My wife and I got the Star Wars trilogy DVD set and just finished watching all three movies, which neither of us had seen since childhood (we’re in our early thirties). After watching The Empire Strikes Back, my wife asked what happened to the scene with Chewbacca’s children. I thought she was joking, but she insisted that she remembered a scene (she thinks it was flashback) where Imperial Stormtroopers raid Chewbacca’s home. She didn’t remember if they killed his family, but she said she remembered one of Chewbacca’s children had a stuffed toy that a Stormtrooper destroyed. I asked if she was sure she wasn’t thinking of a different movie or maybe a Star Wars spoof, but she swears there was such a scene when she saw the movie in a theater. Do any of you remember such a scene, and is it missing only from the new version of The Empire Strikes Back or was it cut from the previous VHS releases as well? I noticed that the Return of the Jedi DVD ends with the Ewoks singing a different song at the end of the movie, so it’s possible.
Also, am I the only one who remembers a scene in the theatrical version of The Silence of the Lambs where Catherine (the senator’s daughter) tells her boyfriend that she’s going to the store and he asks her to get beer? The scene is set inside their apartment and the next thing you see is her in the parking lot as she’s about to be abducted by Buffalo Bill. It’s a pretty meaningless scene and was only abouut 10-15 seconds long with no violence, nudity or profanity, so why cut it? I know the scene exists because I remember at the time thinking it was odd that the daughter of a senator was living with such a redneck-looking guy.
Are there any movies you can think of that are missing scenes on DVD that were in the theatrical versions? I’m thinking mainly of scenes that were not removed due to controversy, unlike, for example, that movie with James Caan (I forgot the title) where a scene was cut that showed teenagers lying on the road in the middle of oncoming traffic because some stupid kids copied the scene in real life and got run over and killed.
The Star Wars scene is, indeed, from the justly maligned Star Wars Holiday Special. Haven’t seen it myself, but every first hand review I’ve seen of it agrees that it’s uniformly awful.
I just pulled out my paperback of Silence of the Lambs. Catherine and her boyfriend are sharing a bong, then Catherine goes out to get munchies, not beer.
There’s something missing in the DVD version of Blazing Saddles. Doesn’t anyone else remember that the candygram wasn’t the only thing Bart pulled on Mongo? I distinctly remember Mongo in a diver’s suit underwater and a little card lowered down which said “Deposit 25 cents for more air”.
You can download a crummy Realplayer version of the Star Wars Christmas Special from http://www.blueharvest.net, God save your soul. It is, indeed, what your girlfriend was remembering. She probably blotted out the memory of the rest in a last ditch effort to preserve her sanity.
There’s also wookie porn and Carrie Fisher singing the words to the Star Wars theme.
Don’t watch the Christmas Special. If you value your sanity and the sanctity of all things Star Wars, watch the cartoon, if you must, but nothing else.
If you see Bea Arthur, fast forward, for the love of Og!!!
Yeah, I just finished watching the Monk Season 1 box set, and could’ve sworn that when I saw them the first time around, there was a scene where Captain Stottlemeyer danced in front of a mirror with his schlong tucked between his legs, muttering “would you fuck me? I’d fuck me…”
