# Changes to the movie long after release **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965 "2019-11-25T15:56:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/1 "2019-11-25T15:56:38Z")
I watched **Monty Python and the Holy Grail** last night. I watched for the “extra” scene with Carol Cleveland as Zoot (well, as “Dingo” really) in Castle Anthrax. Sure enough, it was there. I don’t recall seeing this before the DVD release – from the first time I saw it in 1975 until I saw that DVD, it wasn’t there. > [@](#): > > The “restored” DVD version of the film includes a grand total of 23 seconds cut from the original release. Dingo, just before explaining the punishment of lighting the Grail Beacon, turns to the audience and asks “Do you think this scene should have been cut?” and then ‘debating’ the issue with the Constitutional Peasants and the 3-Headed Knight. Finally the Old Man from Scene 24, Tim the Enchanter, God and Arthur’s army scream “Get on with it!”; the directors feared that this line would invoke a scathing response from critics and so dropped it. When the intact film was shown to a paying audience, however, it received one of the biggest laughs of the film and the directors tried to rescind the cutting order, but it was too late. > **[Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - Alternate versions - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/alternateversions/?tab=cz&ref_=tt_trv_alt)** > > Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... But it’s now apparently the “standard” version, because it was on the BBC broadcast. That’s kind of weird. we’ve had George Lucas screwing with his films (he just did it again for the Disney+ release, as we’ve discussed already), and there have been numerous “Director’s Cut” and longer versions of films for DVD and Blu Ray release, but those generally don’t get used as the Broadcast version (except for the Star Wars films and maybe Bladerunner). This change to Monty Python isn’t even a “Director’s Cut” scene. What other cases are there? – The “restored” version of the 1933 _King Kong_ seems to be the standard now, with the “strip tease” scene and the Kong Chewing on People scenes put back in. – Likewise the 1931 _Frankenstein_ with the Throwing the girl in the Water scene and the “Now I know what it feels like to BE god” line restored. –Have they restored the “seduction” scene to _Amadeus_? The film makes a LOT more sense with it in place. I don’t think they usually broadcast the “Director’s Cut” versions of films (partly, I suspect, because they’re longer), so I haven’t seen the full versions of Peter Jackson’s _Lord of the Rings_, or Cameron’s _Aliens_ or _Terminator 2_. Aside from TCM and PBS, nobody broadcasts silent films, but I haven’t seen the fully restored _Metropolis_ or _The Lost World_ or _The Phantom of the Opera_ (with the Handschiegl color scenes added, in addition to the Technicolor scenes) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/2 "2019-11-25T16:11:09Z")
Apocalypse Now: Redux " " : Final Cut ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/3 "2019-11-25T21:24:53Z")
Does E.T. changing all the guns to walkie talkies count? I had the tape of The Jerk growing up and watched it a lot. Then one time I caught it on TV and there was a whole extra scene after Navin Johnson is rich, but before he loses it all in the cross-eyed class action suit, where a guy from the charity office visits him and Steve Martin gets totally pissed off, like, “Get out of here! There are way more deserving people than me!” and the charity guy has to explain he’s looking for _donations_, not recipients. It was pretty funny, but not on the VHS tape I was familiar with. Not sure which was the original theater version but both my tape and the TV broadcast would have been in the 90s, well over a decade after the movie premiered. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/4 "2019-11-25T21:28:39Z")
The 1986 film _Highlander_ had 3 versions. The Japanese cut had longer fight scenes, and more acrobatic choreography. The European cut had a flashback scene in World War II, when Connor rescued Rachel from the Nazis, explaining her loyalty to him in the 1980s. > [@](#): > > from Wikipedia: > Roughly eight minutes of footage was cut from the film for its U.S. theatrical release. Most of the cuts were sequences involving a specifically European brand of humor which the distributors thought American audiences would not find funny, such as Connor being repeatedly head-butted by one of his clansmen, the duelist shooting his assistant, and the Kurgan licking the priest’s hand.[11] The cut Mulcahy found most objectionable was the deletion of the scene showing how Connor met Rachel, because he could see no reason for its removal and believed that the relationship between Connor and Rachel was incomprehensible without it.[11] When the DVD was released in 1997, we Yanks finally got to see the entire story. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/5 "2019-11-25T22:41:32Z")
