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They all have their good points, but I like the (first?) director's cut without the happy ending.
I didn't mind Harrison's flat narration but some of it was poorly written.
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The happy ending was kinda nice because I had become so fond of the two characters but pretty contrived. Interesting to see this ending. I like narration in movies. I get confused easy about movies and narration gets me up to speed. Still have not figured out Nicholson's "The Pledge". One ending that took five viewings for me to figure out completely was one of my favorites "Thief." Bet few of you did.
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I know it's uncool, but I like the first release version best. Not a Dicksian ending for sure, but somehow it resonated with me. Maybe it was just seeing real nature after the horror of LA. And it certainly was Rutger Hauer's finest film performance, and certainly Daryl Hannah's best until Kill Bill.
My 2 cents.
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if you can't decide which ending you like in a film, you should see "Run Lola Run."
You can choose among your favorites.
sorry for the minor threadjack, but it was heading in that direction anyway.
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Either ending is fine for me, but I watched the director's cut a couple months ago, and I'd have to say I thought it dragged a bit without the narration. I know it's sacrilege, but I can see why they thought the narration was necessary. I don't know if I would say it's one of the best ever, but it's one of my favorites. It still looks great. Vangelis has such an odd sound, that I don't think the soundtrack has suffered with age, either. kj.
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Wow. I thought I was the only one who liked the narration. Or at least thought the director's cut was lacking something without it. No matter how poorly done. Maybe its b/c thats how I first saw it, so thats the one true version for me.
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I agree with others here, who after seeing the director's cut, thought the original was so much better. I thought the ending was great, and I even liked Ford's narration throughout. I *even* liked that you could clearly see the cables on Ford's cop car as it floated to the ground!
At the time, it had as much awe power as when I saw the first Matrix movie.
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I've always thought the narration was a plus. Some people feel they're too smart and only dummies need/want the narration. They're idiots.
And though the narration has been oft described as "flat", given the entire tone of the movie, that's the only way it could have been done. Unemotional, weary... Anything else would have been distracting.
I've never seen the Unhappy Ending version; I'll have to look for that.
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Talking about this great movie and watching another of my all time greats, Heat makes sure this is going to be a good day. "I am talking to a dead man on the other end of this line."
