From: cb366@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mark B. Bendiksen)
Subject: Re: With cuts restored:  The Frankenstein Academy of Film.
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 21:00:21 GMT


Jim Mann writes:

>Another one to add to the list is Jaws.  In the version shown
>on TV (which I only caught part of) there were several scenes
>that weren't in the theatrical version.
 
True, Spielberg edited a special version of the film when it was
shown on ABC around ten years ago. I remember him being
interviewed by Dinah Shore when ABC first showed the picture
and he said he wanted to improve some of the continuity of
the film, especially the first half. He cut out some of the
more graphic violence (i.e. Chrissy Watkins' severed arm,
etc.) and added extra footage from the cutting room floor.
Most of these additions, such as added conversation between
Brody and the college boy who discover Watkins' body, did
seem to make the first part less choppy in some places,
although when you're talking about a film the caliber of
_Jaws_, it's kind of nitpicking.

While we're on the subject of Spielberg, _Close Encounters
of the Third Kind_ also underwent surgery for its ABC
presentation. The film shown was a combination of the
original and the Special Edition, and included all scenes
from both. I wish I had a copy of it on tape because I like
many of the scenes which were cut from the original for the
Special Edition (like the one with the weird guy claiming he
saw bigfoot), and as far as I know the Special Edition is the
only version available on home video.

Keep in mind that when these films are now presented on
television (i.e. syndication, premium channels, etc.) the
ABC-TV versions are not shown. _Jaws_ is presented in its
original form, and to my knowledge _Close Encounters_ is
shown in Special Edition form.

But don't confuse editing done under a director's own
hand (such as Spielberg with ABC's _Jaws_) with editing
done by other money-hungry types out to make a buck with
intentions of altering a director's vision. Case in point, _Dune_.
Granted, I didn't particularly enjoy David Lynch's original
picture, but when the film was shown on syndicated television,
tons of unneeded footage was added, extending the film's
length to four hours (if you include the commercials). Lynch
protested vehemently, and demanded his name be removed
from the credits, which subsequently  listed the obligatory "Alan
Smithee" as the director.

Another little note, one of the strangest edited-for
television films I've seen was _Fast Times at Ridgemont
High_ when it was shown on network television a number of
years ago. So much of the film had to be cut due to sex, drugs,     
etc. that the network (CBS I believe) added quite a bit of
footage never seen before. This included showing Jennifer
Jason Leigh in the operating room getting her abortion. Most
of the scenes added were pointless, and it was clear after
seeing them why they were cut in the first place. Quite a
bit of hacking was done during the Jeff Spicolli (Sean Penn)
pot smoking scenes, and the scene near the end where Mr. Hand
(Ray Waltson) is in Spicolli's room was hilarious. Since there
were tons of pictures of nude girls all over the walls,
the scene was edited so that Penn and Walston were
shown in supreme close-up, so you couldn't see what
was behind them. I laughed my ass off!


Mark B. Bendiksen
cb366@freenet.cwru.edu
-- 
"If we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto,
 We'll just be bogus, too."-- Dr. Jeff Spicolli
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies