Firstly I must point out to those people not in the United Kingdom that some of this article may well appear strange as you may have much less stricter censorship laws than we have. On the other hand you may simply not know about some of the missing material listed in this article. This text was written for two reasons. The first is that the UK suffers heavily from brutal censorship tactics by the BBFC, the British Board of Film Censors (a non governmental body, self appointed, self sustained and self parodying body that cuts and dubs films for the benefit(sic) of our nation). The second is due to the fact that many a film may get cut (or dubbed) for reasons beyond the BBFC e.g. the production company, the director or simply for timing. Where possible I have tried to list such cutting in "Cut & Dubbed II: The Return Of (Self) Censorship".
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Availability: 1. US NTSC CAV laser disc box set; 2. UK trilogy video box set.
Note: However, in both cases the scenes listed above have not actually been reinstated into the film. They are simply provided as supplementary material to film.
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Availability: Video tape and laser disc editions of "Hearts Of Darkness: The Making Of Apocalypse Now".
Several scenes cut. Information to come...
Availability: US NTSC special edition DVD.
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Availability: "Secrets Of The Back To The Future Series" documentary (screened on television and also available as a bonus tape in the UK trilogy video box set.)
In 1991 Ridley Scott put back together his amazing 1982 science fiction visual masterpiece into a form that he originally intended (Blade Runner: The Director's Cut). But what are the differences. Well there weren't that many but they are listed here:
Availability: 1. US NTSC CAV laser disc; 2. UK "Director's Cut" video release; 3. UK "Director's Cut" video release ('Beyond Vision' issue including three picture cards).
Trivia point: Look out for the statement "Original soundtrack available on Polydor records" right at the end of the final credits. This soundtrack never actually happened because Vangelis had an argument with Polydor at the time and refused to release his original music to the label. For years it remained unreleased (only available as a very poor orchestral cover version and various unofficial bootlegs) until finally in 1994 Vangelis remastered the original music adding in voice samples and even included some previously unavailable material. He released the CD on his current label at the time, East West a division of Time Warner.
The Final Cut? It has been reported in several specialist magazines that other scenes still remain edited from even the Ridley Scott Director's Cut and also that scenes in the original edition were missing from the Director's Cut. For a full report on these scenes including those still missing I highly recommend the book "??" by "??".
"Director's Cut" including footage not included in the Theatrical or home video versions plus a comparison of scenes edited to achieve an 'R' rating.
Availability: US NTSC "Special Edition" laser disc box set.
Rumours abound that quite a few scenes were cut from this film but this may have more to do with Brandon Lee's untimely death rather than director's or producer's decisions. One scene known definitely to exist on film but edited from the final cut is a dream sequence involving a nightmarish cowboy character haunting ??'s mind. Pictures from the scene appeared in several SFX magazines and the British PAL sell through video tape states "including previously unseen footage" but so far I have been unable to watch this version of the tape so I can't report what's actually on it yet.
Availability: UK sell through video tape
Expanded 236 minute version available.
Availability: Various UK/US special editions and box sets.
This film was heavily cut for timing. Where David Lynch allowed for over three hours and in some reports maybe even over four hours of original footage the proiducation company was less impressed cutting the film to just over two hours. The full, uncut, widescreen version of this film is a bit like the holy grail. Spoken off often but never, ever seen. Various versions have surfaced in a variety of cuts and widescreen ratios. Apparently there is a long running dispute between the Director David Lynch and thge Executive Producer Dino De Laurentis as to what should make up the film. Hence the many and varied editions in length and ratio. The FULL uncut, David Lynch filmed edition in widescreen (or any other format for that matter) remains unreleased....
Availability: ??
John carpenter cut a whole ten minute sequence from this 1981 film. All of the ten missing minutes actually come from the very beginning of the film where you get to see the robbery of a hi-tech bank by Snake Plissken and his accomplice, their escape and ultimately Plissken's capture and death/murder of his accomplice by the police. This is the reason why Plissken is on his way to prison. Unfortunately, although the laser disc where evidence of this is to be found is a special edition, the missing sequence is not shown in full. Only clips (albeit in glorious Panavision) are contained amongst a fairly modern interview with John Carpenter.
