Synopsis:

A fan mix of the 2012 Paul Thomas Anderson film, The Master. I've removed some scenes, added others, made some trims and rearranged things. The film is different now - it's shorter, some things play out differently - hopefully this edit is a fresh new way to view an already brilliant film. It's not a replacement, it's simply an alternate take on the material.

Intentions:

To take an already great film and change it a bit for a new viewing experience.

Change List:

- I've cut almost 20 minutes from the start of the film. The first (roughly) ten minutes is a montage of Freddie's experiences leading up to his meeting with Dodd. - Alternate shot added of Freddie getting onto the Alethia - Deleted shot of Freddie with Doris added briefly as sort of a dreamy flashback - Replaced Peggy's breakfast conversation with the alternate version, which leads into a deleted flashback. - Removed the scene where Freddie and Peggy sit in on a "back beyond" session - Removed Dodd singing 'A Rovin'" and his following scene with Peggy - Added a deleted therapy type session with Freddie and Helen, which leads into flashback using footage that I cut from earlier in the film - Cut Clark telling Dodd about Freddie asking how much Dodd's unpublished works would be worth - Cut Peggy reading erotica during Freddie's processing - Moved Freddie talking with army officer about his crying spell to during his processing - Cut from Peggy announcing Book 2 to the Split Saber being published - Cut from Freddie giving out fliers on the street to the conference - Added deleted scene of Freddie being named Lieutenant of the Cause - Removed Helen questioning Dodd about changes in the Book - Trimmed a second or two from the motorcycle scene - Cut Freddie lashing out at Doris's mom - Cut Freddie waking up from his dream in the movie theater, and him later referring to it as a dream when talking to Dodd (for all intents and purposes, it's not a dream anymore) - Cut from Freddie entering the school in England and talking to the receptionists to him talking with Dodd - Cut everything after Freddie talks to Dodd - Added a shot of Freddie leaving a note "Gone to China," and then a shot of him on the sea ends the edit.

Additional Notes:

I didn't go into this with any set way I wanted to edit this film. When the film was released on DVD/Blu-ray, I re-watched it, and then immediately afterwards, I watched the 20 minute "Back Beyond" featurette on the disc that collected deleted and alternate footage, and then I watched all of the trailers, which also included unused material. All of this showed me the potential for editing, but it wasn't until I saw John Huston's documentary, "Let There Be Light," that I had the idea for this edit. That doc was included on the disc because it had been an influence on Paul Thomas Anderson and an inspiration for the film. So I thought I'd make an edit focusing on Freddie, and his post-war psycho-neurosis. This edit sort of morphed from there into it's own thing, and I'm okay with that. Along the way I made edits that just felt right. Ultimately, I think it's a cool way to watch the film.

Other Sources:

Audio from the 1946 documentary "Let There Be Light".

Special Thanks:

Neglify, Dwight Fry