# Movies shot a long time before they were released **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925 "2013-02-21T00:22:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/41 "2013-02-21T18:10:09Z")
Fudd says: "Jane Russell’s cleavage in The Outlaw delayed release for five years! " But that’s only if you count the 22 months between Febuary 1941 when filming was completed and January1, 1943 when the film opened as 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/42 "2013-02-21T18:41:54Z")
Sorry if this has already been mentioned: The recent remake of _Red Dawn_ went into production in 2009 and was scheduled to be released in 2010. Due to the MGM financial troubles, it was shelved and wasn’t released until November 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/43 "2013-02-21T20:07:30Z")
Does it count if the movie premiered at a special event but has not been made available for regular commercial audiences to see? I’m thinking of Andrew Adamson’s _Mister Pip_, which finished filming in 2011 and “premiered” at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2012, but AFAICT has yet to offer any ordinary moviegoer the chance to view it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/44 "2013-02-21T20:46:16Z")
> [@FrankJBN](#): > > Fudd says: "Jane Russell’s cleavage in The Outlaw delayed release for five years! " > > But that’s only if you count the 22 months between Febuary 1941 when filming was completed and January1, 1943 when the film opened as 5 years. It was only shown in a handful of theaters for less than a week before it was pulled for violations of the Production Code. It didn’t get a proper release until April 1946. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/45 "2013-02-21T22:03:47Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Yes. It was withdrawn after the JFK assassination. > > Probably because it showed the Grassy Knoll shooter or something. :dubious: I _knew_ it was Angela Lansbury. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/46 "2013-02-21T22:11:46Z")
[Return of the Musketeers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Musketeers) was filmed in 1988, but due to the death of a cast member was not released until 1991, and then as a made for TV movie on USA. The movie has look of having been post-produced by the bonding company - a poor 'double stands in for the dead cast member, other cast members look downright \*pissed off \* in the scenes where the double is being used (esp. Oliver Reed). Other times there are obvious shortcomings such as a lack of SFX (a blacksmith in the foreground has his hammer falling _silently_ in one scene. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/47 "2013-02-21T22:17:28Z")
While not a a massive delay, several movies were pushed back because of 9/11. [Big Trouble](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trouble_%282002_film%29) being one example where the plot was a little too close to home. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/48 "2013-02-21T22:20:20Z")
[_Coffee and Cigarettes_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379217/) was shot over a period of 17 years. I assume a significant portion was shot over two years before its release. I remember seeing the Steven Wright segment on SNL in the late 1980s. And then the movie itself came out in 2003 and I’m all, WTF?? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/49 "2013-02-21T22:24:18Z")
[Wizard of Speed & Time](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Speed_and_Time). Parts filmed in 1979 for Disney. Then a feature filmed around it in 1983. Released in 1989 ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/50 "2013-02-21T22:43:29Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > [Return of the Musketeers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Musketeers) was filmed in 1988, but due to the death of a cast member was not released until 1991, and then as a made for TV movie on USA. > > The movie has look of having been post-produced by the bonding company - a poor 'double stands in for the dead cast member, other cast members look downright \*pissed off \* in the scenes where the double is being used (esp. Oliver Reed). Other times there are obvious shortcomings such as a lack of SFX (a blacksmith in the foreground has his hammer falling _silently_ in one scene. Ironic, then, that Reed was given much the same treatment later, when he died during the filming of _Gladiator._ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/51 "2013-02-21T22:50:34Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Ironic, then, that Reed was given much the same treatment later, when he died during the filming of _Gladiator._ The difference is that Reed died a natural death wheras Roy Kinnear died in an accident that most of the cast felt should never have happened had the horse trainers been doing their jobs properly. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/52 "2013-02-21T23:04:42Z")
Reed died quite naturally just after consuming “three bottles of Captain Morgan’s Jamaica rum, eight bottles of German beer, numerous doubles of Famous Grouse whiskey and Hennessy cognac” and arm-wrestling sailors from the Royal Navy (per IMDb). ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/53 "2013-02-21T23:06:22Z")