Availability: US NTSC special edition laser disc.
Another a John Carpenter film, this time his earlier 1978 horror masterpiece Halloween. Although this time rather than missing material having remained in the vaults the material to report on is in fact an entirely different eleven minute ending. Two endings were filmed the first of which, before this laser disc, only ever appeared in the original cinema version of the film. The second ending was used for all rental and home video releases. With it being such an old film most people will have only ever seen the video version meaning you haven't actually seen the original ending. I'm not going to tell you the different ending here, unlike the detailed reports listed in this article, because the other listings don't really affect the outcome of the movies whereas a description of the missing eleven minutes would destroy the essence of the original ending.
Availability: US NTSC CAV special edition laser disc and original theatrical versions.
Over 20 minutes of footage cut by studio and Jean-Claude Van Damme consisting of extreme violence and extraordinarily over the top gun fight scenes (as per John Woo films). More information to follow. Apparently the most complete publically available version of the film is the UK PAL laser disc!
Availability: Most complete version UK PAL laserdisc. Full version not available!
Information to come...
Availability: US NTSC special edition laser disc.
Several scenes cut. Information to come...
Availability: US NTSC special edition laser disc.
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Availability: UK "Director's Cut" video tape and US Special Edition NTSC laser disc.
Several scenes cut. Information to come...
Availability: US NTSC "unrated" laser disc.
About 20 minutes of footage cut by the director Luc Besson. Reinstated for a French only "Director's Cut" of the film. Information to come...
Availability: French Director's Cut Special Edition PAL/SECAM laser disc.
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Availability: US NTSC laser disc "International Version".
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Availability: Missing scenes included in supplementary material on Speciel Edition NTSC laser disc!
Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece of science fiction and portrayel of a violent future was edited down on release to allow the film to get an 'R' (restricted) rating instead of an 'X' (American certifications). Thus many graphically violent and gory sequences were cut from the film which were recently restored by the director himself for a special edition American laser disc release by the world renowned Criterion label. Apart from numerous frame inserts of violence and gore there are some scenes that have some major restoration:
Availability: US NTSC "Special Edition" laser disc and DVD.
Deleted scenes??
Availability: US NTSC "Special Edition" laser disc box set.
From this film a whole torture scene involving Soran and Geordie is edited out. Soran uses an electronic device that temporarily stops the heart from beating in an attempt to get the shield codes from Geordie so that the Klingon ship they are on may "surprise" and defeat the enterprise. The whole scene is edited thus rendering the one liner joke of "Did you get any information?" "No his heart wasn't in it" totally useless. So much for continuity.
It is also rumoured that for timing purposes a scene involving James T.Kirk surf diving in space was edited from the film. However, I am unsure whether this was just cut from the British version of the film or if it was edited out in all territories.
Availability: unknown
A scene with Han Solo and Jabba The Hut talking before they take off from Tatooine. This original scene (with a man playing Jabba) is included on the US laser disc set. The scene was reinstated for the Special Edition cinema and video releases with a CGI Jabba similar to the one in Return Of The Jedi.
Availability: US NTSC laser disc original trilogy box set, Star Wars: Special Edition cinema and video releases
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Availability: US NTSC "Special Edition" laser disc.
Note: The deleted scenes on this special edition have not been reinstated into the film. They are simply provided as supplementary material to film.
Last fight scene with big monster. Footage never used as it was not considered believeable.
Availability: Clips available on US NTSC Signature Edition laser disc/DVD.
"Director's Cut"
Availability: US NTSC laser disc.
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Availability: US NTSC special edition laser disc box set.
"Director's Cut"
Availability: US special edition unrated NTSC laser disc.
"Director's Cut"
Availability: ??.
"Special Expanded Edition"
Availability: US NTSC double video tape.