Dying of the Light and Dark

The Studio Cut

Paul Schrader, who made a name for himself as the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, has slowly become one of my favorite filmmakers. He’s been active for years, but only with his most recent work, First Reformed and The Card Counter, has he truly struck a chord with me. Both films made my top ten of their respective years, with First Reformed being my favorite overall film of 2018. Schrader makes darkly serious, interesting films in which anything can happen. These last two movies draw me in and hold my focus as few other films do. 

If his recent work impressed me so much, I assumed I must’ve been missing out by not seeing his entire filmography. As I worked my way through it, I immediately came across a bit of controversy with Dying of the Light.

At first glance, Dying of the Light is just another Nic Cage cash grab that doesn’t even deserve a trailer watch. But it’s written and directed by Paul Fucking Schrader! With that in mind, I decided to give it my full focus. 

The story is compelling: a CIA operative dealing with a deteriorating brain disorder attempts to track down and kill his former terrorist adversary, who is also dealing with deteriorating health. The basic story is enough to hold interest, and the subtext of it all, dealing with what honor and loyalty mean, but more importantly what does anything mean in the end. Add a typical idiosyncratic Cage performance along with one of Anton Yelchin’s last appearances, and you have a decent enough film. 

But that was it. It was okay. Then I read the IMDb trivia which led me to an Indiewire article that made things much more interesting. 

The “Protest”

Feel free to read the linked article above to get the full story, but for now, here’s the gist: apparently, Dying of the Light was taken away from Schrader before he could finish editing and color-correcting the film. Schrader hated the released cut so much that he wanted his name taken off it (but couldn’t because of some guild rule or something). Schrader, Cage, Yelchin, and (executive producer) Nicolas Winding Refn all took to social media wearing t-shirts with their NDAs printed on them, which was their way of protesting the release without technically protesting it. 

Since Dying of the Light is hardly as popular as something like Justice League, there was no call to #ReleaseTheSchraderCut. This didn’t stop Schrader. Using only the material he had access to (which was workprint DVDs), Schrader made what he considers a new film. Using a much more unique editing style (he had to straight up film the screens in the editing bay to create new shots), Schrader made his new film, which would only be available at UCLA and UT Austin. 

Since I don’t plan on visiting either of those colleges any time soon, I figured I would never see this film. But then I read about Schrader releasing it online, and after a few searches I was able to track it down and watch it. (I’m not going to link to it out of fear of encouraging piracy and the likelihood that the place I found it at won’t have it for long, anyway. But if you’re interested, this movie can be found.)

The Light or the Dark?

There are two striking differences between these cuts (which I don’t really think should be considered two different films). The first is that Schrader was able to add the color tones he originally wanted, which means most of the scenes in America are drenched in sepia, the scenes in Bucharest are blue and green, and Africa is so yellow the scenes there have a sci-fi feel to them. 

The use of color makes this a much more visually interesting film than the studio cut. And the newly added scenes explaining the health conditions of the protagonist and antagonist (narrated by Ethan Hawke) use color to show their issues. So there is a thematic quality to it, not to mention a sepia tone for America says plenty about what Cage’s character might think about in regards to the past of America and how perhaps we see our country through this sepia-toned nostalgic lens and we see other countries through harsh and strange colors. In other words, the use of color adds a lot to the film. 

The other main difference is that Dark is much more about Cage’s deteriorating condition than it is about a CIA agent going after a terrorist. (SPOILERS ahead, but seriously, who the fuck is reading this that hasn’t seen at least the studio cut of this film? But I am going to spoil Dark, too, so I guess there’s that.) Cage’s moments of confusion are portrayed in a much more cerebral manner. Due to the editing and sound, the scenes become more and more disorienting as Cage gets worse. This culminates in Cage having a full blown 2001-like descent into full deterioration. This happens during his meeting with the terrorist at the end, then the film cuts to his grave. In the studio cut, he leaves after having a bit of an episode, allowing Banir to live. Then Banir retaliates, causing Cage to go back and kill him. On his way back, he turns into oncoming traffic, literally dying of the light (in this case, the headlights of an oncoming truck). I suppose he dies of the light in the Dark cut, as well, but in a different manner.

