Monday, August 7, 2023 - 4:17 PM CDT

Wow. I remember it so well. Where the hell do 25 years go?

Snake Eyes was a special movie to me at a special moment where my love of DePalma's movies was at a fever pitch. Though I was a bit disappointed that the movie wasn't more widely embraced, it never dampened my love for it. It's a terrific achievement and my appreciation has only grown over the years,  during which I've watched it countless times (literally doezns and dozens of viewings! LOL).

Fun anecdote- a year before Snake Eyes came out, I was a guest at the post-premiere party for Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry. While waiting at the bar, in walked Amy Irving, Peter Bogdonavich, and... Brian DePalma. I couldn't believe it! At one point, Irving and Bogdonavich were chatting and DePalma was kind of staring into space so I seized the moment to chat with him. He was in production on Snake Eyes so I asked him about it. He said there were filming in Atlantic City. It was mostly me asking the questions and him giving perfunctory answers. But he did at one point exhibit his notorious sharp humor. I asked him what it would take to be a PA on one of his movies, and he replies, "Is that ALL you want to do on one of my movies?!" I had to chuckle.

Happy 25th, Snake Eyes! I do hope one day viewers will get to see the original cut. 

Monday, August 7, 2023 - 5:24 PM CDT

Wow, Brett, that is an awesome story!

Yes, wow, I saw this movie multiple times in theaters that Augus, and of course countless times since then. I recall that the consensus seemed to be that after the initial half hour or so (up until the assassination), the movie supposedly lost its footing. I never felt that way, and these days, SNAKE EYES is widely seen as one of Nicolas Cage's best movies. People talk about this movie more and more saying they don't understand the criticisms it received back in 1998. Nice to see it being appreciated more as the solid film it always was.

Monday, August 7, 2023 - 6:43 PM CDT

I was especially disaapointed that Rick Santoro's character was not in the Nic Cage Museum portraid in The Unbearable Wight of Massive Talent. That character, despite being Cages's usual oper the top crazziness, it had complexities and depth that elevates it to a great performance.

I nevere had a big issue with the the ending, and the long take, zooimng to the pillar foundayion for the new casion, showing the jewel of the ring of their casualty, embeded, is a wow!

The opening 13 minutes alone deserves to be in a Film Musem, for De Palma's sake!

A great movie, that enriched my passion for the master 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - 9:52 AM CDT

Yeah, great story, Brett! 😊 This is my personal favorite De Palma flick.

Paramount, Release the alternative cut already

And yeah, he should have been in the museum, Mustafa! 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - 4:17 PM CDT

Brilliant anecdote, Brett 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - 10:00 PM CDT

It is indeed nice to see Snake Eyes now regarded as one of Cage's best, though I have to scratch my head and wonder why DePalma's movies always seem to take years (decades?) before people see them for what you, me, and others on this forum always see right from the start.

I never for one second was bothered by the early reveal of Sinise as the villian. Quite the contrary! I always thought the movie was about a friendship and the tension that occurred when the supposed "bad guy" Santoro is forced to confront his conscience to protect a stranger against the dirty deeds of his supposed "good guy" friend, Kevin Dunne. In that sense, it's a morality play set amidst a high stakes game of political assassination. It's all incredibly suspensful and absolutely sumptous to look at (I sure miss the DePalma-Burum collaborations). 

I will add that I've always found the "new" climax to be satisfactory, but I still think the original is better and more seamless. In fact, speaking of the ending, here's one more Snake Eyes anecdote! When Roger Ebert, who I admored so much and always supported DePalma, reviewed Snake Eyes he gave it ONE star. He wrote how much he loved the opening, and was pretty supportive of much of the rest of the movie. But he HATED the ending so much that he ultimately panned it. I emailed him about it as I was outraged he could admire 90% of a movie and then give it one star. And he actually replied to me! It was brief, but he doubled down on his rating and said something to the effect that the ending was so shoddy and nonsensical that he felt it crashed the entire movie. Disappointing... though very cool that he replied. I only wish I saved his email! 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - 10:28 PM CDT

Hah, yeah, Ebert's review was itself disappointing - nice that he responded to you.

I love the reveal of Sinise right after talking to Rick and being unable to sway his friend (his friend!) from the idea of conspiracy - that whole scene is so dark underneath, as Sinise stops to consider it all before descending down the red hell stairway. 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - 10:50 PM CDT

The original alternate ending can be found online. Watched it over and over. An action climax that pays off at the end better then the theatrical version where everyone convinietly turns up all at the right moment as Dunne shoots himself in front of the camera. Prefer the original cut which would have played better in cinemas. 90 percent of the rest of the film is pure cinematic genius.

Saturday, August 12, 2023 - 10:06 PM CDT

Snake Eyes is indeed sometimes brought up as one of Cages's better films. And if we take imdb votes, for instance, I believe the film had about a 5,0 average in the first few years after release. Today it has a 6,1 which should indicate that the average score these days is around 7 or even higher.

As to why people take so long to see De Palma's genius, it is a bit odd isn't it? His originality is pretty much right there on the face of it all. It's not like you have to be some kind of rocket scientist to notice his technique completely sets him apart. But I have come to conclude that 98% of people - critics and even filmmakers included - are basically visually illiterate.