"Hey... I don't remember that?" Multiple versions of films

[KRYPTON INC.]

Yesterday I watched AIRPLANE 2: THE SEQUEL on Amazon Prime. It's a fave of mine and one I have seen on broadcast, basic and pay cable for years and years. I probably saw it on tv countless times... Or so I thought. Watching yesterday uncut and it contained scenes and gags that were new to me, and some of the gags I remembered weren't there. Seems that the version on broadcast not only had excised scenes but had inserted totally different ones as well. This got me thinking about how back in the day, for a variety of reasons, you could catch alternate versions of films on broadcast or cable. Sometimes because of Network standards, films are trimmed or dialog dubbed over, but what was also common was the insertion of alternate takes or deleted scenes to expand the film's running time.

I remember such practices when they would show SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and SUPERMAN II on network in the 1980's. Deleted or expanded scenes were put into the film. I also remember David Lynch's DUNE being shown on PBS in an expanded multi night event (which obviously didn't have Lynch's approval since when this expanded version was shown the Alan Smithee credit was used instead of Lynch's name). I also remember versions of STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KAHN with scenes not usually seen on home video back in the day.

So does anyone else have memories of expanded or altered films that come to mind? What are your thoughts and feelings on this? Any particular fondness for those cuts? For those of a certain age (pre Internet, pre VOD, ect.) do those versions in your head hold more weight than the theatrical cuts of said films? I can tell you, that version of Airplane 2 seems like another film almost to me. Thoughts?

 

[jmc]

In my country about 20 years ago it was pretty common for network TV to edit films to remove violence, sex, drugs and swearing. In the early 90's we started getting pay-TV however with dedicated movie channels, so they suddenly weren't as strict with their editing of films anymore. Die Hard 3 is the one that sticks out in my mind, first time I saw that was on TV then about a year later on video and was shocked to learned how much swearing and violence was taken out.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

In my country about 20 years ago it was pretty common for network TV to edit films to remove violence, sex, drugs and swearing. In the early 90's we started getting pay-TV however with dedicated movie channels, so they suddenly weren't as strict with their editing of films anymore. Die Hard 3 is the one that sticks out in my mind, first time I saw that was on TV and was shocked to learned how much swearing and violence was taken out.

Really? I was unaware that the land of Oz was like that. Granted those are the prime reasons for trimming a film for broadcast in the states too, but I guess I thought that Australia was more like the U.K. Violence in media would be more problematic than say, nudity or language I thought, but turns out I was wrong.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

There's the Happy Gilmore bit where only the tv version showed him getting revenge on Ben Stiller's sadistic orderly.

Also I remember seeing a clip from Major League that showed Lynn catching Jake with the stewardess that was referred to in the film but have never been able to track it down. It pains me that unused footage from that movie exists but is being kept from me.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

There's the Happy Gilmore bit where only the tv version showed him getting revenge on Ben Stiller's sadistic orderly.

Also I remember seeing a clip from Major League that showed Lynn catching Jake with the stewardess that was referred to in the film but have never been able to track it down. It pains me that unused footage from that movie exists but is being kept from me.

With Gilmore, do you think that scene was added to make up for edits in other places?

 

[jmc]

Really? I was unaware that the land of Oz was like that. Granted those are the prime reasons for trimming a film for broadcast in the states too, but I guess I thought that Australia was more like the U.K. Violence in media would be more problematic than say, nudity or language I thought, but turns out I was wrong.

A new rating system was introduced in the early 90's which allowed adult content to be screen on network TV provided the programme started no earlier than 9.30pm. That said given what's being produced locally these days it seems to be more unofficially 8.30pm.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

return of the living dead is superb for this

the film a character has a lethaer jacket with **** you on the back, they shot every scene twice with another jacket that says tv editon

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

return of the living dead is superb for this

the film a character has a lethaer jacket with **** you on the back, they shot every scene twice with another jacket that says tv editon

Holy crap! I never knew that. I'm not big on horror, though I do remember RoTLD just for the cemetery stripper scene. t: Still, I only ever saw it on HBO back in the day, never broadcast.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

A TV version of Pulp Fiction has Mia doing some on camera interview of Vincent, asking if he's a Beatles man or an Elvis man. This is why Mia says about Jackrabbit Slim's, "An Elvis man should love it."

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I wonder what was cut in broadcast that made them think they had to insert that to make up for it? Pulp Fiction is already a longish film, so adding to the length is a head scratcher.


I wonder if he directors have any influence in these situations. My gut says no.

 

[Erzengel]

It's typical for cable channels to add in extended scenes from a movie. I see it a lot with Harry Potter.

 

[Alien Anal]

When i was a kid i remember looking at the back of vhs covers and seeing scenes that werent in the movie which always confused me, Beverly hills ninja is the first that comes to mind

 

[Daltonio]

I saw the TV version of Halloween II quite a few times before I saw the original version.

Scenes randomly moved around for no reason at all, some deaths completely excluded, an alternate ending they filmed just for the TV edit where one of the characters ended up surviving. It's just a whole different thing, lol.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

I remember watching F13 7 and they skipped over Jason's death on the dock, going the house blowing up to the ending.

 

[Symbiotic]

This is actually on the Blu-ray and 15th anniversary DVD in a separate deleted scenes section, but on network television broadcasts of Backdraft, the film actually airs with a "hopeful" conclusion scene to the William Baldwin/Jennifer Jason Leigh romance subplot. After they bust Swayzak during the press conference. And I wish to God that scene was actually put back into the film on home entertainment formats, because I think the ending of Backdraft feels incomplete without it.