_Blazing Saddles_ has added cuts with Bart’s battle with Mongo. When it was released to theaters all we saw was the Candygram for Mongo bit, with none of the carnivalesque bits now shown on TV. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/6 "2019-11-25T23:36:13Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > _Blazing Saddles_ has added cuts with Bart’s battle with Mongo. When it was released to theaters all we saw was the Candygram for Mongo bit, with none of the carnivalesque bits now shown on TV. Speaking of Mel Brooks, my wife and I were discussing again one of those changes. She swears that she saw a scene I have never seen (and which other people have also said they saw). Just before DR. Frankenstein goes on stage with The Monster in their big debut, he runs into Eye-gor, who has _no hump_ Frankenstein: What happened to your hump? Eye-gor: _NEVER_ with a tux! As sort of corroboration for this, when Eye-gor and Inga run to Frankenstein’s aid after the Monster has stormed off (into the arms of the police), you can clearly see that he has _no hump_. But the film, as it currently exists, doesn’t explain this. When I bought the DVD, I went to the “deleted scenes” to look for this scene, and it’s not there. I’ve looked on the internet for it, or any signs or notices of its existence, and haven’t been able to find anything. It’s not clear when the scene was removed, or why, but it was clearly before I saw the film (which I did shortly after its initial theatrical run) Here’s one notice of it: > **[Young Frankenstein - Missing Scene?](https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/young-frankenstein-missing-scene.141974/)** > > I saw Young Frankenstein for the first time on it's opening weekend in December of 1974. At the beginning of the "Puttin' On The Ritz" sequence there was a brief scene featuring Igor (Marty Feldman) and Victor Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) backstage at... ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/7 "2019-11-26T01:50:21Z")
Alterations to movies were not uncommon when they were released to TV. \* The Madmen of Mandoras\* was released in 1963. New footage was shot for its TV release either in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s. The title was of course changed to _They Saved Hitler’s Brain_. _A Fistful of Dollars_ (1964) - From IMDB: “When this movie made its U.S. network television debut on “The ABC Sunday Night Movie” in February 1975, a new prologue was added in which an unidentified lawman or politician (Harry Dean Stanton) orders Joe (Clint Eastwood) to get rid of the gangs of San Miguel in return for a pardon. Neither Eastwood nor Leone were involved in the shooting of this additional footage. A double with his face hidden and stock footage of Eastwood were used. Monte Hellman directed the new footage. This prologue is now available on the Special Edition released in 2005.” _Two-Minute Warning_ (1976) – From IMDB: “The notorious re-edited and re-worked television version of this movie premiered on NBC in prime-time on February 6, 1979. This version was conceived during negotiations between Universal Pictures and NBC in 1978, because NBC refused to air a film centered around a homicidal sniper. The network-television version was cut and added around 40 minutes, introducing a 30-minute art-heist robbery plot and losing around half the length of the film’s original plot. This version is the most often one shown on broadcast television in the U.S. The television version of the movie was released for the first time on home media in June of 2016 almost 40 years after its first TV broadcast. “ “Actors who appeared in the film’s television version who didn’t appear in the cinema movie included Rossano Brazzi, Joanna Pettet, Paul Shenar, James Olson, and William Prince. Warren Miller reprised his role as “The Sniper” and Charlton Heston shot three short new scenes for the television version. Heston’s hair is of a noticeably different color in these new scenes.” ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/8 "2019-11-26T02:51:56Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Alterations to movies were not uncommon when they were released to TV. > > … > > _Two-Minute Warning_ (1976) – From IMDB: > > “The notorious re-edited and re-worked television version of this movie premiered on NBC in prime-time on February 6, 1979. This version was conceived during negotiations between Universal Pictures and NBC in 1978, because NBC refused to air a film centered around a homicidal sniper. The network-television version was cut and added around 40 minutes, introducing a 30-minute art-heist robbery plot and losing around half the length of the film’s original plot. This version is the most often one shown on broadcast television in the U.S. The television version of the movie was released for the first time on home media in June of 2016 almost 40 years after its first TV broadcast. “ > > “Actors who appeared in the film’s television version who didn’t appear in the cinema movie included Rossano Brazzi, Joanna Pettet, Paul Shenar, James Olson, and William Prince. Warren Miller reprised his role as “The Sniper” and Charlton Heston shot three short new scenes for the television version. Heston’s hair is of a noticeably different color in these new scenes.” This is amazing and hilarious! And all that trouble for a pretty piss-poor film: [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/two\_minute\_warning](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/two_minute_warning) ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/9 "2019-11-26T02:54:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > …I don’t think they usually broadcast the “Director’s Cut” versions of films (partly, I suspect, because they’re longer), so I haven’t seen the full versions of Peter Jackson’s _Lord of the Rings_, or Cameron’s _Aliens_ or _Terminator 2_. Aside from TCM and PBS, nobody broadcasts silent films, but I haven’t seen the fully restored _Metropolis_ or _The Lost World_ or _The Phantom of the Opera_ (with the Handschiegl color scenes added, in addition to the Technicolor scenes) I have definitely seen the “extended content” version of \*Aliens \*on basic cable TV. Not sure if it’s now the standard version for TV. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/10 "2019-11-26T04:03:03Z")
_Airplane!_ had some deleted footage they used on TV. A lot of it seemed to be padding, but I distinctly remember a scene between the two kids with coffee somberly discussing their life choices as they faced doom. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/11 "2019-11-26T06:33:22Z")
I was kind of irked when that extra _Grail_ scene popped up. It was partially because I wanted to see the movie exactly as I remembered it, not one that had been fiddled around with, but it was mostly because it was a pretty lame scene. It’s hard to believe that it actually scored a big laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/12 "2019-11-26T07:28:37Z")
_Metropolis_ (1927) had a crap-ton of footage restored when a negative of the original cut was discovered in a museum in Argentina, as well as a compete print in New Zealand. Going by Wikipedia, it was about 25 minutes worth of footage. I think the complete version is well worth seeing, even if you’ve already watched the abbreviated movie. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/13 "2019-11-26T08:43:26Z")
The TV version of the 1978 _Superman_ is 45 minutes longer than the theatrical version (theatrical, 143 minutes; TV, 188 minutes). The main differences I remember are scenes with Jor-El on Krypton. For years, the extra footage was only available with pan-and-scan picture and mono sound. I am told that the blu-ray disk has attempted to fix that. Has anybody seen the blu-ray version? ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/14 "2019-11-26T10:28:47Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > _Airplane!_ had some deleted footage they used on TV. A lot of it seemed to be padding, but I distinctly remember a scene between the two kids with coffee somberly discussing their life choices as they faced doom. I’ve never seen this scene. I take it isn’t on the extras on the dvd… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/15 "2019-11-26T13:58:25Z")
There are lots of added scenes to various movies that were only added for the TV screenings. Not what I had in mind when I started this, but here are a few: **Creator** – the TV version added a cut flashback to Harry and his wife at an amusement park. **The Thing** – the TV version added some extra scenes of the men walking around the camp. Some versions also add a voice-over giving their names and a brief description. **Dune** – there’s a cobbled-together version for TV that adds still scenes at the beginning with voice-over narration (not princess Irulan or the “talking book” in the theatrical release) that explains the background of the movie. It also includes scenes cut from the theatrical release, like the making of Water of Life by almost drowning an adolescent sandworm. The directing ctredit is given to “Alan Smithee”, that pseudonym used when the real director disapproves. I don’t count the “Metropolis” restoration as “added scenes” – it’s a restoration. _the Lost World_ (1925) and _Phantom of the Opera_ have also benefitted from such restorations, which was the original intent and original release form. I certainly recommend watching these restored versions, because the movie makes a helluva lot more sense with all the parts in. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/16 "2019-11-26T18:06:50Z")