There are a few other differences, too, including a couple additional scenes. One has Cage visiting a catatonic Marine buddy at an assisted living facility, further driving home a couple themes along the lines of how America doesn’t take care of its wounded heroes all that well, and it provides a living example of what Cage refuses to become. There’s also a scene in which Cage tells Yelchin to not delay starting a family if that’s something he’s interested in, showing that Cage regrets that his entire life has been devoted solely to the CIA. In other words, some action was cut out, and some character development was added.

Overall, Dark works more as an interesting “what could have been” rather than a proper director’s cut. If Schrader had been given access to make his real cut, I think it would be a much more interesting film. I suppose I actually do consider them different films, in the end. I don’t plan on watching either version ever again, but if I did, it would depend on my mood. If I wanted a more straightforward experience that I could simply enjoy, I’d go with Dying of the Light. If I wanted a more immersive experience, I’d go with Dark. I do think Dark comes across more like a Schrader film, and Dying is more of a Cage film. So pick your poison, or probably better yet, don’t watch either of them, because these two films have taken up a lot more of my time than they deserve. Oh well…

A Quick Caveat

I have no way on knowing what to believe, but if you check out the comments on that Indiewire article, plenty of people chime in blaming Schrader for any issues with the original cut. One person even claims to be the original editor of the film. I’m inclined to believe him because who would claim to be the editor of Dying of the Light? I just felt the need to point out that there are some people who don’t think any injustice occurred to Schrader regarding this film. Despite this, I still find the exercise of his different version interesting and worth watching.

One last thing to keep in mind: this wasn’t a Justice League situation. It’s not as if Schrader left the project and someone else finished filming. He filmed everything, so it’s not as if a new cut is going to be all that different. I do think he made a bigger deal out of things when he realized the movie was just decent, at best. Then he wasn’t given the opportunity to church it up with color changes and editing, and he made it seem like his vision wasn’t being honored. Maybe not, but I think most of his vision is there in the studio cut, and he went extreme with Dark to try to prove that his original vision was a different movie entirely.

Random Thoughts / Favorite Quotes

"You will be subject to overreactions, or inappropriate reactions, blank spells."

Two scenes later he's contemplating suicide.

The scene after that, he's getting drunk at a Ruby Tuesdays, which he calls "Diamond Tuesdays." For the record, it’s Ruby Tuesday, singular.

I fucking love this movie no matter what happens for the next 70 minutes of it.

Anton Yelchin is all in on delivering spy-talk at a near whisper.

Cage with nothing to lose is always great. Cage with nothing to lose, a drinking problem, AND a brain disorder is what cinematic dreams are made of.

"This goes back to when I found you at Ruby Tuesdays, doesn't it?" Pretty sure no one has ever said that before, in film or life in general.

"I'm in Romania. Are you out of your fucking mind?! This whole country is a smoking section!"

"Isn't it strange when you can't even trust your own fingers?"

This movie goes from 0 to 11 in the last five minutes, culminating with Nic Cage's index finger knuckle-deep in someone's eye socket.

Well, that was exhausting. I think the next Schrader film I’ll take a look at is his prequel to The Exorcist. I’m sure that film went smoothly…

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Slightly (Sort of) Underrated Scorsese: "Bringing Out the Dead"

Yup, another Nic Cage movie, but this isn’t part of the Not Actually Crappy series I wrote because Bringing Out the Dead isn’t considered all that crappy, and it’s considered a Martin Scorsese movie more than a Cage film. Also, this is part of a duo of Scorsese films I wanted to write about that I consider to be a little bit underrated and largely forgotten, especially this one. And both films are about insane people. Scorsese has plenty of films about crazy people, I know, but I think this film and Shutter Island (which I’ll cover next week) are unique in that nearly every character is potentially crazy. The funny thing is only one of the films takes place in an insane asylum. Bringing Out the Dead is about how crazy the streets of New York are, and how the night shift emergency health care providers have gone crazy, as well.

