Paramount is planning a Dec. 29 launch of Paranormal Activity on DVD and Blu-ray – including the alternate ending not seen in theaters (in an unrated version of the film). If you loved Paranormal in cinemas, do you feel allegiance to that ending, or do you feel like you must see the alternate ending?
Generally speaking, do you watch alternate endings if they are available on DVD? And if so, were there any films you thought were better with the alternate ending? Or any that were ruined?
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I AM Legend is the only one that sticks out in my head and the alternate ending I felt was not as strong and powerful than the one we see on the movie. They picked a good choice to put the one they did on the end.
I disagree–I actually liked the alternate ending of I Am Legend better than the original. When I left the theater I thought, “We watched all that for THAT ENDING?!” And then once the alternate was leaked online, I remember really wishing they had gone with that one.
I completely agree with Sarah. Once my friends and I all saw the alternate ending we were so disappointed they didn’t go with that version. It brought in so many loose ends and actually… well, it made sense. It was the first and only one to pop in my head that was so much better with the alternate ending.
I don’t watch alternate endings. I feel that once the story is released on film, that’s the way it should stay. I also dislike when club mixes are are released. Once I buy the first release of an album, it is what I stick with. If you are a true artist, show us what you want us to see, read or listen to. Don’t go and re-do something just because its going to help your sales. The public will either be a fan of your work or not, it’s not personal. Can you imagine an alternate ending to Star Wars, Harry Potter, or if DaVinci had drawn al alternate version of the Mona Lisa? If you ask me, it looses its artistic value. In life everything has but one ending. We can wish we coulda, shoulda, woulda all we want, but once something is done, it finished.
Ok, Rosalie, are you always an idiot or just on the day you wrote this? One, club mixes are something that clubs do not the artist who wrote it, and usually it’s a rapper, so it’s really not all that artistic to begin with. Two, very few movies are considered art. They are entertainment, and many people are entertained by an alternate ending. Three, once again are you an idiot? You put Star Wars, harry potter, and DaVinci in the same category? Star Wars is a classic film trilogy, now saga, that has been remembered for decades and revolutionized the technology of special effects in movies. Harry potter was a movie series that was entertaining to children and monkeys, and Da Vinci is a Renaissance artist who has already been remembered for centuries and will be remembered for centuries to come. In conclusion, try to remember what the difference between a film and a movie are. Film=art, movie=entertainment. Also, try to keep your uneducated opinion to yourself. It’s people like you who make the internet such a garbage filled place.
The alternate ending was much better. You are an idiot.
So he is an idiot because he thinks the original ending is better? You, my friend, are pathetic.
Internet Tough Guy alert!
I Am Legend’s alternate ending was supposed to be the original ending, so it’s no surprise it was a massive improvement. Whereas the theatrical conclusion was cliche to the core, the alternate ending showed a much deeper angle to the monsters (i.e., they’re not as tyrannical and heartless as we assumed). While it was also more ambiguous, it fit the tone of I Am Legend much better than the typical disaster flick ending originally shown to us.
Wow, really? That’s one of the few “alternate endings” that I’m dumbfounded they didn’t go with. It was 100% better than the one that ended up onscreen.
I saw the movie in theatres and i would be interested in seeing the alternate endings. I did read about what those options were and given how the movie ended any of them would have worked for me.
On the whole, I don’t typically watch alternate endings but the only time I do is with the movie Clue. That movie had three different endings and I make sure that I watch them like they did in the VHS release.
there have been 3 that people have seen, apparently they have like 5 endings. I’ve seen the original, I have the alternate, and only one screening saw the third. The alternate one i saw is much better than the theatrical in my opinion
Army of Darkness – the US release had a lame ending because apparently, having your hero trapped alone in a post-apocalyptic future was a bummer for test audiences.
But the original ending made a lot more sense in the film.
The Forgotten has a much better alternate ending, and I saw this movie’s alt ending before the original, with movies like these it really doesn’t matter to me.
I usually watch the alternate endings on the dvds. The one alternate ending, that was actually incorporated back into the movie, that i hated was for The Exorcist. Not sure how anyone connected with the movie thought it would be a good idea to end the movie on that note!
The alternate ending for The Butterfly Effect was amazing. Kinda rough, but I think it was the better choice to have the original ending due to the nature of the alternate and it being such a sensitive and touchy subject.
I still like the alternate ending for Fatal Attraction – where Michael Douglas is carted off by the cops and Glenn Close slits her throat. It’s better because everything isn’t all nice and tidy and there’s the distinct possibility that Douglas might go to jail.
I agree, the alternate is a higher quality ending, but I don’t think the film would be as popular if it wasn’t for the theatrical ending.
Yanno I have never even heard of that alternate ending of Fatal Attraction before, so I figure it’s due to my age (I’m 31 now) – but it’s on my instant queue so I’ll check it out on the xbox over the weekend. But the thing about PA that I find brilliant is that the “bootleg” ending was different than the theaters, therefore those who did watch the bootleg version will probably fork of $$ to see it in theaters in addition to those that are going back again to see the alternate ending; it’s a WIN-WIN for the studio. I’ll admit I saw PA bootleg with friends who saw it in movies and they were freaking out (bootleg had cops, theater had the face). So we all plan on going to see the re-release just for the ending. Smart move, movie people..smart movie indeed
This isn’t very mainstream, but on the Rent dvd they had the alternate ending that pretty much matched what happened in the stage show. Where everyone is singing again on stage and then Angel returns (despite having died) to finish the song. I know the director didn’t want to pull the audience back out of the movie, but I cried like a baby when I saw the alternate ending. I think it would have meant more for the people who were big fans of the stage show.
I agree completely! While the ending they ended up using has a beautiful shot of Angel as the closing shot of Mark’s film, I would have much rather them have used the alternate ending. (Also, I think they should have included all of “Goodbye Love”. That is such a powerful moment in the show, and to leave the Roger/Mark conflict out was a mistake. I know the director said it was because none of their other conversations are sung, but I still think it’s vital to the progress of the movie.)
I was snookered into seeing Paranormal once, but I won’t be hyped into submission AGAIN.
The Descent’s UK ending was better than the one they release in the US. Once again, they were afraid that North American moviegoers would not appreciate the bleak ending. Hollywood, give us some credit will you.
The alternate ending for the US release of The Descent was so much better than the original theatrical release in America. The original American release was something Hollywood forces upon you, but the original UK ending is brilliant!
I like alternate endings. Once I heard about the ones for paranormal activity alt. ending, I googled and looked around for them. The one where she slits her throat is the one i would have went with.
Why would you actually give away one of the endings? Couldn’t you have put spoiler alert at the beginning of your comment?
I did not like the original so I have no interest in a DVD with an alternative conclusion.
I laughed hysterically at the alternate ending to The Hitcher (the remake). the movie wasn’t good, the ending wasn’t good, but at least she bashed his head in at the end instead of just shooting him.
Have to echo The Descent. The ending that was used everywhere else in the world was a much more fitting end to the movie. Thankfully, it’s restored and is the only ending available on the unrated version of the film on DVD here.
I also prefer the alternate ending to 28 Days Later that was not used anywhere, where Jim dies and the two girls walk out of the hospital room grimly holding their guns.