This document compares all the changes made between the Theatrical and Director’s cuts of Michael Mann’s Blackhat. After the document is an analysis from Bux on the plethora of changes.
Blackhat had its theatrical release on January 15, 2015 (133 minutes) – the Theatrical Cut. This cut of the film had a last minute, significant restructuring of the original timeline of the film. Information on why these changes were made and the various versions of the films released over the years can be found here.
The Director’s Cut (132 minutes) premiered at a special screening in February 2016, had a limited broadcast run in 2017, and will be released on home video for the first time on November 28, 2023. This is Mann’s preferred version of the film and restores the structure to its original chronology along with other changes.
Below is a list of changes between Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut. These comparison changes were made by examining the Blu-ray releases of both those cuts, and the timestamps mentioned will be reflective of those releases. The changes range from alternate music cues to differing color schemes to fully added or deleted scenes to minor dialogue tweaks and alternate shots.
This document is an attempt at a completely authoritative list and may be updated in the future to correct any mistakes or future found changes.
Here is a brief summary of the changes found in the Director’s Cut, followed by a more extensive list with corresponding time stamps and screenshots.
Chronological changes:
- The film begins, as intended, with soy hack.
- The attack on the nuclear plant is moved about an hour into the film, also reflecting its original placement.
Added scenes:
- A brief scene of a cargo ship with soy being denied entry into Rotterdam due to the insurance value of its soy cargo.
- A formal introduction to FBI Agent Carol Barrett and the Chicago exchange IT Director Jeff Robichaud. Chen Dawai calls them from China to express interest in partnering to solve the hack.
- Nicholas Hathaway, Mark Jessup and Chen Lien are tailed upon arriving in Hong Kong and subsequently lose the tail.
Removed scenes:
- Hathaway is asked by the warden about hacking the prison accounting network. When Hathaway refuses to help, he is thrown into solitary and is seen doing vertical pushups.
- A brief scene of Barrett and Chen realizing they should be searching for soy sellers instead of soy buyers.
- Hathaway and Lien heading to the Koreatown meet in a cab, with the former realizing his attraction to the latter.
- A nuclear power plant worker explaining to Chen and Hathaway what will happen if they linger in the plant too long.
- Kassar, Sadak and their bodyguards go to an abandoned building to meet Hathaway. Hathaway, using Lien as a spotter, tells them to lose their team and changes the meet location.
THEATRICAL CUT
The following is an examination of the Theatrical Cut and documents scenes, shots and dialogue that can only be found in this version.
00:00:44 – 0:01:15 (+29s)
After the Universal and Legendary logos, there are several shots of the globe lit by networks communicating with each other. The title is shown:
The globe rotates then shows a single strip of light ending a pier from above, before alternating to a closer shot then zooming in. The light and the pier appear about an hour into the director’s cut, but we never see the shot of the globe. SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
We get a 3D view of bits traveling through a network before we go to Sadak’s hideout (revealed later in the film) where Sadak finishes typing, hits enter and lights a cigarette. We then see the virus traverse and take down the reactor.
00:05:27 – 00:06:03
Chen drives to work as an audio report plays in the background of the attack and he watches footage on a tablet as he is being driven.
ALTERNATE LINES/SHOTS DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:06:04 – 00:06:13 (+9s)
As Chen is being driven to meet his bosses, we see an overhead shot of the bridge. SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
00:007:45
We are introduced to Hathaway’s cell. After he is subdued by guards and is being taken away, a prisoner remarks “Stay strong, carnal”
Hathaway is also introduced around 15m into the film in the Director’s Cut
LINE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:07:48 – 00:008:57 (+1m11s)
Hathaway is being asked by a prison warden if he used a flip phone to hack the prison network and give each prisoner additional funds in their commissary. After refusing to cooperate, Hathaway is thrown into solitary and is seen doing vertical pushups.
Warden Jeffries: This was found in your cell. You added $900 to all your pals’ commissary accounts in your cell block. Is this the attack tool? With it, you open up a terminal and that gives you a command line? That how you broke into the network and plussed-up the balances?
Hathaway: No. I used it to call Santa in the North Pole and told him to do Christmas early this year.
SCENE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:008:57 – 00:10:19
The televisions in the Chinese military room show footage of the nuclear attack. There is clear dubbing which changes the majority of the dialogue to ask about the nuclear attack. Chen mentions there was a similar attack in the US but it failed there. He asks to liaison with the US FBI to see the code, his superior agrees to make the calls. The dialogue about making the calls, along with asking if there was any political declaration or ask for money is accurate dialogue to what was shot and also featured in the Director’s Cut. This scene also takes place later than in the Director’s Cut, which starts at 00:06:33. ALTERNATE/ADDITIONAL LINES DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:12:55
When Chen talks to his sister, he says “The black hat who hit the Chai Wan reactor.” This line is said with Chen’s back to us, as it was not said when shot. ALTERNATE LINE DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:13:38 – 00:15:14
We now see the hack taking place in Chicago.
