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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Some thoughts on the extended versions of the Millennium trilogy

9:35 PM / Television / 3 Comments

With the second trailer for David Fincher's upcoming English language and yet-to-convince-me-it's-in-any-way-worthwhile remake of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO having recently hit the web, it somehow seems appropriate that the extended television version of the original Swedish adaptation and its two follow-ups have finally been made available to English speakers. For those not aware of the somewhat unusual history of these adaptations of Stieg Larsson's literary phenomenon, a brief overview: originally, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO was filmed with the intention of releasing it both theatrically and in an extended form as Parts 1 and 2 of a six-episode miniseries for Swedish television, the final four instalments derived from the second and third novels in what became, with Larsson's untimely death, a trilogy. With the books' explosion in worldwide popularity, however, a decision was made to release all three films theatrically, resulting in a return to the editing room for some judicious cutting to rein in their somewhat unwieldy combined running time of over nine hours.

Although not billed anywhere on the UK packaging as TV versions, this is precisely what these extended cuts are, and this should be clear from their structure: barring the first instalment, each episode begins with a recap of the events of its predecessor, before seguing into an illustrated title sequence depicting various key moments from the trilogy. While the artwork and particularly the motion graphics effects are a little on the naff side, they set the tone well and are accompanied by a nice piece of music by composer Jacob Groth. Each episode also ends with a greatly abridged set of closing credits, consisting of still frames rather than the scrolling text of the theatrical versions.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, shot with two different versions planned from the beginning, is arguably the instalment least affected by the changes. While the television cut features almost half an hour of additional material, most of it serves to flesh out the characters and their world a little more rather than making any radical alterations to the overall narrative and its flow. Certainly, the TV version has a slightly more relaxed pace and delves a little more into the relationships between various characters - particularly with regard to Blomkvist's relationship with Erika Berger, a major element in the novel and one that crops up in both sequels but was excised completely from the theatrical cut - but it doesn't ultimately feel as if you're watching a different film. Most of the added material is of the "for the fans" variety, with those that are familiar with the books being able to identify all sorts of little subplots that didn't make it into the theatrical version, perhaps most notably the story of Wennerstrom's mole inside Millennium. An additional point worth noting with regard to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is the change in aspect ratio: it was the only one of the three films to be shot in 2.39:1, and given that this version was intended for broadcast it's unsurprising that it has been reformatted to 1.78:1 (a combination of cropping and opening up the mattes slightly). While regrettable (I personally think the film loses some of its sense of scale with the narrower ratio), you can't really complain as this is how this particular version was intended to be seen.

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

Fast forward to the second instalment, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, and the changes between the theatrical and television editions are striking. Since the decision to cut down and release films two and three theatrically was apparently made relatively late in the game, chopping so much material out of an already completed film was always going to have a damaging effect, and you really get a sense here that you're seeing THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE as it was intended to be viewed for the first time. The film not only gains nearly an hour's worth of footage but has also been radically restructured. Entire sequences are shifted about in the timeline, thereby gaining new significance and in places having their meaning completely altered. A case in point is Salander's return to Sweden. In the theatrical version, she makes the decision to head back when she discovers that her crooked guardian, Bjurman, has been checking out a tattoo removal clinic (presumably with the intention of ridding himself of the words "I am a sadistic pig and a rapist" which she branded on his stomach in the previous film). In the television cut, her motivation for returning to Sweden isn't spelled out (although we are invited to infer, as in the theatrical version, that the sum of money left to her by her mother may have played a part), and her discovery about Bjurman comes once she has settled in her new apartment in Stockholm. This is a perfect example of the often clever compression found in the theatrical version, whereby events are greatly compressed or simplified without the inclusion of any significantly different footage (there are minor instances of different takes being used, but that's about it)... and yet in spite of the smart decisions made as to what to cut and what to keep, I always felt that the theatrical version felt rather muddled and disjointed, to the extent that I suspect many viewers not already familiar with the novel would have been completely lost. With the TV version, not only does it have more "room to breathe", it also seems to make a great deal more sense, with previously unexplained leaps in logic now being properly followed through. Much more time is given over to Salander's vilification by the press, intensifying her plight, and significantly more time is also devoted to the police investigation, focusing on infighting and the unscrupulous behaviour of one dodgy officer. There's no doubt in my mind that the TV cut of THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE is a much better version than its theatrical counterpart. It makes more sense and, despite the longer running time and less abrupt pace, seems better paced. It's still a long way from the complexity of the novel with its biting social commentary, but the fact that even a portion of that aspect has found its way into the TV cut is a cause for celebration. Of the three films, this is the one that comes closest to being completely transformed.

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST

Finally we come to THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST, this time with around 40 minutes' worth of new material. This time round, the new scenes are largely to be found in the first half of the film (i.e. episode 5 of the miniseries), but while there are once again plenty of them, they somehow make less of an impact than was the case with THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE. Perhaps it's because THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST tells a more linear story, with the material removed from the theatrical cut generally simply taking the viewer from point A to point C while glossing over point B: the new material, much of it focusing on the infighting and surveillance efforts of the rogue security faction, once again helps flesh out the characters and gives a sense of the broader social significance of the storyline, but doesn't really alter the outcome in any significant way. More attention is also paid to the police investigation, and this at least is appreciated, if only because it explains the sudden sidelining of Inspector Bublanski, a major figure in the second film who all but disappeared in the theatrical cut of the third film. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST was always the weakest of the three novels, and the one most in need of some judicious editing, and despite the adaptation containing far more in the way of narrative changes than the other two films put together, neither the theatrical nor the TV version can get around the fact that not a great deal actually happens until the point of Salander's trial, with all the main pieces having already been placed on the board in the second film.

I enjoyed rewatching this series of films a great deal. The first film continues to stand above its two sequels in a class of its own - it's slicker, better written and clearly benefitted from a much higher budget, while its two successors look every inch the TV movies that they are. Good TV movies, but TV movies nonetheless, and ones clearly made on a budget. Viewing them in their originally intended form, however, does them a great many favours and even makes the obvious budgetary shortcomings - the grubbier visuals, the prevalence of "characters sitting in a room/walking down a path talking" scenes - seem more forgivable. One thing is clear: watching all six episodes in rapid succession allows you to really appreciate the impressiveness of Noomi Rapace's portrayal of Salander, and if nothing else the films should be celebrated for this career-defining performance, whatever their individual shortcomings.

I'll be discussing the image quality of all three films in a future post.

3 Comments

 
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