Gaspar Noé

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Courtesy of distributor Altered Innocence, Gaspar Noé's scandalous director's cut, entitled "Irréversible: Straight Cut," will open theatrically on February 10th in Los Angeles (Landmark's Nuart Theatre), New York City (IFC Center), A restored version of the original film will play concurrently in select cities, and makes for an interesting double feature.

Nearly 20 years after the original film's release, Noé world "Irréversible: Straight Cut" at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, and this release marks the U.S. theatrical premiere of his radically revised director's cut.

"Until now, "Irreversible" was a deliberate puzzle," Noé said of his innovative new cut. "Presented clockwise, everything is clear and also darker, making it easier to identify with the characters and understand the tale unfolding. The same story is no longer a tragedy; this time, it is a drama that brings out the psychology of the characters and the mechanisms that lead some of them to a murderous barbarity. While "Irreversible" has sometimes been wrongly perceived as a 'rape and revenge' B movie, here the deadly outcome is all the more depressing. "Irreversible: Straight Cut" can be more easily seen as a fable on the contagion of barbarity and the command of the reptilian brain over the rational mind. This new cut is another film. You will see. Time reveals all things."

Trailer

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Just got back from The Straight Cut at the Aero with Noe and del Toro in attendance.

Certainly a worthwhile watch for anyone interested enuff in this film to stomach the 'bleak'er version. And while it may lack Noe's original 'happy ending' conceit, the thesis feels altogether different enough to merit the exercise. In fact, a title card and some subtitles are different which almost makes me feel like Noe is giving the story more detail in this cut even though it's 7minutes shorter.

During the Q&A portion the moderator asked if Vincent and Monica Bellucci had seen it, Noe said yes and that "Monica especially is proud of it" becaues now the audience can focus on the psychology of her character and care for her with patience before the chaos. And because Noe has excised about 3minutes of whip-pans and spins, it feels more like the characters' edit than Benoit Debie and Noe's.

"This is the only film I know of that goes both ways" - Noe

But this edit does remove shots I like from the original.

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May 2023

Irreversible (2002) on blu-ray from Altered Innocence



Acclaimed filmmaker Gaspar Noé's unflinching exploration of human savagery and the uncompromising nature of time, Irreversible was met with a groundswell of acclaim and uproar upon its premiere at the opening night of Cannes in 2002. Stylish, sexually frank, and brutal, the film's conceit of exploring the events of one terrible night on the streets of Paris in reverse chronological order was celebrated and derided in equal measure, helping to further cement Noé's legacy as a cinematic enfant terrible.

Nearly 20 years later, Noé brought Irreversible back, presenting the "Straight Cut" to the Venice Film Festival. This reconfigured vision allowed audiences to see the events of the film unfold in the order in which they occur, providing new context for pivotal scenes of brutality and the subsequent quest for revenge. Now available are both cuts of the film, providing the viewer the opportunity to see Noé's potent account of humanity at its worst from multiple angles, and the unshakable understanding that time, indeed, reveals all things.