TIMELINE DIFFERENCE DUE TO RE-EDIT
The trade hack is shown slightly differently – we see the numbers go up during trading hours and see additional shots of the broker’s reactions. ALTERNATE SHOTS
00:15:15 – 00:15:23 (+8s)
We see Barrett bringing in Chen and Lien from their flight and Daniels saying off screen the board of trade and reactor hack were from the same code. This line is also dubbed in. SHOT AND LINE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
00:16:16 – 00:16:20
As Chen, Barrett, Lien and Pollack are leaving the room, Daniels in the background says “… and if it is two, then they may not be working in close proximity…” ALTERNATE LINE
00:18:30
While examining his potential release papers, Hathaway says “The reactor in China I heard about.” which was also dubbed in LINE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:23:39 – 00:23:42
Robichaud says offscreen “Look around. I have to run the morning backup” while Hathway observes the server room. LINE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:22:24 – 00:24:33
Hathway sits down and asks Robichaud “May I?” (line is delivered off screen) before Robichaud replies “Sure” and turns the monitor around. Hathaway asks Barrett “Can I have some approval now?” LINES AND SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:28:28
We see Lien and Hathaway ascend the stairs to Reyes’ apartment. These few seconds of them ascending the stairs is not in the Director’s Cut. ALTERNATE SHOT
00:28:44
We see Baker’s back to us when he asks Chen “So… how can I help?” before Chen replies “We want to see…” ALTERNATE SHOT
00:29:46
Baker’s reaction shot happens after Chen sits back down when Barrett says “as well as the nightly news”. ALTERNATE SHOT ORDER
00:32:28 – 00:32:47 (+19s)
Brief scene of Barrett telling Chen that Reyes is dead. Chen has an epiphany and suggests looking at sellers rather than buyers.
Barrett: Thanks, Jessup. Well, we better make following the money pay off, Reyes isn’t. He’s dead.
Chen: Oh, great. Wait a minute. We’ve been looking for buyers of soy. Switch to sellers. Only our player would know exactly when to get out.
SCENE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:31:10 – 00:33:18 (+8s)
The scene of Hathaway and Lien outside Reyes apartment lasts slightly longer, with Lien asking Hathaway “You get into not enough for one day?” after he tells her they have a lead at the drop. Hathaway responds “Look, I play it my way, it works. It don’t, at least I own it” LINES NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:33:24 – 00:33:30 (+6s)
Hathaway and Lien awkwardly exchange glances after her line “I go too” SHOT NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:33:31 – 00:34:13 (+42s)
Scene of Hathway and Lien on their way to the Koreatown meet. Hathaway stares at the nape of Lien’s neck and she tells him he doesn’t look different from the photos of him her brother shared.
Lien: You look not so different from the pictures.
Hathaway: What pictures?
Lien: That my brother sent me before.
SCENE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:36:38 – 00:36:41 (+3s)
While in the restaurant in Koreatown, Lien says “Open your eyes” to which Hathaway responds “What’d you say?” SHOT AND LINES NOT IN DIRECTORS CUTS
00:36:48 – 00:36:50 (+2s)
Lien says “Get your thinking to where you’re are, not where you’ve been” SHOT AND LINE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:36:54 – 00:37:10 (+16s)
Additional dialogue from Lien in which she challenges Hathaway by telling him he will need to make rapid decisions and be aware of where he is. SHOT AND LINES NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
Hathaway: Okay, tell me, is it I’m supposed to start seeing so fast? [line in both cuts]
Lien: Where you are.
Hathaway: What, Koreatown? This restaurant, this table? What?
Lien: You’ll be in the rapid stream of decision-making. Having to make intuitive choices.