I’m just going to let IMDb explain about the TV version of _Airport_: > [@](#): > > For the initial network television showing broadcast on NBC in September 1976, additional footage was shot to lengthen the film in order to show it over two nights. The most extensive segment of new footage is a subplot of a newlywed couple (Debralee Scott and Sam Chew Jr.) on a flight to Los Angleles so the husband can interview for a job with Stuart Graff (Charlton Heston). The plane tries to land as the earthquake hits, but the pilots are able to regain control and fly away before the runway breaks up. Other significant segments are new scenes with Jody (Marjoe Gortner) and Rosa (Victoria Principal), which establish Jody’s obsession with Rosa, as well as one short scene in a pawn shop with Buck (Jesse Vint) and Hank (Michael Richardson), who play Marjoe’s roommates in the theatrical version. Contrary to popular belief, these additional scenes were _not_ “leftover” footage from the original 1974 theatrical release. Rather, the footage was filmed almost two years later by NBC to expand the film. These additional scenes were shot without the original director Mark Robson, who opted out, (in fact, he loathed the additional scenes), but they were shot with Universal’s approval. In addition, two deleted scenes originally shot for the theatrical release were re-inserted into the television version, including a narrative opening about the San Andreas Fault, as well as a scene of Rosa brushing off a guy (Reb Brown) trying to give her a ride on his motorcycle. Incidentally, the version frequently running on the American cable channel “American Movie Classics” is the television version, and not the original theatrical version. > **[Earthquake (1974) - Alternate versions - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071455/alternateversions/?ref_=tt_ql_trv_5)** > > Earthquake (1974) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/17 "2019-11-26T18:34:25Z")
Then there’s **They Saved Hitler’s Brain** (1968), which was made by shooting new scenes and tacking them onto a pre-existing movie called **Madmen of Mandoras** , released i 1963. > **[They Saved Hitler's Brain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Saved_Hitler%27s_Brain)** > > They Saved Hitler's Brain is a 1968 TV movie directed by David Bradley. It was adapted for television from a shorter 1963 theatrical feature film, Madmen of Mandoras, produced by Carl Edwards and directed by David Bradley. The film was lengthened by about 20 minutes with additional footage shot by UCLA students at the request of the distributor. It is often cited as being one of the worst films ever made. > World War II is over, and Nazi officials remove Adolf Hitler's living head and hide it in t... I’ve seen it. It’s hard to imagine someone taking a movie about neoNazis\* keeping Hitler’s head alive and making it _worse_, but, by gum, they did. You can easily tell the newer scenes from the older ones – it’s like a different movie. Which, of course, it is. Laughably bad, but I’m not sure it’s _entertainingly_ bad. \*actually, I suppose they’re just Nazis when they “harvest” his head. Their recruits are neo-Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/18 "2019-11-26T22:14:07Z")
I just watched some bits from _MP&THG_ just a few days ago. (Cr. thread on movies with no love interests.) And Cleveland talking to the camera seemed strange as well as not funny. When you’re watching Carol Cleveland and not enjoying it, something’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/19 "2019-11-26T22:51:59Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I’m just going to let IMDb explain about the TV version of _Airport_:[Earthquake (1974) - Alternate versions - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071455/alternateversions?ref_=tt_ql_trv_5) I think you meant the movie [Earthquake.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071455/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) > [@Smid](#): > > I’ve never seen this scene. I take it isn’t on the extras on the dvd… [It really wasn’t that funny.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=360TlR0Egv4) You’ll also notice that the line between the two kids that got one of the biggest laughs in the theater was, sadly but probably understandably, cut for TV. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changes-to-the-movie-long-after-release/843965/20 "2019-11-27T13:42:06Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I think you meant the movie [Earthquake.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071455/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) HA! I sure did. I wrote the post, went to get the URL for the link, realized I’d misremembered, then forgot to change the post. Sorry!