MovieChat Forums > Wild Side (1996) Discussion > Star needs direction

Star needs direction

posted 16 years ago by jonbg
3 replies | jump to latest

This film is a bit of a mess, mainly because Cammell clearly couldn't direct the ludicrous Walken. His performance is so scene-chewingly over the top that it wrecks the narrative. I used to love this actor, but by the mid 90's he clearly had lost the plot. Steven Bauer is equally unbelievable. Wild Side becomes a vehicle for its beautiful female leads whose roles seem to exist in a parallel universe. Having seen the director's cut I can see why the producers were spooked. Walken's histrionics, and Cammell's inability to direct him makes this movie look like a bunch of adlibbed rehersals. An hour in, I wanted to shoot Walken. The most pathetically egocentric performance I've ever seen by a 'star'.

[–] TheHungryAndAngryShow 9 years ago

I just saw both versions in a row. I cannot say this with any authority, but since the director's version was a rough cut, put BACK together by the original editor, I am guessing that the rambling and repeating lines were NOT supposed to be there in what would have ended up as the final cut. If you watch the director's cut, the actors many times repeat the same line two, three, or even four times, sometimes in a row. My guess is this is how Cammell was filming it, with the idea of editing it down later on. I would have to know way more about his directing style to be sure of this though. I don't really feel like calling this the director's cut is fair at all.

[–] henrimaine 8 years ago

I just saw the 111 minute director's cut. That was the only version I could find. I wish I had the chance to see the botched up original edit for comparison. It would be interesting to see how much better the director's cut is.

[–] TheHungryAndAngryShow 8 years ago

I actually enjoyed the studios version better than the so called director's cut. It was more of a well developed story line, cutting out all the excess in the director's version, which really does look a mess to me. But I may be in the minority on this one.