“The Butterfly Effect” Effect.

There is nothing weirder that sitting through a film you know quite well, only to find that it doesn’t end the way you remember.

I have The Butterfly Effect on DVD, and – unlike the so-called sequels, it is a pretty decent sf film about changing timelines, with an incredibly dark ending.

However, all my DVDs are currently packed away, and it was on TV tonight, so I thought I would watch it. But when then ending came, it was totally different, and rather than being dark, it was a “they all lived happily ever after” ending.

I felt just like the main character of the film for a moment, finding myself in another timeline, until I looked the film up on Wikipedia. Turns out that what I own is the Director’s Cut with the darker ending, whereas what was on TV tonight was the theatrical “happy sappy” ending that the studio preferred.

I now think I know why some of my friends look at me questionably when I say I like The Butterfly Effect. Without the Director’s Cut ending, it is quite a different film, and not nearly as satisfying.

2 Comments

  1. February 20, 2011
    Reply

    I found the same with the theatrical release of “I am Legend”. Without giving too much away, it’s a happy ending for humanity. In the original cut, Will Smith’s character realises exactly what’s going on as per Matheson’s book; and as a bonus you get to remember when he’s not in “Big Willie” mode, the man can act.

    The original ending’s on YouTube (all 7 minutes of it) if anyone’s interested.

  2. chris
    February 22, 2011
    Reply

    Despite its variance from the original story, I have always had a fondness for “The Omega Man”.

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