2 PM showing, 15 minute intermission, back to the car just before 7 PM... that was an experience!
The changes are actually pretty minor:
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The anime sequence that provides O-Ren's backstory is extended, showing how she got her revenge on the assassin who killed her parents, not just the boss who ordered it.
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In the original fight with the Crazy 88, she does an eye pluck and the rest of the fight is in black and white, this cut remains in color for the full run of part 1.
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Part One ends right after The Bride's speech to Sophie, "And I want them all to know they'll soon be as dead as O-Ren." Break for intermission. No cliffhanger.
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Part 2 opens with the Church scene, a recap of part 1 not being necessary.
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Added material after the end credits including a new scene set after the killing of Vernita Greene showing the end of the Pussy Wagon. Gogo's sister flies to L.A. for revenge.
That whole sequence is weird as it's, not kidding, animated in Fortnite and seems to follow Fortnite violence rules. Uma Thurman does return to do the voice of the Bride though.
Overall, it's a good flick, but I think I like the original versions better.
First, the second movie also has sequences in black and white, and because the big fight scene is now in full color, there's no precedent for the B&W footage, it just kinda comes out of nowhere.
Second, the cliffhanger at the end of part 1 is epic, it seems criminal to cut it.
Third, Fortnite? Seriously? They couldn't even be bothered to call the Pussy Wagon "Pussy Wagon", it's "😸 Wagon".
Edit The Fortnite clip is on the Fortnite YouTube channel:
I think most great artists pursue their art because of a love of the art. Film making is expensive and like everyone else they need to put food on the table, but any artist who is in it for the money is already lost.
I haven't seen Megalopolis yet, but I think it's a great example of a film maker having no interest in return of investment. The closing statements of Life of Brian is another great example: "I told him, I said to him, Bernie, I said, they'll never make their money back."
As for Fortnite, it might be more similar to Roblox than I thought. ;)
Megalopolis is an interesting watch, lots of allegory which blows by people and they go "I don't get it, 0/10."
Thanks! I was traveling too much while it was in the cinema, but it's one of the few movies in recent years I've been sad to miss. If nothing else it looks like something different. Happy to hear it's not universally hated!
I was lucky enough to catch it in the theater then imported the 4K disc set. The Blu Ray is region locked, but the 4K is region free.
For some damn reason he's making it super hard to watch it in the US. No official streaming and no official physical. You have to hope to catch the theater road show.