00:37:57 – 00:38:01
In the Director’s Cut, Barrett asks “What country?” whereas in the theatrical cut Barrett asks “where?” slightly off camera as Chen points out that the three sellers are foreign. In the theatrical cut, the dialogue takes place while the camera is pointed at the seller information whereas the director’s cut focuses on Chen delivering the lines. ALTERNATE LINES/SHOTS
00:42:59
Lien says “We’re flying to China in the morning.” ALTERNATE LINE, LIKELY DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:43:48 – 00:44:45
The sex scene between Hathaway and Lien has more shots of them making out on the bed. ALTERNATE SHOTS
00:44:55 – 00:45:10 (+15s)
In the theatrical cut, Hathway tells an awake Lien “My dad was a steel worker. Single father. Came to visit, twice. Then he got sick. I used to replay memories so I could stay oriented for when I got out.” We also see brief flashbacks of Hathaway in prison. SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
00:45:28 – 00:47:31
Right after the lovemaking scene, we see brief shots of the Hong Kong skyline and bay and then Hathaway passing the nuclear site in a helicopter.The scene of Hathaway in the helicopter appears at 1:07:56 in the Director’s Cut. SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT. TIME LINE DIFFERENCE DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:45:41 – 00:47:34
Hathaway and the team arrive to the nuclear site. Paul Wang explains to the group that they are fighting a meltdown, ostensibly to tell them they cannot go into investigate. We see some brief shots of blast victims not scene in the Director’s Cut. Most of Wang’s dialogue is delivered with his back to us and is clearly ADR-ed and some of the on screen lines do not match his mouth moving. Wang says “We’re trying to restore coolant by pumping in sea water. I got more injured.” and slightly later “We had to evacuate.” then finally denying the group entry by saying “But those servers are in the control room. Everything is still hot. We’re fighting a meltdown.” ALTERNATE LINES AND SHOTS DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:47:35 – 00:47:41 (+6s)
Additional shots of the Hong Kong skyline after Hathaway and the team visit the reactor site. SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
00:48:21
In the Theatrical Cut, Lien says “Chen Lien” offscreen, ostensibly to introduce himself to Alex Trang. LINE NOT IN DIRECTORS CUT
00:48:25
Trang says “Hello” off screen after the introductions. LINE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
00:50:57 – 00:51:01
In the Theatrical Cut, we see Chen asks the OCTB cop why they let Kassar in, he responds “They wanted to see if he’s talking to anybody homegrown.” In the Director’s Cut, this line is delivered as we see surveillance footage of Kassar. SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
00:54:35
After they agree to tail Kassar to the main player, we hear Barrett say “yeah” before Chen reminds them the sunrise is in two hours. LINE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
00:58:35 – 00:59:07
More dialogue in the helicopter between Hathaway and Chen about the latter’s sister. He tells Hathaway he’s not blind but has also never seen her happier. The following exchanges are not in the DC
Chen: I’m not blind. I know the two of you are together.
Chen: What else?
Hathaway: “She deserves better”, I’d think, if I was Chen.
Chen: I’ve rarely seen her happier.
LINES NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:07:53 – 1:08:16 (+23s)
In the Theatrical Cut, we see Chen answer the phone saying “Wai” followed by Wang saying “It’s Paul Wang. We were able to restore the water above the fuel rods and stabilize the reactor. It’s still hot, but we can get in.” and he is told the reactor is now partially stabilized. We then hear someone off screen saying “Nick! Mark!” and Hathaway and Jessup run over. SCENE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT DUE (DUE To RE-EDIT)
01:08:17 – 1:08:48 (+31s)
We see Hathaway and Chen getting ready to enter the reactor, while someone explains the risk. During this scene, Hathaway asks Chen “I still don’t get it. What’s he after?” At the end, Hathaway says “What’d she say?” to which Chen responds “Move fast.” During this scene, Hathaway also asks “What’s he after?” while they are getting ready, this dialogue is delivered OS in the Director’s Cut. SCENE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:09:10 – 01:09:20
We have a wide shot of the control room as the team walks in then cut to the corpse in the corner. ALTERNATE ANGLE
01:10:47 – 01:10:49
After another explosion in the plant while Hathaway, Chen and Wang are inside, we see some emergency crews running. SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:15:13 – 0:15:30 (+17s)
After Chen, Barrett and Jessup leave, we see Hathaway at his desk looking at Lien. Lien comes over behind him and looks on as he begins the process of hacking Hitchens. SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:15:32
The shot of the situation report is in Chinese instead of English. ALTERNATE SHOT
1:16:10
Hitchens has his attention summoned by the sound of the notification. SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:16:51
There is a shot of Hitchens’ eyes regarding the computer screen. SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:19:09 – 01:19:12 (+3s)
A brief shot of Lien working at the computer. SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:19:50
Hathaway says “Why’d he scan there?” when looking at the coast of Malaysia coordinates. ALTERNATE LINE
01:20:07 – 01:20:13
We see one of Chen’s superiors place a folder on the table and the greetings take place in a master versus the cuts and mediums of the Director’s Cut. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:20:33
The dialogue “NSA System” is spoken offscreen while you are able to see the reaction to this information on the other official’s face. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:21:20
The scene begins with Lien examining the satellite photos. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:22:20
Pollack repeats the line “That’s not the point.” off screen on the phone to Barrett. LINE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:24:41
