J. Farley

My thoughts exactly. I despised the third one so much that I haven't seen another one since.

Boba Fett

A little update...

I snagged cheap copies of the R-Rated cuts of the first two films.

SAW: In a post Ben Linus world, it's criminal how underused Michael Emerson was in this movie. All in all, an above average horror/thriller film.

SAW II: A little slow to start, but once it gets going, it surpasses the original in all categories.

I'm gonna snag SAW III next, and if I like that finish up getting IV and V.

A friend told me to get the Uncut version of III, as the Director's Cut creates plot problems with IV.

tylergfoster

The cuts to the R version of Saw are like...seconds of footage, in the headgear scene when she's getting the key. I don't remember the full extent of changes in Saw II, but the only one I do remember I didn't like, so no loss there, and yes, the DC of III doesn't mesh with IV. The remainder of the series you'd have to work harder to get the rated versions, since they didn't do standard editions/special editions.

Note: I recommend watching Saw III and Saw IV back-to-back if possible. Everyone hates Saw IV, but I think it's the best one. It just requires fresh knowledge of the previous film, and an attentive attitude.

Juicy.Fruit84

Saw II

* The opening scene with the "Venus Head Trap" is extended and the song "Irresponsible Hate Anthem (Venus Head Trap Mix)" is playing in the background.

* When the police are entering the Wilson Steel warehouse, three short cuts are shown of Jigsaw upstairs working, with a bowl of cereal in front of him, realizing the police have arrived. When he realizes this, he calmly goes back to what he was working on.

* Jigsaw has a few extra lines of dialogue with Detective Matthews, mentioning that he has "wiped the slate clean", and that most people are merely "sleepwalking".

* When Obi is trapped in the oven, he attempts to break the glass on the far side as he is burning alive.

* The scene of Amanda thrashing around in the syringe pit is extended to the full three minutes as shown on the timer.

* In the bathroom, Charlie Clouser's score is different and much harsher as Xavier cuts the back of his neck, than the similar music in the theatrical cut.

* The scene where Matthews is beating up Jigsaw is extended with one extra punch.

Boba Fett

I finally got around to getting cheap copies of III and IV.

III was an OK movie, but felt overly long for what it was. I was a little hesitant to grab IV but III raised more than a handful of questions, so I checked it out.

IV was a lot more enjoyable and engaging than III, until the end. It was good to see Tobin Bell back as well, since his presence wasn't as impactful in III. It took me a few seconds to make sense of the ending and was a little pissed that it was the biggest cliffhanger of the series so far, despite tying up some loose ends.

Needless to say I'll be grabbing a copy of V and likely check out VI since I've made it this far in. Does anyone know if the copy of SAW being shoved in all the releases of SAW VI is the unrated version or the original theatrical release? Frankly it seems like a bizarre inclusion since there's no point in not following the series chronologically.

If I had to rank the movies so far, I'd go:

SAW II
SAW
SAW IV
SAW III

sp00kie

as far as torture porn horror goes, they are pretty good. you get what it says on the tin as they say.
a bit like the final destination series.

tylergfoster

I really like IV, as I mentioned. I thought it had the sharpest of the twists (both the lesson being taught and the way it's being illustrated), and I thought the chronology was excellent. Sure, it's a cliffhanger, but I liked it.

Sadly, V and VI have spun their wheels, almost refusing to capitalize on the potential there. After IV I didn't want any more flashbacks, I wanted progression, but the series has continued to use retconning to spin its wheels.

Saw III was good, but Jeff's mopey attitude is very one-note, which I think contributes to the feeling that it's too long.

Jacoby Ellsbury

Loved the first one, can do without the rest. With all the money these movies make and how relatively cheap they cost to make, couldnt they get at least some recognized actor. Parts 4 and 5 I did not recognize one actor other than a bit or two of Donnie Wahlberg in the 4th one. They could get someone making $3-5M per film to star in it. Or get a couple recognizable actors in the $1M range. The star of parts 4 and 5 probably earned about $100K

Matthew Chmiel

V had Julie Benz and Meagan Good.

VI had Eddie from Family Matters.

Out of all the things that are wrong with the franchise at the moment, you want a fucking big name actor? For what fucking reason?

The box office receipts won't be any higher. It would cost Lionsgate more money and their profit margin would end up being less. The only thing the franchise needs is to hire new writers and to keep Kevin Greutert on board as director (too bad they promised David Hackl the keys for VII years ago).

Boba Fett

Finished up SAW VI and my review should be up later today.

Final assessment of the series from best to worst:

SAW II
SAW
SAW VI
SAW IV
SAW III
SAW V

RichC2

I thought III, IV and V pretty much sucked. That said, I surprisingly enjoyed VI.