I meant he arm-wrestled the sailors, not consumed them. RIP though, he was a great one. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/54 "2013-02-21T23:55:26Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] {Snip}. 2. I caught some of this on TV not long ago, but I need help in identifying it. It was a movie about a sort of scrawny young guy who decides to become a professional wrestler. Fairly low-budget, and had the look of being shot in about 1974 though I think it was officially released around '78…? Anyone? [/QUOTE] First thing I thought of: [The One and Only](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_One_and_Only_(1978_film)) (1978), starring Henry Winkler. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/55 "2013-02-22T00:18:56Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Sorry if this has already been mentioned: > > The recent remake of _Red Dawn_ went into production in 2009 and was scheduled to be released in 2010. Due to the MGM financial troubles, it was shelved and wasn’t released until November 2012. OK, I knew about The Cabin in the Woods but I didn’t know about Red Dawn. I was wondering why there were so many weird low-budget Chris Hemsworth films coming out after his Thor role. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/56 "2013-02-22T00:34:54Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > Reed died quite naturally just after consuming “three bottles of Captain Morgan’s Jamaica rum, eight bottles of German beer, numerous doubles of Famous Grouse whiskey and Hennessy cognac” and arm-wrestling sailors from the Royal Navy (per IMDb). I recently saw _Oliver!_, the Best-Picture-winning film from 1968 – I’ve seen Reed in a few films, but never as menacing as Bill Sikes in that movie. Sikes drinks a bit during the film; I couldn’t help but think that Reed wasn’t imbibing iced tea during filming. On topic: _6 Souls_, starring the usually dependable\* Julianne Moore is set for release later this year; it was filmed in 2009 (and many people around the globe have already seen it under the title _Shelter_). \*\*Next \* (2007) was \*\*awful \*\*-- one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen in a theater. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/57 "2013-02-22T00:37:06Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > First thing I thought of: [The One and Only](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_One_and_Only_(1978_film)) (1978), starring Henry Winkler. > > Hope this helps. I actually saw _The One and Only_ in its original release.. that’s not it, although there are similarities in the plots of the two films. The one I caught on TV had some obscure actor in the lead role, a teenaged-looking guy. There was a grimy, no-frills look to the whole film. _The One and Only_ probably wasn’t a very expensive production but at least it had the Fonz in his heyday. ---
**Author:** ![dean0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@dean0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dean0)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/58 "2016-01-21T21:20:26Z")
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Filmed in later 1985, not released until 1990. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/59 "2016-01-21T22:14:12Z")
Independently produced US horror film **All The Boys Love Mandy Lane** was shot and completed in 2006, sold to a distribution company and, after rave reviews at film festivals, intended to go on full theatrical release in 2007. Instead the distribution rights got sold on again and there was never a right time to release a horror film (apparently.) It did manage a brief theatrical run in the UK but its eventual US release on VOD wasn’t until 2013. Peter ‘Lord of the Rings’ Jackson’s first real move in his film career was with **Bad Taste**. It began as far back as 1981 when he started, with a few mates, shooting test footage for a show reel or a short film. On his day off from his day job which meant Sundays. Years passed with his work garnering no interest so he just kept shooting. One of his stars, Craig Smith, married a Christian woman who banned her husband from using his Sundays that way so for years he was no longer involved. Then he divorced his wife and was able to resume his part. Eventually Jackson accumulated nearly enough footage for a full length film. He got a grant from the New Zealand film commission to pay for the extra work required to complete the project. It was finally released in 1987. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925/60 "2016-01-21T22:25:05Z")
_Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars_ was shot at a 1973 concert and released six years later. Production on _The Wrecking Crew_ began in '96, premiered at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival, and did not get a theatrical release until last year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-shot-a-long-time-before-they-were-released/650925.md?page=4)