Shot of Chen listening to Hathaway tell Lien she is not coming. SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:24:53
Chen says “Right now we need our data.” ALTERNATE LINE
01:25:02
Lien throws the car keys on the table. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:29:54
When Barrett is shot, we see Hathaway shouting “Barrett!” while taking cover behind the sign. In the Director’s Cut we see him mouthing the line but we don’t actually hear it. ALTERNATE LINE/AUDIO
01:30:27 – 01:34:11
When Hathaway and Lien leave their cover to head into the subway, we hear the Ryan Amon track Darkness. The Director’s Cut plays an alternate song and the cue starts slightly earlier. ALTERNATE AUDIO
01:31:39 – 01:31:42
Hathaway tells Lien “Listen, we gotta grieve later okay? We have to survive.” LINES AND SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:31:53 – 01:32:06 (+13s)
After Hathaway and Lien escape on the train, there is some additional dialogue. Lien says “We’re both going after them! We’re both going.” before Hathaway responds “Yes, we are. We are.” LINES AND SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:32:15
Lien’s contact says “I’m sorry. Be careful.” while Hathaway’s bracelet is being cut. LINE/SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT, ALTERNATE AUDIO
01:33:44 – 01:33:49
We see the motorcyclist drive off after throwing the knapsack and see another brief shot of the barge passing. SHOTS NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:34:07 – 1:34:11
We hold slightly longer (about 4s) to the Jessup phone showing Hathaway’s bracelet moving in the water. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:34:12
The track Elysium by Ryan Amon starts slightly earlier here than it does in the Director’s Cut. ALTERNATE AUDIO
01:34:29
Lien’s contact who arranged for their fake passports and departure holds a hand up to her in farewell. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:38:40
Hathaway’s explanation of Sadak’s plane plays out with him mentioning the Chicago hack last. The shots are rearranged to match the below dialogue. ALTERNATE LINES/SHOTS ORDER
Hathaway: He’s going to shut down these pumps and flood the tin mine, and the valleys, village people, village dogs. Create a shortage in tin. Tin prices will rise and shoot up. His $74 million from Chicago was to buy options on tin ore.
01:46:07
The camera lingers for longer on the concierge’s moment of indecision (“We’re not supposed to, but…”) in the DC and also cuts briefly back to Lien’s face as she offers an ingratiating look. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:46:25
When the USB drive is inserted into the CPU tower, there is a brief shot in which you “see” from the perspective of the CPU as the drive is inserted. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:48:51
Shot leads with Indonesian hackers speaking in the background before panning to Kassar with Hathaway saying off screen “You got my message” Kassar says, on screen, “Why are you here? You tell me, what do you want?” ALTERNATE SHOTS/LINES
01:50:02
We see Lien in the background standing up and getting closer to Hathaway on the phone. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:16
Hathaway says “I know you, and you’re about money because it’s your scoreboard in the virtual world” ALTERNATE LINE/SHOT
01:50:29
Hathaway says “It was kind of a bad fit” off screen. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:30
Sadak says “You’re looking for employment” off screen ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:33
Hathaway says “What do I want employment for?” on screen. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:34
Sadak says “Oh you want a piece?” off screen ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:35
Shot of Kassar listening to Sadak say “To put yourself back into the game?” ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:55
A brief beat of Sadak not saying anything after Hathaway says “I want 20% of the Malaysian tin ore hit.”
01:51:08
After Hathaway says “What’s it mean without a bankroll?” we get an extra beat on him before Sadak starts laughing then it cuts to him. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:51:19
Hathaway waits longer after Sadak says “I meet my partners.” before he says “Well, I don’t. And like I told your bagman, I don’t want to meet.” The camera cuts to a different shot in the middle of Hathaway’s second line. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:51:41
We see Sadak laugh on screen before he says “You want to be my partner?”
1:52:11-1:52:20
After Hathway tells Sadak “All right, you and Kassar.” it cuts to Sadak on the phone with Hathaway saying offscreen “I’ll call you and tell you where.” before Sadak says “Sure” and hangs up slowly. ALTERNATING LINES AND SHOTS
01:54:06 – 0:155:07 (+59s)
Sadak, Kassar and his Indonesian bodyguards are in an abandoned building in Jakarta to meet Hathaway. While Lien observes Sadak with binoculars, Hathaway calls Sadak and tells him to lose his bodyguards and changes the meet.
Hathaway: Hey, I told you. You and Kassar, alone.
Lien: Five men, two floors below.
Hathaway: The team two floors below.
Lien: And two gunmen with them.
Hathaway: And the two guys with you? Lose them. I’m changing the location. You and Kassar, Papua Square. Walk west. Meet me in two hours.
Sadak: It’ll be packed. How am I supposed to find you?
Hathaway: I find you.
The ending lines of the call are slightly altered in the Director’s Cut, in which they cut to Sadak and Hathaway listening while the other delivers the alternate dialogue from this scene
SCENE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:59:49
Hathway says “Get out of the way!” to the festival goers as he approaches Sadak LINE NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
01:59:51
After Hathaway says “Not about zeroes or ones or code. “What’s that tell you?” then shouts at the festival goers, Sadak responds “I’m a gamer. I hire people to do sub-symbolic stuff.” “I’m a gamer” is delivered off screen. ALTERNATE LINE/SHOTS
2:02:03 – 2:02:06 (+3s)
Brief pan up of the car pulled over before Lien administers medical aid to Hathaway.
SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
02:03:38 – 02:03:44 (+6s)
The ATM asks Hathaway if he wants a receipt. He declines, and we see the remainder of the balance which is 46 million Euros.
SHOT NOT IN DIRECTOR’S CUT
DIRECTOR’S CUT
The following is an examination of the Director’s Cut and documents scenes, shots and dialogue that can only be found in this version.
00:00:43 – 00:03:44
The film starts with an unfocused shot of the Chicago exchange. This is the original intended opening and takes place at 00:13:37 in the Theatrical Cut. TIMELINE DIFFERENCE DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:01:33 – 00:01:35
There are two brief shots right before the camera cuts into the numbers at the Chicago trade. We see Robicheaud’s yubikey being inserted on his desktop then cut to a POV shot of a USB entering a computer. Even though these are supposed to be the same thing, they are physically different. The latter is repurposed from the Theatrical Cut when the Indonesian back host connects Lien’s USB. ALTERNATE SHOT/SHOTS NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:03:45 – 00:04:59(+1m14s)
In the Director’s Cut, right after see the malware start to increase the price of soy, we have a scene on a boat containing soy trying to dock in Rotterdam. The boat is denied entry as the price of soy has risen dramatically, and their insurance was revoked.
Captain: We’ll dock in the Rotterdam boat terminal.
Harbor Pilot: Port side, long side, I’ll pilot you in. Third mate, we’ll guide you in.
Third Mate: Yeah, he’s just on board. It’s the harbor master, he wants to talk to you.
Harbor Pilot: Sorry. You do not enter Rotterdam.
Captain: Eh?
Harbor Pilot: Your insurance has been revoked.
Captain: What?
Harbor Pilot: We received an automated notice, something to do with the value of your cargo.
Captain: My cargo’s the same cargo I run twice a month. 200,000 tons of soy beans.
Harbor Pilot: The value’s changed. You’re under-insured. Put her in dead-slow and head for the anchorage.
SCENE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:05:20 – 00:07:15
As we are introduced to Chen getting ready, the voiceover talks about protests forming over the rising price of soy. His tablet in the car shows the protests, and the dialogue with the generals is specifically about the soy hack and not dubbed over. ORIGINAL SHOTS/DIALOGUE, NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:07:16 – 00:08:58 (+1m42s)
Right after Chen leaves the room in China, we see Robichaud and his team trying to figure out how the virus got into Chicago. He and Barrett are formally introduced to each other. Robichaud is told someone is calling from China, and it’s Chen who tells him they should work together and that soy is the one price they do not want to see go up. We then cut to the scene of Barrett explaining to Pollack who Chen is.
Robichaud: Check any connections open to the Internet. Wait…
Barrett: I’m FBI Special Agent Carol Barrett.
Robichaud: Jeff Robichaud, IT Director. I’ll be right with you… Frank, any luck on the IDS?
Barrett: So, Robichaud… how’d it get in?
Robichaud: We don’t know.
Woman: Mr. Robichaud, someone’s on I think you’ll want to talk to. He’s calling from China.
Chen: We know your servers were hacked, and soy was driven up. We’d like to have a look at the code in the malware.
Robichaud: You’re talking about something that isn’t public knowledge here, let alone in China. Let’s suppose you’re right. Who’s my first suspect?
Chen: Listen, my country buys 50 million tons of soy annually. We’re an importer. It’s not a price we wanna see go up.
Robichaud: Even if I buy that, why would we send the code to you?
Chen: We’re gonna get it anyway, but it’ll take us longer on our own. Meanwhile, it’s affecting food prices here, and drastically. You have to move fast because the breach questions your trading integrity. Together, maybe we can get there faster, so if your side has any interest in partnering in some joint liaison group, well… we’d be willing to work with you.
