The extended "Some Fun Now" and the alternate opening to "Grow For Me" are giving me LIFE. Oz is one of the few movie directors who actually understood musicality, and how important it is to this genre.
I'm sorry to say after wanting to see a complete "Meek Shall Inherit" that I was left underwhelmed, but all of this was really great to see. Regarding the ending, I wish the blu ray had found a happy medium lengthwise between what's made the final disc and what was in this video. The ending is just soooo loooong on the blu ray.
I agree with you, Phyllis. I would like to think that in the original cut, had Oz decided to keep "Don't Feed the Plants," he still would have gone in and edited it down to a more reasonable length. But with the blu ray I feel they just tacked it on as is because they felt that's what the true fans would want to see.
^^ really? I'm a HUGE Little Shop fan and I can see why it was left out. I will admit it was good to have an OMG moment when the footage came up on the screen even while watching it I was thinking "Oooooo good thing they cut this" It was a bit ambitious for the technology of the time. It's certainly interesting, and it was great to hear the full song, but I think they made the right decision cutting it. I think these aren't on the DVD because the workprint was a huge source of tension years ago when they used the B&W copy for the original ending on the first DVD. The new version is called the Director's Cut and these would have not have been approved for the cut. I find it charming that Oz is still very protective and active in the way this film is handled all these years later.
The dream sequence is fantastic. Especially when Mushnik's giant portrait starts to bleed. And I love the set, looking like a 1960s version of Heaven seen in B movies and on sitcoms.
Yes, it worked great for me. Plus I love the music here.
As for the ending, I'm glad to see all the footage on the Blu-ray, but i agree the tighter edit seen in these deleted scenes is better. It has more impact because you see less of it and the pacing has more energy. Reminds me of "The Blob."
I would love to see all of these edits, including the tighter ending, in a full release. Overall, it makes it a much darker film (especially that "chopping" scene!).
This really is the "director's cut" here. I'm sure marketing convinced everyone involved to say the Blu-ray release is the "director's cut" because I know (for a fact) those sell better than a disc labeled "extended edition" or "includes deleted scenes."
Director's cut makes it seem more legit and "intended," so buyers respond to it.
EDIT: I should add that any movie claiming to be a "director's cut" must get approval by the director (who is usually paid for that distinction). Some genuinely are "director's cuts," perhaps even most, but I was involved with several DVD releases where the director was merely shown a version of the new edit and approved it. "Yeah, you can say that's the director's edit." Sometimes they might give notes in advance or at the end, sometimes not---usually, with older films. Newer titles are still too close to most director's hearts, and they do get (emotionally) involved with new edits. It usually comes down to a paycheck, though, and a "stamp of approval" by the director.
I wonder, though, if the dream sequence wouldn't be somewhat jarring in context at that point of the film- which moves pretty briskly to the final confrontation. It's a visual and tonal shift, much like how the extended ending drags the film into a parody of a giant monster movie.
One of the most admirable thing about the adaptation is that is makes good cuts to the source material.
I don't think the original is bad at all. I think the theatrical release was quite successful. Still, I would love to see a real extended/directors cut.
Best12- I totally agree that the song sounds much better and makes more sense with the missing verse in and there are moments there that work like the blood on the portrait. I know the Director's Cut made it out to a few theaters last year.
"I find it charming that Oz is still very protective and active in the way this film is handled all these years later. "
I always got the impression it was more Geffen...
I like the tighter "original" ending far far more--I pretty much agree with what others have said on here, on the BluRay it just suddenly feels too much like a completely different movie IMHO (yes the homage to monster movies is great, but to switch genres so late in the game and to lose focus on the characters you've grown to care about doesn't work in the long cut IMHO). Still, I'm one of the few who thinks the ending used for the final cut of the film works (in the context of the film), so...
I love the "Meek Shall Inherit" dream sequence, especially the "Singin' in the Rain" reference. And the shorter ending is SO much better. The version on the Blu-ray goes on forever! When I showed it to my boyfriend, we got about halfway through and he said, "Okay, I think I get the point..."
You guys are right about "Director's Cut." The original title of the Blu-Ray release was "Intended Cut," but they feared it wouldn't sell as well.
I think I read somewhere that the "chopping" scene was removed to avoid an R rating. Also, when Seymour feeds Orin to the plant, they had a shot of him pulling Orin's head out of the trash can and throwing it to Audrey II. I know that second or so of footage was shaved out to avoid an R rating.
Saw the quote below from Kurt Galvao and I had to respond, so I posted a restoration. Making this was like doing a jigsaw puzzle. I had to pull sections from everywhere - the Blu-ray bore no resemblance to this final cut.
“To be truthful, there were multiple versions in black and white. In other words, as the film was progressing, like any other movie, there were different versions. I wanted to be sure that we’d use the definitive last version that they were looking at. So we went through every black and white piece we could find and checked the dates to them, because they did preview screenings to see how it would do in front of an audience. We made sure we went to the last version they were working on before they stopped going that direction and changed it to the happy ending.”
I don’t know how they couldn’t have my workprint, which is clearly the final cut. How do I know this, other than being told that by my source?
First -it’s shorter. As an editor, I know that subsequent cuts are always shorter. You don’t add three minutes of footage when you’re trying to refine a rough cut!
Second - it’s better. Anyone watching the Blu-ray and this workprint will see that the final cut moves better and provides a better conclusion. The Blu-ray cut goes on forever!
They should have used this cut and included the additional outs as a bonus feature.
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Posted: 12/31/12 at 12:50pm