Clint Eastwood's directorial step into the Iraq war with this biopic proves to be clunky despite his trademark skill at getting the best possible performances from his actors.
American Sniper is based off the real life heroics of one Chris Kyle, a Texan "cowboy" turn SEAL sniper during the war in Iraq. He was quickly realised to be the most lethal sniper in US history, called by his peers as Legend, with over one hundred and sixty confirmed kills to his name.
The film charts not only his impressive career and the dangers he faced but more importantly his fracturing state of mind and the war's influence on his family life.
This must be the most stoic and intense performance I've ever seen from Bradley Cooper, turning himself from the know-it-all pretty boy into a muscular, patriotic and multi-layered soldier.
You know what to expect going into a film directed by Eastwood; a film driven by stunning performances that drive home heart-string pulling sympathy and emotion, and he certainly rubbed off on Cooper. Kyle's relationship with his wife, played by Sienna Miller, has a lot of chemistry and proves to be the best element of the film.
But for all of this good chemistry (and without spoiling the story if you don't know already) I found the film to be skirting around some of the real issues, issues that Eastwood would have given real gravitas to, instead preferring to show rather classic and archetypal war story beats. Scenes that could provide more emotional weight end before things are fully realised, at least I didn't feel as moved by the characters and their peril as I could have been. A defining moment for this is the ending, literally the last few minutes were the most emotional of the entire movie, to the point were it almost feels forced.
Being based off Kyle's autobiography, and how seemingly patriotic he was as a person, one wonders how accurate the story's antagonists really are, specifically an enemy sniper who's skill could only be matched by Kyle himself. What could have been a moving character study that Eastwood would excel at, becomes a little cartoonishly heroic. It feels more like a movie about his incredible deeds (which are incredible) instead of a biopic about the man himself.
Clunky is the word I would use. It was a decent film for Bradley Cooper's performance and some intense moments, but it didn't do enough to get me completely invested; I came away from it remembering a lot of standard war story beats.
I'd like to bring your attention to a little-known, cult film from the mid-1980s that will forever be stuck in my mind as incredible fantasy film nostalgia. The film is called Legend and was directed by Ridley Scott and stars Tom Cruise.
Now you might well know this film, but did you know that the version you grew up with might be very different from the version I watched as a kid?
When I first saw Legend, it was a recording off television on old fashioned VHS in the little United Kingdom, but it was great, a twisted and dark 1980s fantasy adventure. It has everything from the most classic of high fantasy; elves, goblins, fairies, unicorns, demons and devils, all captured with the loving attention to detail only 1980s physical effects can bring. While Tom Cruise is the hero, Tim Curry is positively inhuman and terrifying as the demonic Darkness, surely the most standout performance of his career and nightmare material for any 80s child!
But all was not well in the film's post-production, and Ridley Scott, the studios and distribution companies made some questionable decisions.
Upon theatrical release, the film was deemed too dark and frightening for a general American audience. It was decided that the US would received a greatly cut down edition in cinemas (with a happier, straightforward ending) as well as removing the original score by Jerry Goldsmith (which Scott was never fully satisfied with anyway) in favour of a more 80s sound by Tangerine Dream. All synth and awesome 1980s fantasy sound.
However, while America suffered a drastically cut down version, Europe was considered able to cope with the darker tone and imagery of the original cut! Here we recieved the full film, yet still got the Tangerine Dream soundtrack instead of Goldsmith's original score.
Now it gets complicated.
In 2002, seventeen years later, a DVD release of Legend was provided to both the US and UK. I was ecstatic to rent this film after so many years from Lovefilm!
...
What has happened to Legend!? I wondered after watching. The soundtrack is definitely wrong, the ending is wrong, and it is lacking some of the most intriguing pieces of dialogue and scenes!
It had been so long that I wondered if it was only my memory that had confused it or had given me rose-tinted glasses. But the wrong soundtrack had me curious, and after some research I found that the film was indeed a cut version.
This was when I discovered that America and Europe had different versions, and that the general DVD release was of the American theatrical release only! But, contradictorily, this DVD release has the original Jerry Goldsmith score restored. A score no one had previously heard!
So you can imagine my disappointment... Finally seeing this nostalgic (and very excellent!) film again only for it to be a cut version with the wrong music! Even the Americans would be confused since the Tangerine Dream soundtrack is absent.
So following ten years of disappointment, Legend was reborn once again on Blu-ray. This time the Ultimate Edition contains two versions! The short American theatrical release and the "director's cut" aka the European theatrical release, both with the restored Jerry Goldsmith score.
Wait... what?
Indeed, neither versions on the Blu-ray have the 1985 release Tangerine Dream soundtrack!
So imagine many children of the 1980s, now grown up but unable to revisit the version of the film they grew up with!
Say what you will of 1980s music, but for those of us who grew up with the film, that music was integral to the story, characters and overall feel of the film. Didn't it make it very 80s? Of course it did, but it was an 80s fantasy film in every other respect. Tangerine Dream gave it even more definition, and by comparison the Goldsmith score is positively disinterested.
As a result, we of the United Kingdom can somewhat rest easy with the original extended cut returning to us in the Blu-ray Ultimate Edition, and the American's can see what they have been missing out on, but the total lack of regard for the Tangerine Dream soundtrack is quite disheartening for everyone!
As children we have no regard for some other soundtrack that never got released... and as adults we don't care for it either other than as a curiosity. We want the film we grew up with, we want the film that resides in our minds forever. Why give us something that isn't what we remember?
The film has aged surprisingly well and marks the end of a time when classic fantasy fairytale epics got this sort of treatment; do you honestly expect Ridley Scott to do this sort of thing again? Not likely.
But the question on my mind is: "Will the original version I saw... the extended edition with the 1980s Tangerine Dream soundtrack ever be released on a digital format?"
I can but hope, but for now it is what it is, legend.
If you have not seen the film and I have piqued your interest with this post, I implore you to go find a copy. While my perfect edition no longer exists... I ask that you only see the longer version!
