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- Verified Buyer
Okay, hear me out, when I first saw Harrison's flowers on HBO almost a decade ago I was enthralled by it; being a photographer and a war buff I was pleasantly surprised and shocked to see this portrayal of war photographers at work in what was the 90's biggest war for correspondents (in the sense that it was one of the only conflicts they were free to roam and get shots you couldn't get by being embedded with US troops in Desert Storm - or be under constant bombardment by Russia in Grozny, Chechnya). The Yugoslav war definitely stands out for war photographers as something special, good or bad, it was special for them.Onto the movie, FRENCH/PAL version vs. American release. Hands down the FRENCH version is superior and it was VERY difficult to find when I bought it, now there's a few copies floating around...When I saw the French version only a few years ago and the American version 10 years ago, I automatically felt like someone was treating Americans like children in the way the American/HBO (and DVD) version was watered down, there must be at least 15 minutes less, entire characters and their stories are cut out, and even the entire musical score is different. The French version has some generic synthesizer music and the American version has some violin music throughout, the only plus for the American version.The PAL/French release however is far superior, you can see great actors such as Brendan Gleeson, Elias Koteas, Caroline Goodall, and even Gerard Butler give these cutaway type interviews in between the action from the eyes of War Photogs (and their families) which they totally cut out of the American version. I can understand why they watered down the American version, they made the story more concise and about Andie McDowel's journey to fight her husband which can be a plus depending which way you look at it. But personally, after seeing the American version and the French version (this version I'm reviewing) I'll recommend everything about the French version except the original score which was generic and not very special, the rest, is just a deeper look into the conflict, a deeper look into the mentality of war photographers under fire, and the story of Andie McDowell finding "Harrison" is almost second to the war itself.If you like Harrison Flowers (USA) you'll really at least find Harrison's Flowers (REGION 2) interesting, if not totally awesome.Just get it!