SCENE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:09:43-00:09:49 (+6s)
Pollack asks “Drawbacks of giving up the code?” to which Robichaud replies “None. It’ll surface anyway.” This brief dialogue and the shot of Robichaud is not in the theatrical cut. LINE AND SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:11:36 – 00:11:41
When talking to Lien, Chen says “The black hat hit Mercantile Trade Exchange in Chicago, rocketed soy through the roof, rode the run up and…” LINES NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:12:26 – 00:12:33
Daniels explains the soy hack: “But once it got in, here’s how it cracked our firewall. It masqueraded as a software update, complete with a legit digital signature.” LINES NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:13:20 – 00:13:24
Daniels explains “And if it is two, they may not be working from the same area…” ALTERNATE LINE
00:13:37
In the office, Chen says “My point is, we don’t have time to pace ourselves by the slowest guy in the room.” LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:14:08
When Barrett enters Chen’s hotel room, she says “you must be kidding” (even though her lips don’t quite sync) before saying “he rang up…”. LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:15:11
We are introduced to Hathaway here, versus roughly 7 minutes into the Theatrical Cut. The scene of Hathaway being taken from his cell cuts straight into his meeting with Reinker about getting paroled. In the Theatrical Cut, he is taken from his cell into the warden’s office, which was deleted from this cut. TIMELINE DIFFERENCE DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:21:04
Chen says “There was a malware” (alternatively could be saying “Here’s the malware”) LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:22:43
Shot of Chen saying “Maybe you walked it in and infected your system unwittingly.” Robichaud responds “I scan this routinely, it’s dead clean.” LINES AND SHOTS NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:22:53 – 00:24:13 (+9s)
Panning to a shot of Hathaway looking at the code on his laptop and some expository dialogue about the RAT. LINE AND SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
Hathaway: So he takes the RAT, injects it into your system, opens up a back door, down which he sends his payload. That jacks up soy futures. That’s all very cool…
00:27:13 – 00:27:18
We see stacked phone books and door tags on Reyes’ apartment, showing no one has been there in some time. SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:27:19
Baker’s line “So how can I help?” starts before we see that Robichaud is sitting at the restaurant with Chen, Barrett and Baker. Chen’s reply begins on screen: “We’d like to see trading records…” on screen SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:27:26 – 00:27:27
We see Robichaud reacting to Chen’s ask. SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:28:08
Baker’s reaction shot comes before Chen sits back down over Barrett’s line “I’d like to launch an official investigation on one Gary Baker.” ALTERNATE SHOT ORDER
00:28:55
We see Reyes’ landlady react to his dead body further in the apartment, before she backs out and bumps into Lien. ALTERNATE SHOT
00:29:14 – 00:29:17
We hold longer when Lien sits at Reyes’ desk, possibly to examine his networking equipment. ALTERNATE SHOT
00:39:56 – 00:40:02
In the Director’s Cut, Hathway tells Lien in the cab that Reyes was killed and the email was bait. In the theatrical cut, we see him offscreen delivering the same dialogue to Chen. ALTERNATE LINES/SHOTS
00:40:47
Lien says “We’re flying to Hong Kong in the morning” ALTERNATE LINE, LIKELY DUE TO RE-EDIT
00:42:24 – 00:42:26 (+2m2s)
Some landscape shots of Hong Kong to transition between LA after Hathaway and Lien sleep together. We then get a pan from the bridge down into the car with Jessup, Hathaway and Lien. Jessup remarks on the tail they have before they swap cars at a hotel to lose the tail.
Jessup: Clock the Suzuki?
Hathaway: Yeah, I saw him.
Jessup: We’ll see him again. Four cars behind is a black Toyota that was at the airport. Disappeared, now it’s back. Someone’s doing a revolving tail.
Concierge: Hi. How may I help you?
Lien: Lien Chen.
Concierge: Sure. These are your room keys. Anything else?
Lien: Access to a service elevator.
Concierge: Right this way.
SCENE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:46:29 – 00:46:33 (+4s)
Hathaway, Lien and Jessup arrive at the safe house in Kowloon and Chen “You guys clean?” with Jessup responding “I think so. Definitely surveillance on us, right up to the Ritz Carlton.” Chen responds “Welcome to our Ritz.” SHOTS AND LINES NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
00:47:13
Hathaway says “There. They overlap.” as he points out the trail of the three mules. LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:03:45
Kassar gestures to the boat captain saying “Give me the case” before saying “Come on. Come on!” In the Theatrical Cut, he only says “Come on.” The audio on “Give me the case” also sounds like it was ADR-ed in. LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:05:25
We see the last shot of the pier lit up from the theatrical opening. This leads into the nuclear hack. We see a shortened version of the malware hack and see Sadak hitting enter then turning around and lighting a cigarette. The theatrical footage of the malware attack was used for the soy hack, and the footage for the soy hack from theatrical was used for the nuclear attack. TIME LINE DIFFERENCE DUE TO RE-EDIT
01:08:40
Wang tells Chen “We’ve restored cooling by pumping in sea water.” ALTERNATE LINE DUE TO RE-EDIT
01:08:47 – 1:08:59
Chen is told “Your team in Beijing matched it. They injected the same RAT used in Chicago. He used the same RAT to get inside. Then he downloaded the malware that hit the reactor.” ALTERNATE LINES DUE TO RE-EDIT
01:09:00
Chen says “Jesus” when told there was no demand for money. LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:09:20
Wang says “He went at the pumps until they failed.” LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT DUE TO RE-EDIT
