Waterworld – The Ulysses Cut Revised Edition

August 22, 2011 @ 10:34 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

April 22, 2012 @ 2:51 am

It’s been 10+ years since I’ve seen Waterworld. This gave me very fresh eyes for this viewing, and gives me the chance to review the fanedit on its own merits.

The video and audio quality was exceptional. Kudos to Zaaacharias for minimizing compression and using the pretty much the entire dual-layer DVD. I also appreciated the consistency in video from start to finish. Although I have no idea which scenes were ‘extended’, there were no perceptible differences in video quality between any scenes. Also, I never noticed any blackouts, aborted fades or jarring cuts, which speaks highly of the care Zaaacharias took swapping out the scenes.

However, I did notice some problems with the audio. During the first 45 minutes, the audio levels were uneven in a few places. I had to raise the volume to make out the dialog for a few seconds, but when it came back, I had to turn it back down again. I’ll have to check where that occurred on my next viewing. However, cutting from one scene to the next, the audio was seamless, without pops or dropouts.

Overall, this fanedit was very enjoyable … definitely my go-to version of Waterworld.

So i saw this film as a teen and thought well that could of been good but it wasnt . this fixes it . if they had released something along theses lines it would of been a huge hit . explains were money went .
id recomend . you turned a C- film into a B+ film (If in 80s id give higher but 2022) . well done!
everythings better in this .

What to say? Waterworld is considered a very expensive "flop" that almost bankrupted a major studio.

The first thing that struck me after the credits rolled was, "How was this so expensive?" There are very few special effects. Most of scenes consist of the cast riding a sail boat. There are some scenes where the studio made some "cities" in the ocean, but they don't scream, "Wow, that must have been hard to do." They look like they're thrown together with weathered plywood and 2x4's.

Secondly, the story just didn't make me care about what happened to the cast. Costner is far from lovable, he is actually barely likable. The woman and the girl that are on his boat really don't add much and I really never got very invested in their story either.

I watched this edit for pretty much the same reason I watched TM2YC's edit of Ghostbusters 3. Could the edit make what was considered a bad movie in to something that is watchable?

Short answer, YES. It is mystifying how much was cut from the theatrical release. I don't want to give spoilers but I will say there is a VERY BIG BOAT in this edit which I don't remember from the original cut. I think I just found out where all that budget went and it's a crime it wasn't utilized in the original cut of the film. Additionally the story around Costner's character is so much better in this version. In the end I get why he is the way he is and I actually feel empathy for him.

I really liked this movie. I honestly can't say I loved it, even after this treatment, but this edit does make a bad movie good. If you like Costner, or late 80's style over-the-top action/adventure films, give it a shot.

Overview - Anticipated release back in its day, Waterworld proved disappointing for many. Overlong, poorly directed, oft times a soggy mess, it was, nevertheless, embraced by fans for action sequences straight out of the Mad Max world.
The extended Laserdisc, and subsequent DVD, promising a more satisfying experience, instead gave the PG rated ABC televised edit. Nudity, profanity, and gory violence excised.
Zaaacharias returned all “adult” content to the extended version giving the - for now - defacto version of Costner’s movie.

Video - Nice work here integrating the extended footage into the theatrical release. Saturation is a bit less than the LD, but the editing is solid and first rate. On the list of changes, a link shows comparison shots. Nice touch.

Audio - As mentioned elsewhere. This is 5.0, rather than 5.1 sound. There is no LFE mix. Not a problem as Zaaacharias was upfront about this. Audio editing was top notch. I popped on headphones for several sequences and did not hear any errors or poor transitions.
One thing I did note - and this is not exactly audio, but related - were the subtitles. Subtitles were based on the PG version. For example: “Shit” was seen as “Dang.” Just an observation.

Narrative - The additional 40 minutes will drive many in the post Michael Bay era to punch the fast forward button. Waterworld is more leisurely, more reflective, which is altogether fitting in trailing a loner across endless seas. I still had problems with scientific assumptions in the main plot. I tried to suspend such thoughts, but the notion that the Rockies, the Carpathians, the Andes, the Appalachian range, were all submerged? No.

Enjoyment - Mixed here. Ulysses edit was more fix than edit to my eyes. There were still way too many stupidly, annoying characters. True, a couple years after the apocalypse, few will debate Film Noir vs Pre-Code, sip Merlot, and listen to Dave Brubeck. The dialogue lurched between inventive and cringingly butt dumb.
The whole film seemed suffused with over-acting. Understandable in “Deacon” who preached to his rabble. Pointless with most others. The small girl, Enola, was particularly shrill. For her, and all others, I credit ham handed direction - both Reynolds and Costner.

There is more to appreciate here, to revel in, than to belabor what coulda / shoulda been. As an extended version, trims and wholesale surgery cannot be expected. Zaaacharias has done a stellar job, and his edit is whole heartedly recommended to all Waterworld diehards.