As always, there will be SPOILERS, as I write all my articles under the assumption that you’ve seen the movie I’m writing about.

Scorsese’s craziest film?

Martin Scorsese is no stranger to crazy characters, from Joe Pesci in Goodfellas and Casino to Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator to De Niro in The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver, etc. But most of the time, the crazy is kept to one or two characters. With Bringing Out the Dead he found a story in which everyone was crazy.

What’s unique about Bringing Out the Dead is that the crazy isn’t only in the streets. The professionals are just as crazy, either from being overworked, overstressed, from PTSD, or simple eccentricity. If this wasn’t the case, then the film would be very boring. It’s not exactly a fresh idea to say that the streets of New York are crazy. But to focus on how dealing with all the insanity in turn makes the ambulance workers crazy is pretty interesting.

You would think that dealing with insanity in this setting would be depressing, especially since the film was written by Paul Schrader, but it actually ends up being very funny. I wouldn’t exactly call Bringing Out the Dead a dark comedy, though...maybe miserable comedy makes more sense.

It’s not that death and overworked medical professionals are funny, it’s the characters. Nicolas Cage is probably the most serious character, as he’s dealing with the PTSD that comes with the job in general, but mainly focused on one girl he couldn’t save. Despite that, his typical Cage-ness adds some humor, but it’s largely his reaction to his eccentric co-workers that’s funny.

Those co-workers are John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore, and they steal the show, especially Rhames and Sizemore. It’s not that Goodman isn’t as good as the others, it’s just that his character is probably the most sane one in the film, by design. As Cage gets crazier, so do his co-workers. Goodman is funny, but his character hasn’t lost it, and even has plans for the future. Rhames is just kind of goofy, not necessarily crazy. But he’s not allowed to work two nights in a row for some reason, and then there’s that whole flipping over an ambulance moment in the movie. And Sizemore is totally nuts. In the book (I read it in high school after watching this movie the first time and loving it), he’s a Vietnam vet still fighting the war, although now he’s waging it on the city’s homeless. In the film, Cage does say to him that “the war’s over,” so I think it’s still the case, though less obvious than the book. Either way, there’s obviously some PTSD stuff (among other things) going on with him. And when Cage works with him, it makes for the wackiest, funniest night in the film.

Sizemore steals the show for me because of nostalgia. This is peak Sizemore, and he was the man for a few years in the late 90s (Natural Born Killers, Saving Private Ryan, Heat). He still works (he has an astonishing 26 shorts and movies either completed or in production), but he’s been relegated to B movies since his drug issues. But there was a time when if you saw him in a film, you knew at least part of the movie would be decent. And with Bringing Out the Dead, he gets set loose. The manic look in his eyes as he goes after Marc Anthony’s character cracks me up. Apparently he actually had issues with Anthony as, according to IMDb, they nearly got into a physical fight while filming. Anyway, Sizemore is a great choice to work off of a crazy Cage. It’s an insane tag team that leads to scenes like Cage critiquing a suicide attempt.

Sizemore is my favorite character, but Ving Rhames’s character is a close second. This is one of the few times Rhames isn’t playing some imposing badass, and it’s great. The guy has true range that is not being utilized. But it is here. The way he talks, voice cracking every other word, is great, and his standout scene is still my favorite moment in the film. The I. B. Bangin’ scene. When Rhames asks for Bangin’s real name, he’s told it’s Frederick, which leads to this interaction. “Okay, Freddy.” “It’s Frederick.” “Okay, I. B. Bangin’.” It’s not very funny written out, but it works in the film. Anyway, Rhames deserved a supporting nomination for this one.

