World War Z

World War Z is the fast-paced, pulse-pounding epic of the potential last days of the human race. Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is called in to help stop the pandemic that has spread around the world.

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos
Directed by: Marc Forster
Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
Release year: 2013
Studio: Paramount

World War Z

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5.0 out of 5 stars DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UNRATED CUT AND THE THEATRICAL CUT, September 18, 2013
By Senor Zoidbergo

"The Unrated Cut runs about 7 minutes longer than the Theatrical Cut, and primarily contains additional action shots (nothing major). Director Marc Forster has said that the Theatrical Cut IS the Director's Cut, which also unfortunately means that we will not be seeing any footage from the discarded Battle of Moscow (except for a few quick scenes in the closing montage) and the Matthew Fox subplot.

The UNRATED Cut is the one to get! It contains slightly more gore (but not gratuitously so) than the Theatrical Cut, and the action scenes are more fluid and less choppy.

I've listed the primary differences between the Unrated Cut and the Theatrical Cut below. Note, SPOILERS follow below, so read at your own risk.

1) When zombies are shot/stabbed/curb stomped/etc.., they spew CG black blood. When people are bitten, there's more CG red blood.

2) During the opening scene in Philadelphia, there are more scenes of pandemonium and zombies getting shot and/or biting humans. The segment with the red T-shirted male ("Here comes the Number 12 Train...") being bitten and transformed into a zeke is longer and more violent.

3) At the NJ Mart, when Gerry is looking for albuterol for his daughter, the camera pans down to show a dead body lying in a pool of blood, suggesting that the pharmacy employee shot him.

4) The chase scene from the alleyway to the apartment is longer and more harrowing. Gerry headshots a zombie and shoots a few others, also crushing a security guard zombie with a filing cabinet. In the theatrical cut, this zombie chase scene is instead used during the Lanes' early morning escape to the apartment's rooftop.

5) The escape scene to the apartment rooftop is now longer and more violent. Gerry bayonets, shoots, or rifle butts many more zombies. In a surprising twist, Tomas saves Gerry from a zeke, rather than Gerry himself shooting the zeke in the theatrical cut. Matthew Fox's parajumper character also shoots a few more zombies and there's more zombie blood when they're shot.

6) When Dr. Fassbach trips and accidentally shoots himself in the head, the wound is more graphic. Chunks of his back skull are blown into the air and gore covers the exit ramp of the C-130. Although this description sounds graphic, the camera cuts away quickly so that only brief glimpses of gore are seen by the audience.

7) David Morse's character graphically pulls out his last remaining tooth in the Unrated Cut. This is not shown in the Theatrical Cut.

8) The Battle for Jerusalem has additional action shots. It's now a thrilling and intense sequence in the Unrated Cut! More IDF soldiers shooting zekes, more zekes biting people, grenades blowing up zekes, etc..

9) When Gerry cuts off Segen's hand in the Unrated Cut, we see the bloody stump as well as geysers of CG blood. This is definitely graphic and not for the faint of heart.

10) The zombie attack on Belarus Airways is now more intense with passengers getting bitten left and right. There is more CG blood too, but nothing too explicit since most of the shots are very quick.

11) Gerry takes down a few zekes in the WHO facility more graphically. He clotheslines one zeke with a crowbar and stomps on the face of another. More CG black blood.

Prior to watching World War Z, I had mixed feelings about the movie based on the trailers I had seen. Fast zombies? Blasphemy.

I ended up enjoying the movie, even with Damon Lindelof's rewritten third act. The ending on a quiet, but hopeful note was a better conclusion than the rumored Battle of Moscow. The idea of using a temporary, but curable disease as camouflage was a unique plot point. Can't wait for the sequel, even if it has very little to do with Max Brooks'" original books.

World War Z

Directed by Marc Forster
Produced by Brad Pitt
Dede Gardner
Jeremy Kleiner
Ian Bryce
Screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan
Drew Goddard
Damon Lindelof
Story by Matthew Michael Carnahan
J. Michael Straczynski
Based on World War Z 
by Max Brooks
Starring Brad Pitt
Mireille Enos
James Badge Dale
Matthew Fox
Music by Marco Beltrami
Cinematography Ben Seresin
Editing by Roger Barton
Matt Chesse
Studio Skydance Productions
Hemisphere Media Capital
GK Films
Plan B Entertainment
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)
June 2, 2013 (London, premiere)
June 21, 2013 (United States)
Running time 116 minutes
Country United Kingdom
United States
Language English
Budget $190 million
Box office $540,007,876

Cast

Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator who is coerced into returning in order to investigate the pandemic that is spiraling out of control across the globe.
Mireille Enos as Karin Lane, Gerry's wife and mother of their two children.
Fana Mokoena as Thierry Umutoni, the UN Deputy Secretary-General.
Daniella Kertesz as an Israeli soldier known only as "Segen", who accompanies Gerry during their escape from Israel.
James Badge Dale as Captain Speke, a U.S. Army Ranger stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea.
David Morse as a former CIA operative imprisoned at Camp Humphreys for selling weapons to North Korea.
Ludi Boeken as Jurgen Warmbrunn, the Director of Mossad; responsible for preparing Israel's pre-emptive defences.
Matthew Fox as an Air Force Pararescue soldier sent by Thierry Umutoni to rescue the Lanes in Newark.
Abigail Hargrove as Rachel Lane, Gerry and Karin's elder daughter.
Sterling Jerins as Constance Lane, Gerry and Karin's younger daughter.
Fabrizio Zacharee Guido as Tommy, a young boy who is rescued and adopted by the Lane family after his parents are infected.
Nikola Đuričko as Captain of "Belarus Airways".
Additionally, Peter Capaldi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Ruth Negga and Moritz Bleibtreu portray WHO researchers. Ernesto Cantu and Vicky Araico play Tommy's parents, David Andrews plays U.S. Navy Captain Mullenaro,Elyes Gabel plays Dr. Andrew Fassbach,Grégory Fitoussi plays a military pilot, Yaniv Rokah plays an Israeli soldier, Lucy Aharish plays a young Palestinian woman, and Julia Levy-Boeken plays an Israeli refugee.

Posted in: New Zombie Movies