Re: The original cut...

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Posted by Ben Friend of Indy from 12-220-64-210.client.insightBB.com (12.220.64.210) on Saturday, January 04, 2003 at 12:31pm :

In Reply to: Re: The original cut... posted by Adam McDaniel from cache-ra08.proxy.aol.com (152.163.188.8) on Friday, January 03, 2003 at 4:13pm :

: : Originally Raiders of the Lost Ark was a 3 hour movie (see the post-production chapter of the Making of Raiders at theraider.net). George Lucas then helped Spielberg edit the film to what it is now. Does anyone know what was in the approximate hour of cut footage from Raiders? I know that the climax was originally much longer, and there was also the extended bar scene and the scene with the German officer. I for one would be interested in seeing the original director's cut of Raiders, or at the least in the deleted scenes section of the DVD. Does anyone know if there was anything else?

: It's a little sketchy to call it a "director's cut", as that usually applies to a refined, "final" cut approved by the director, but has been alterred or trimmed against his/her wishes for release. Ridley Scott faced this dilemma on both BLADE RUNNER and LEGEND, Terry Gilliam for BRAZIL, and Michael Cimino on ' and THE SICILIAN.

: The "original" 3 hour cut of RAIDERS was likely the same process that ALL movies go through. In very basic terms, it goes like this:

: There is an "editor's assembly" -- that is, a full, unrefined cut of the entire film, with selected footage and (usually) adhering to the script. These "cuts" usually run well over three hours.

: Then the director, by DGA contract, is allowed ten weeks for preparing a "director's cut", trimming/refining the material according to his/her vision. This is probably the version that you're referring to.

: After that, well, anything goes. There are test screenings (though in RAIDERS' case, according to my interview in 2001 with Richard Anderson, it was not tested for outside audiences like today's films are), even extensive reshoots and re-edits... (Films such as SNAKE EYES and PATRIOT GAMES had reshoots only a month before their theatrical releases!)

: I think Spielberg was very happy with the cut of RAIDERS that opened in June 1981.

: But it's fun to wonder what else there was...

: You're right about the extended "Raven Bar" and German officer scenes... We know that there were also scenes shot involving Sallah doing errands while Indy's in the map room, a fainting Arab outside the Well of Souls, and Indy tying himself to the submarine periscope.

: There have been numerous reports by people that the periscope sequence actually WAS released in a few prints back in 1981. I verified this with one person who saw the film in a theater in Maine upon its original release. We also know that this part of the film was scored by John Williams.

: TheRaider.net has a tonnage of great info on this. And Richard Anderson mentioned some bits in our interview, viewable through Indyfan.com.

: That's not to say a director's cut has more rather than less, however... After an assembly of RAIDERS, George Lucas' wife, Marcia -- a gifted creative talent in her own right -- had wondered, "What happened to Marion?", as the film originally cut from Indy's meeting with the government agents to the fate of the Ark. Thus, the final "buy you a drink" romantic closure for our heroes was filmed after principle photography.

: Thanks, Marcia.

In that case, I'm hoping that they'll include most (if not all) of the deleted scenes on the DVD. Was the extended "Ark opening" climax filmed/post-produced (I don't know what the word for it is) or just scripted? If it was filmed, that would be interesting too.
Going slightly off topic, if any of the above deleted scenes (or anything else that was missed) were going to be restored WITH THE MOVIE, actually PUT IN WITH IT, not just in a deleted scenes section, which ones would you put back in?





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