Culture news This sci-fi film was a huge failure at the cinema: its 5-hour long version made it a cult work.
Advertisement
It is customary to think in the 21st century that films are getting longer and longer. Blockbusters are, for some at least. However, Hollywood did not wait until the 2000s to offer moviegoers cinematic works that challenged the spectators' ability to concentrate. One of the worst failures of science fiction has finally become cult over time thanks to its different versions. The longest of them lasts 20 hours.
Advertisement
A historic failure
Our story begins in 1977 alongside Wim Wenders. At this time, this German director embarked on the production of an ambitious science fiction film which would cost 23 million US dollars. 14 years later, Until the End of the World was released in cinemas first in Germany, then in France and finally in the United States and the rest of the world.
Unfortunately for the filmmaker, his teams and the various production/distribution companies including Village Roadshow Pictures and Warner Bros., Bis ans Ende der Welt of its original title is a monumental success at the box office. Indeed, Wim Wenders' film collected less than a million US dollars… US$752,856 to be precise, which corresponds to 3.7% of the budget committed to the project. The financial damage is cataclysmic. However, Until the end of the World will become a cult film over time thanks to its numerous montages, the last of which lasts almost 5 hours.
A 5-hour cult version
Until the End of the World was originally 20 hours long. Its first cut thus spans nearly 1200 minutes. Not surprisingly, the studios asked director Wim Wenders to offer a shorter version, much shorter. This results in several arrangements depending on the geographical areas. In North America the film is 158 minutes long, in Europe 179 minutes and in Japan 239 minutes. In 2014, a 4K restoration sponsored by the Wim Wenders Foundation sees the light of day. The latter, legitimately considered the Director's Cut of Until the End of the World, takes its time with 287 minutes on the clock.
Another science fiction film which was a failure in theaters before becoming cult suffered a similar fate. Released in 1982, Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, the Eighth Passenger, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven) has been re-edited many times. Between the Workprint Prototype (1982), the preview in San Diego (1982), the cinema version in the USA and internationally (1982), the adaptation for television (1986), the Director's Cut (1992) and the Final Cut (2007), there are 7 montages of Blade Runner. Purists swear by the last mentioned one which respects Ridley Scott's authorial vision as closely as possible.