I’ve focused on the crazy characters in the film, but there is one place that seems sane: a drug dealer’s apartment called The Oasis. I’m sure there’s something to be said socially here that a drug den is the only sane location in the film. What I took away from it is that you either learn to embrace the insanity of the world, or you medicate accordingly to deal with it. It’s not the point of the film, especially since The Oasis ends up getting shot up in the end, but I think it’s a valid takeaway from the movie. Overall, I took the message to be accepting and forgiving yourself to deal with no only your own insanity, but that of the world too.

Are any of Scorsese’s films truly underrated? Maybe just unsuccessful.

At first, I wanted to call this duo of films underrated, but that simply is not the case. Sure, at 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s one of the Scorsese’s lowest rated films, but 71% is still pretty good. And it’s certainly not low enough to call this underrated. For Bringing Out the Dead, I would say this one is dismissed and forgotten, and it was definitely unsuccessful, bringing in $16.8 million on a $55 million budget.

Those who dismiss this movie should give it another chance, because it is very much your standard Scorsese movie. It’s chaotic, features a wide-ranging, awesome soundtrack, is very New York, and is darkly comedic. That could describe any number of his highly successful films, so what’s wrong with this one? I truly don’t know, because I’ve loved this film from the get-go, as evidenced by my copy of the DVD, which is so old is features a catalogue showing other Paramount movies on DVD, and there’s sticker residue because the companies hadn’t figured out the right adhesive to use in their packaging (a small issue I know, but I don’t trust people who don’t remove all the stickers and the security device from their DVDs).

That said, the original poster and cover for this film is great. It’s one of my favorites, actually. The cross with Cage’s bloodshot eyes inset. It symbolizes the movie perfectly.

Also, this was written by Paul Schrader! That’s classic Scorsese! The IMDb trivia incorrectly claims that this is considered a remake of Taxi Driver. Maybe someone said something along those lines in an interview or something, but this is based on a book of the same name. I get the similarities, but the tone is very different. This is pretty much a comedy. While Taxi Driver has some comedic moments (taking a first date to a porno theater?!), overall it personifies the dark, gritty element of late 70s cinema. Who wants a remake of Taxi Driver, anyway? I just liked seeing a New York movie from Scorsese and Schrader.

Finally, Bringing Out the Dead does not deserve to be one of Scorsese’s forgotten films. I don’t consider it among his best, but that doesn’t make it bad. He set out to make a funny, chaotic film, and he certainly accomplished that.

Favorite Cage Moments

I mentioned him critiquing the suicide attempt already, but I love him yelling at the guy until he runs away.

Cage trying to “drive out of himself.”

The general look of Cage in this movie. He’s an insomniac, so his eyes have never looked more dead. Also, there’s a ten minute span where he has blood splattered on his face, and he just leaves it there.

“I eat. Larry. I eat.”

Don't know why, but I love the scene of Cage and Arquette sitting together in the back of the ambulance as “These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs plays.

“I didn't kill you.”  “No, you didn’t, Frank, and I thank you, but we still got a couple hours left on our shift.”

“She asked me to pick her up go out for a movie and a malt and bring her right home.”

“If you have any doubts about this, it's my fault.”

Approaching a group of hobos: “You guys got any coffee?”

“Why is everything a cardiac arrest?!”

Cage’s hysterical laugh in response to “You need the Holy Ghost, Frank!”

And oh yeah, a comatose patient telepathically asks Cage to kill him.

Random Thoughts

Scorsese as dispatch. Most active acting he has done in a film.

Ebert loved it! So we’re back on the same page.

“You do mouth to mouth you'll end up with a mouthful of puke. Junkie puke.”

Omar coming! Oh, never mind.

Sister Fetus. There’s a character name Sister Fetus. She’s never elaborated upon.

Arquette’s mom offers Cage applesauce cake. What in God's name is applesauce cake?

This film introduced me to The Clash with “Janie Jones” (I was in high school, give me a break).

There's a virgin birth…maybe.

That ambulance crash was pretty cool. I guess that and the music rights is why the budget was so high.

The almost constant nighttime setting adds to the despair.

Watch this and Fear and Loathing back to back, and you'll be high.

Sizemore saying, “Just say no.”