01:09:32
Wang says “We had to evacuate the control room.” ALTERNATE LINE DUE TO RE-EDIT
01:08:46 – 01:09:31 (+45s)
Whereas the scene got truncated in the Theatrical Cut, it continues here. Wang says “And you can’t take a radioactive machine out of there.” Hathaway responds “Okay, what if we take it in a shielded case? Carry the drive out that way, then clone it to a clean drive.” We then see Hathaway and Chen walking into the reactor, with Hathaway remarking “Still don’t get it. He’s got 74 million. Why this? What’s he after?” SHOTS AND LINES NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:09:47 – 01:09:52
We see a brief POV shot from inside the hazmat suit as they begin ascending the stairs SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:09:59
We see a brief shot of a corpse on its own, this shot appears slightly later in the Theatrical Cut. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:12:52 – 01:12:55
After Hathaway and Barrett get up to speak privately, we see a brief shot of the incomplete data on Lien’s monitors. SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:15:45 – 0:15:47
The photos on Kassar’s bodyguards phone are slightly different. We see a warrant card for Trang and the situation report is in English instead of Chinese. SHOTS NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT/ALTERNATE SHOTS
01:16:25
Hitchens is already looking at the screen when the email pops up. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:19:56
Hathaway says “Why there?” when looking at the Malaysia satellite imagery ALTERNATE LINE
01:20:11 – 01:20:14
Chen’s superior greets him saying “You have good news” with some alternate angles. This line is also overheard in the Theatrical Cut but is not subtitled. LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT/ALTERNATE SHOT
01:20:45
Chen’s superior’s dialogue translates to, “With the Americans we contest the South China Sea and cyber espionage.” In the Theatrical Cut, this is clarified to read, “With the Americans we conflict over naval issues in the South China Sea and cyber espionage.” Some dialogue plays over different shots. ALTERNATE LINES/SHOTS
01:21:22
The scene begins with Hathaway in bed before panning to Lien. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:24:30 – 01:24:35
Hathaway says “I- I ain’t going back. You gotta. And you’re not going down that road.” LINES AND SHOTS NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:24:43
Chen says “Right now we need the hard drive” ALTERNATE LINE/SHOT
01:24:55
Lien places the keys in Chen’s hand rather than throwing them on the table. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:29:42
When Barrett is shot, we see Hathaway shouting “Barrett!” but we do not actually hear him saying it. ALTERNATE AUDIO
01:30:12 – 01:33:39
Alternate audio as Hathaway and Lien flee to the subway, and the cue starts slightly earlier (around when see Barrett’s final POV). The track is uncredited in the film but is the beat used for Cold Ass N****as by Freddie Gibbs, which was produced by Mike Dean who did uncredited work on the film. ALTERNATE AUDIO
01:32:57 – 01:33:07 (+10s)
We see the motorcyclist with Hathaway’s bracelet physically dismount the bike and get ready to throw the knapsack with the bracelet over onto a passing barge. SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:37:41 – 1:38:09
Hathaway’s explanation of Sadak’s actions plays a little differently than the Theatrical Cut.
Hathaway: He’s going to shut down these pumps and flood the tin mine, create a shortage of tin, tin prices will rise and shoot up. His $74 million from Chicago was to buy options on tin ore. And flood the tin mine, and the valleys, and the villages, village people, village dogs… ALTERNATE LINES/SHOTS ORDER
01:42:51 – 1:43:12 (+21s)
An extension of the previous scene, showing Lien opening the car door outside the server office for Hathaway. Hathaway walks into the car and they drive off. The Theatrical Cut goes right from the external HDD transfer to them back at the hideout. SHOTS NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:45:19 – 01:45:22
We see Lien from behind as she approaches the banking desk. In the Theatrical Cut we see this from the side which the Director’s Cut then cuts to after this shot. SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:45:43 – 01:45:45
The camera lingers for longer on the concierge’s moment of indecision (“We’re not supposed to, but…”) and also cuts briefly back to Lien’s face as she mouths “thank you” and smiles. ALTERNATE SHOTS/SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:47:20 – 01:47:22
The camera cuts quickly to Lien’s eyes as they observe/read Nick’s message to Sadak. SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:48:33 – 01:48:38
Hathaway says on screen “You got my message” and Kassar asks “Why are you here?” off screen followed by a very brief pan to Kassar saying “What do you want?” ALTERNATE SHOTS/LINES
01:49:43
Sadak tells Hathaway “Because I don’t even know me.” LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:49:45
We see Sadak deliver the line “Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I don’t even know who I am. Where I am. In what country.” whereas this off screen in the Theatrical Cut. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:49:55
Hathway says “I know you, and all about everything you’re doing” ALTERNATE LINE/SHOT
01:51:10
Hathaway says “It was kind of a bad fit” on screen. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:51:01
Sadak says “You’re looking for employment” on screen. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:14
Hathaway says “What do I want employment for?” off screen. ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:16
Sadak says “Oh you want a piece?” on screen ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:19
Hathaway says “That’s right.” in response to Sadak’s question. LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
0:1:50:34
We see Lien in the background when Hathaway says “I want 20% of the Malaysian tin ore hit.” ALTERNATE SHOT
01:50:43
