A Higher Form of Learning aka Kill Switch

Seagalzilla

Active Member
Hi,

on page 346 of the SEAGALOGY A STUDY OF THE ASS-KICKING FILMS OF STEVEN SEAGAL - UPDATED AND EXPANDED EDITION Vern mentions an early workprint of KILL SWITCH named "A Higher Form of Learning". He watched it, judging from the text.

Do you know if this work print is available for official purchase similar to the Unreleased Director's Cut of TICKER by Mr. Pyun?

Can you help me?
 

DiDa

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi,

on page 346 of the SEAGALOGY A STUDY OF THE ASS-KICKING FILMS OF STEVEN SEAGAL - UPDATED AND EXPANDED EDITION Vern mentions an early workprint of KILL SWITCH named "A Higher Form of Learning". He watched it, judging from the text.

Do you know if this work print is available for official purchase similar to the Unreleased Director's Cut of TICKER by Mr. Pyun?

Can you help me?

I also really would like to see that version. But probably this won't happen because the rights are sold to Mr. Avi Lerner and friends. He won't allow the old version to come out. Vern has seen the movie before the rights were sold. I don't know how long Lerner has the rights for this movie, because we have a chance when he loses the rights. This also happened with Cyborg. Cyborg was taken out of Albert Pyun's hands. Now after years he can show his version....

By the way I tried to contact director Jeff King. But he isn't even responding to me, although he responds to other people. So it seems also Jeff King wants to forget this movie...
 

Seagalzilla

Active Member
"Vern has seen the movie before the rights were sold."

This is interesting, because in my understanding for movie rights, only the sold = official version are protected with the copyright law. :confused: T his is happening when the shooting is concluded.

Of course, I could be wrong. I am no lawyer!

Mr. Pyun shot his version and after it's conclusion the Official TICKER version was released.

Another point that bugs me personally is that Mr. King didn't respond to you. Are you so popular?

Moreover I personally find it sad that Mr. King is not helping. If he's not satisfied with his movie, why does want to keep us = the fans down?

This is for me not understandable. As a director you have artistic rights, plus if the producers on the other hand, have others + more efficient ideas - I would suggest a talk would help.

Nobody gains a fortune by fighting. Not that kind of "fortune and fighting" = bad mouthing.

Maybe you can understand me...
 

DiDa

Super Moderator
Staff member
What do you mean with "Are you so popular".....? I am just trying to say that he responds to other 'normal' people.
 

Seagalzilla

Active Member
Popular in the sense of wide-known Internet-related fame. An example: Vern.

A super-fan, who is known to many, that kind of "popular".

I personally only encountered something-related, although I am not "popular": I asked the German publisher of TRUE JUSTICE series 1 on numerous occassions, when they are planning to do a German release. They made a release in the neighbour country of the Netherlands, which is rather strange.

They never responded, so they probably saved my address and it automatically landed in their to-delete-folder.
 

Forrest Taft

Active Member
Would definitely be interesting to see the Higher Form of Learning version as it sounds so much better than the released version without all the ridiculous Edward Scissorhands editing and the ending which I still don't understand. Because it makes no sense.
 

Martin01

Well-Known Member
Staff member
By the way I tried to contact director Jeff King. But he isn't even responding to me, although he responds to other people. So it seems also Jeff King wants to forget this movie...

If he isn't responding, maybe you could try to contact producer Kirk Shaw instead. I'm not sure, but I think he was a lead producer on the movie before it was sold to other producers. Also, he produced Driven to Kill and lately Beyond the Law.
 

Forrest Taft

Active Member
Does anyone here actually understand what the hell the ending was all about? Am genuinely curious.

Did they just realise they'd forgotten to put any boobs in the movie so tacked it on?
 

Martin01

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I didn't understand the ending either. And since it was filmed with Seagal and not with a double I guess that ending was included in the earlier version too. But maybe in the earlier cut there were some explanations about that, who knows.
I really wonder if this earlier cut still exists (and how complete this cut was, regarding effects, music etc.) and if so, if there are possibilities to release it sometime in the future on DVD/Blu-ray.
In the current version, the movie is almost unwatchable, which is sad because there are some decent parts in it (if I remember correctly the final fight scene was pretty good) and the movie does have a good look.
 

Forrest Taft

Active Member
Some of it is okay but as a whole it’s just a weird mess.

The opening scene, the flashback, looked intriguing to start but doesn’t really go anywhere.

I didn’t get the relationship he has with his girlfriend at all. She seems to have no point to even exist, he just brushes her off and ignores her. She’s in the police scenes as a cop but seems to have a different personality and he doesn’t acknowledge her there either.

The fight scenes, dear LORD, the fight scenes. The one in the bar which seems to go on forever with Edward Scissorhands editing and the most obvious double ever filmed. They cut in shots of Seagal where you can still see the black guy’s head in the corner of the screen even though he’s not fighting him!

The fight scene in the cupboard (!) at the end where shots of Steven are spliced in from a completely different scene - he’s wearing a different jacket!

The fight at the end was comparatively okay but still had some of the same editing problems.

The dubbing is just headache-inducing, especially when they use it to loop dialogue which didn’t even need to be there. When he says “no appeal this time” during the last fight, it would have been better just not to have it at all that loop it in with an obvious dub.

I just couldn’t get behind Seagal’s character because he’s so sadistic. Didn’t mind the brutality in his other movies as it’s always justified but here he smashes some guy’s teeth out, a guy he’s just met and he simply wants information from. He’d be fired on the spot. The other guy’s a serial killer, fair enough, but he smashes his arm, ribs and legs with a hammer to the point of ridiculousness. While two cops just stand there and watch!

And the ending. Nobody watching could possibly have a clue what’s happening as it’s not explained and makes no sense.

Vern apparently has seen this workprint version so it must exist in some form. Would be an interesting watch even if incomplete just to see where things apparently went wrong.
 
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