein? I know they removed about 30 minutes from the US version of Dragon (Wu Xia).

Gah! Didn't know about this...I saw this in a theater in the States, and don't remember that scene...now I'll have to get the Aussie release...apparently it's 4 minutes longer. Great film regardless.

[Buscemi]

Not only did the distributor refocus the marketing (in what seems like an attempt to sell the film to people who liked Bridesmaids) and cut the film, they also didn't do a very good job of releasing the film. Seeing how Pitch Perfect (which was basically Glee Goes to College) grossed $65 million, The Sapphires should have opened wide immediately. Instead, they went limited (while giving something like Scary Movie V 3,000 theatres) and it died quickly. I live in a small movie market and the film did very well here (word of mouth was also strong from the showing I attended) so there was no excuse not to give it a decent release and ad campaign.

It's also sad that Australian films hardly get a chance to find audiences in the US anymore. I seem to remember the last Australian film to get wide distribution was Wolf Creek (which was ironically a Weinstein release) and that was eight years ago. Other than that, they either seem to die quickly in limited release, barely get released or go straight-to-DVD (the last one was the case with Red Dog, a huge success in Australia).

[thelwig14]

Lol at the "outcry."

It would be idiotic not to feature him prominently on the cover in the states. He had a big role in a huge hit in the states and is coming off his own HBO show. The 4 actresses are complete unknowns. It is a smart marketing business decision.

My redbox didn't have the blu but I enjoyed it. I love this kind of music so I am not objective towards the movie. I just wish it would have been fleshed out more.

[Buscemi]

There are large portions of the film where O'Dowd isn't in it. It is also not his story, which makes the complaints sound.

If anything, it's misogyny in that the distributor seems to believe that a film with a female lead won't sell (this backward belief would also explain why there are so few films with female leads now) so they stick the closest thing to a male lead on the cover. It's simply male studio heads moving the goalposts.

[Vixen of the Night]

Originally Posted by vocalhouse

Finally watched this tonight. Anybody else notice that the US version is missing scenes? For example, it is missing the scene

[Show spoiler]where they get stopped and almost get shot by the Vietcong (?) on their way to Nhang Tran

. Is shortening a movie a de facto practice by Weinstein? I know they removed about 30 minutes from the US version of Dragon (Wu Xia).

I saw the film in theaters and enjoyed it. And I also noticed that scene missing since it was included in the trailer! Was it actually in a print of the film? This is the first I've heard of a longer version being released elsewhere. But then it's no surprise with the Weinsteins

And I agree the U.S. cover is really bad considering what the film is about and I can see why it's offensive. Normally I'd think people are *****ing to *****, but this time it's justified.

[HorrorBlu]

I'm surprised this didn't get a bigger release. With the right marketing and a wide release, this could have been a box-office hit. It's a lovely film that mainstream audiences would enjoy.