My series ranking is now:

I
II
VI
III
V
IV

DJariya

II-III also had Dina Meyer

IV has Justin Louis, who's on Stargate Universe

V had Scott Patterson, who had a pretty big role on Gilmore Girls, Carlo Rota, who was on 24.

But, other than that the actors are so insignificant. Saw has also been IMO a B-movie that was marketed for the big screen.

BTW, Greutert will be directing Paranormal Activity 2, which is being released the same weekend as Saw VII.

Matthew Chmiel

Patterson was also in IV.

Dina Meyer was also in I (very briefly in the beginning). I might've had the "biggest" cast (Elwes, Glover, Monica Potter, Lost cast members Michael Emerson and Ken Leung, and The Shield's Benito Martinez).

II had Donnie Wahlberg, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, and Beverley Mitchell. I know who these people are, but I don't think most of America does.

At this rate, with the news from the writers that VII is almost guaranteed to be the last entry (especially due to VI's poor box office performance), a big cast member is the last thing this franchise needs; especially since VII will be the most expensive entry yet.

EDIT: I also complained about Greutert directing Paranormal Activity 2 in that thread. It's a shame Lionsgate/Twisted promised Hackl the keys to VII years ago as Greutert was the one, who I feel, made VI stand-out compared to the last few sequels. Technically, Bousman directed the worst sequel (IV), but he has II and III (and Repo) to back him up.

RichC2

Greutert is directing Saw VII (3D), Hackl was replaced at the last second to prevent Greutert from directing Paranormal Activity 2.

DJariya

I see Lionsgate/Twisted pictures wised up. Good decision by them.

Matthew Chmiel

Except that Greutert is pissed as Lionsgate pulled out an "option" in his original contract as he wanted to direct Paranormal Activity 2. At the same time, where it stands, VII goes into production in two weeks; so in essence, it's still Hackl's film as he did all the pre-production work.

Greutert is pissed (as seen on his blog) and rightfully so. He wasn't invited back for VII as Lionsgate handed Hackl the director's chair years ago. So, like anyone else would, he went to find work elsewhere. Since Paramount is Lionsgate's direct competition this Halloween, it makes sense to give Paramount a huge blow by taking away their strongest player. I hope Greutert can get his head back into the game and give us the strongest Saw possible as this may be it's last theatrical outing; but who knows. He may just paint-by-numbers to get in and get out.

Honestly, I hope he doesn't. VI was the strongest entry since III. Bousman phoned it in for IV as he was more focused on getting Repo into production (and it didn't help the screenplay sucked) and Hackl had no idea what he was doing in V (and didn't help the screenplay sucked again). VI had the strongest of the three scripts (probably helped by making it topical) and the strongest director as he edited ALL of the films up to that point. Greutert is probably the best man for the job at this point, but I don't want him being jaded throughout it all.

RichC2

He's still trying to break into directing though, so I don't think he would be willing to sabotage this.

DJariya

Yeah I just checked out Greutert's blog and he doesn't sound happy at all. As as Director, it's going to really suck for him to work with Hackl's pre-production work/storyboards and traps that he had zero involvement with, especially with only 2 weeks to go before principal photography. Since he's a relatively young director in the business, I'm sure he can't complain too much.

LosingMyMind

This was on Kevin's site, but has since been removed:
and from the House of Jigsaw:

Matthew Chmiel

Not really. Depends on how far he got with pre-production on Paranormal Activity 2, Paramount may provide him with a project down the road. Oren Peli could do the same for him if his career really takes off with Area 51.

LosingMyMind

New update from Kevin, he's pissed.

DJariya

Jesus, I think he's going a little overboard there. I mean Lionsgate and Twisted gave him his 1st directorial job and now he sounds like it's so beneath him. I understand that he's pissed because he preferred to do PA2, but hell it's a paying gig. What is annoying is him using the words "Yet again.." It's not like he was Darren Lynn Bousman and directed 3 movies in the franchise.

Matthew Chmiel

Yeah, now he's coming off looking like a crybaby bitch who has a grandmother that needs to grow some balls and watch a Saw film. At least VII will have some guaranteed success as it has the 3-D aspect and the being done on the cheap aspect (profits for all). For all we know, and I may be wrong, PA2 could be a disaster waiting to happen.

[If my grandmother were still alive, I'm pretty damn sure my grandfather would've made her sit through at least the first one.]

LosingMyMind

New title for his last blog entry.
This is fun to watch ha

LosingMyMind

The first official synopsis was just released for VII.
http://lionsgatepublicity.com/epk/sa...fact_sheet.doc