Saturday, April 28, 2007

Cut By The Studios

Cut By The Studios

http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-films-recut-by-studio

There have been numerous films that have left the director’s hands and then the studio has come in and made or demanded cuts themselves. I’ve decided to point some of them out from that list.

Lawrence of Arabia: This movie has been cut so many times over the years, that an entire article needs to be written on the various cuts. The studio did some cuts, while the director himself did cuts too. Steven Spielberg has added some stuff back into this film for the DVD restoration.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Yet, another film that could have it’s own page on how many cuts there are of this film. The story goes that Spielberg wanted to release the film again in the early 80’s and finish up some things that he wanted to complete or change. The studio agreed to his terms, but on one condition; Spielberg was told to add footage of the inside of the aliens’ ship, which wasn’t in the original release.

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3: There was a part 3? I didn’t know that. Burt Reynolds makes a cameo.

Dune: Not the sci-fi one, but the one filmed in the 80s with Patrick Stewart. The studio decided to make TV version with David Lynch’s permission, re-cutting the film to a longer run time. I remember seeing this version being shown over two nights. I need to get my hands on this version.

Legend: Don’t get me started with this one. There’s so much wrong with the American cut…

Dances with Wolves: There are some added subplots in the longer cut, but some of the added footage is useless.

Mission: Impossible II: This movie had problems from day one. Moore and Braga wrote a script, but another writer was brought in rewrote much of the original material. The film was in danger of being shelved, but Stuart Baird was brought in and re-cut the film. Somehow, this movie became a hit and Baird was seen as its savior. Paramount owed him a movie and forced Rick Berman to take Baird on as the director of Star Trek’s biggest flop Star Trek Nemesis.

6 comments:

MC said...

I will tell you everything you need to know about Smokey and the Bandit 3 by quoting Einstein in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

"Smokey IS the Bandit" in that movie.

Semaj said...

man, what were they thinking when they greenlit this movie?

Then again some felt part 2 was sort of bad.

SamuraiFrog said...

I didn't know that about MI2, but it does give me more to point out when I talk about how crappy that movie is...

Semaj said...

I always find it funny that there those out there that still defend MI2 .

From what I've heard, Stuart Baird is one of the best editors out there, but he's a terrible director. However, even with his intervention, MI2 is still a mess.

MC said...

I've also heard that Tom Cruise kicked both John Frankenheimer and John Woo out of the editing booth on their respective MI's

Semaj said...

I heard that too. Any time an actor is allowed into a editing room is a mistake, even when an actor is also a producer.

I also heard he and John F got into a few shouting matches on the set, then I also heard the same thing happen to Woo. Both Woo and John both downplayed the ego battle with Tom, but they admit there were some battles on the set.

I think Tom forgets the Director has the power on the movie set.

 
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