Sadak says, “Your code is like its author, failed potential,” before “It’s my action that gave that code you wrote meaning.” LINE NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:51:48-01:52:01
The shot is on Sadak as Hathway says off screen “Papua Square. Walk west. Meet me in 45” before it cuts back to Hathaway as Sadak says off screen “It’ll be packed. How am I supposed to find you?” then cuts back to Sadak one more time with Hathway saying “I find you.” Sadak hangs up the phone. These lines are from another scene not present in the director’s cut, as neither character says the lines on screen in this version. ALTERNATE LINES AND SHOTS
01:54:25
Kassar says, subtitled, “He probably has a spotter” whereas in the TC the subtitles say “He has a spotter.” This is due to the abandoned parking lot scene being removed. ALTERNATE LINE
01:54:46
A brief shot of Hathaway after he watches Sadak and his team go into the festival. SHOT NOT IN THEATRICAL CUT
01:58:32
After Hathaway says “Not about zeroes or ones or code. What’s that tell you?” Sadak responds “Violence. I hire people to do sub-symbolic stuff.” Sadak says both lines on screen with an alternate angle. ALTERNATE LINES/SHOTS
A postscript from Bux: at first I was going to attempt a comprehensive analysis of the many, many changes to Blackhat on its rocky eight-year journey from theatrical cut to officially sanctioned director’s cut. It turned out to be a daunting undertaking, and as Chris noted, it’s unlikely we caught all the edits. Instead, I would like to propose an all-encompassing framework through which I believe Blackhat, and in fact Mann’s entire corpus, should be viewed: as a refashioned Faust myth, a postmodern pop cultural Prometheus. On its own, theft of fire was a petty misdemeanor. With the advent of mass media and the telos of industrial capitalism, we’ve since escalated to Grand Theft Author. In the beginning, there was the word, and our appropriation of its sorcery in service of wealth or power or ideology, to manipulate and to dominate, risks an apocalyptic end to our species’ choose-your-own-adventure story. It’s one small step for man from the library stacks to the server stacks, and one giant leap into an abyssal frontier.
For Michael Mann, language is power on par with the atomic bomb. Literally. Blackhat makes this most explicit in the sequences of destruction wrought by Sadak, which he compels us to watch from keystroke to death blow: a computer program — written (or plagiarized) by human beings, translated into electrical currents, deployed in seconds — has the ability to disrupt global trade, overheat nuclear reactors, and flood entire villages. The biblical implications are deliberate. His characters are designed accordingly, archetypally, larger-than-life. To the film’s detractors they come across as thinly sketched, and I admit even as a staunch Blackhat defender that this critique has some merit. And yet with each successive viewing the ensemble became more compelling to me, suggestive of hidden depths. I found myself theorizing about the iceberg of backstory that I knew Mann had built out beneath the surface, spurred by the smallest of movements, glances, facial expressions, and gestures.
After all, this, too, is language — code that long predates the operation of silicon chips. It is the (extra)ordinary substrate that structures human life around the globe, every bit as tangibly, and often with far less conscious attention. Binary is a recent innovation, but communication, for us, is instinctive behavior. Ancient, biological hard-wiring. It is the raw material out of which we construct identity and relationships, allegiance and enmity, historical and moral significance, the existential whole of civilization itself. If you pay close attention to any Mann film you will notice just how much belaboring is done on the encoding and decoding of information, talk to terminal, personal to political; the technologies and bureaucracies that mediate or infiltrate; the physical situations in which it occurs; even the granular stylistic idiosyncrasies (vocabulary, slang, intonation) that differentiate how individuals perform it a given context. Whether they manage to do so effectively, adaptively, and securely — and to listen, to interpret in turn — is a matter of life and death. A few weeks ago I cracked a joke on Twitter: “A fun drinking game for a Michael Mann movie would be to drink every time a form of communications media is explicitly called out (speech, writing, print, audiovisual e.g. TV/radio, and the Internet). You would be dead of alcohol poisoning in 30 minutes.” That’s an average calculation. The Insider would kill you in as much time as it takes to microwave a frozen burrito, with Blackhat following at a close second.
The way I see it, the decisions Mann makes behind the lens or the Avid are an exhaustive endeavor to keep his own language as lexically loaded and internally consistent as possible. Every one of his films is a symbolic and aesthetic juggernaut of interconnected messaging. Text, subtext, and intertext are all precision-engineered machines of narrative meaning, designed frame-by-frame to account for the fullest possible scope in which it might be conveyed. Everything is considered on that basis, that nothing the audience sees or hears should be extraneous, and that the smallest intelligible component part will feed back into the semantic whole. Mann films are designed to be what Umberto Eco termed open works. They are so densely packed with these networks of semiotic relations that it’s impossible to decipher everything in one go. This is one of the reasons, I think, that they’ve developed such a fanatical cult following, and why a podcast like One Heat Minute exists for Michael Mann and no other contemporary Hollywood director. Taken in total, every change to Blackhat should be interpreted as Mann’s effort to maintain the integrity of his own televisual linguistics, which he’s been developing over the anthology of his career, given the constraints of the industry and the tastes of a mass audience.
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