Theatrical Version vs. Extended Television Version
-
-
darthhade — 10 years ago(September 13, 2015 12:07 AM)
Have you guys not seen this version?
You may not have been born or seen the bootleg.
Here's some info:
When King Kong (1976) made its network television debut on NBC in 1978, a number of scenes deleted from the theatrical version were reinstated to make the film longer. Most fans of the extended version of the film agree that it works much better than the original truncated release. This is the first of the King Kong films to have an extended cut. The second one is the 2005 remake of King Kong. The newly added sequences included:- A Surubaya bar showing Prescott drugging a Petrox crewman. This explains the plot point mentioned later about Prescott wearing a Petrox crew jersey.
- Joe and Boan playing cards and being interrupted by a Captain Ross on the loudspeaker calling all hands to assemble in the mess room.
- Jack being shown in the room getting more and more upset over being locked up down below.
- Garcia spying on Dwan while she's showering. He is being held by his ankles over the side of the ship so he can peer through the porthole. Jack happens by the scene. He tickles Timmons until he drops Garcia into the ocean. 05. The ships crew is watching an old movie on television while Roy Bagley observes the oil-like substance taken from the island under a microscope. He swigs some wine and calls for a boat to take him ashore.
- A longer battle between King Kong and the gigantic snake. It ends with an alternate take of Kong killing the snake and pounding his chest.
- Some extended footage of King Kong breaking through the gate.
- Before Jack enters Dwan's dressing room, he is confronted by a security guard.
- Some additional dialogue between Dwan and Wilson in her dressing room.
- During King Kong's rampage in New York, a Petrox head executive tells Wilson he's fired. He tells him that there is nowhere he can hide where Petrox cant find him.
- After King Kong steps on Wilson, killing him, the camera pulls back to reveal that all that's left in Kong's footprint is Wilson's hat.
- Dwan and Jack talking and running down a street trying to hot-wire a car.
- A car coming down the street in front of King Kong crashes into his foot. Kong roars, picks up the car and throws it into the side of a building.
- Some extended footage of King Kong attacking the elevated train.
- Some extended footage of King Kong hiding from search helicopters at the East River waterfront.
- Some additional dialogue between Jack and Dwan in the bar. This includes some critical dialogue that explains why Jack and Dwan don't end up together at the end of the film. Jack says that if Kong is killed, then neither of them would ever be able to look each other in the face again.
- Two brief, additional clips of the military guarding the Queensboro Bridge.
- An alternate, extended scene of King Kong destroying the power station.
- An extended scene of the governor concurring with military advisors at City Hall, including a general telling him they don't have time to get Prescott's head examined, and another advisor saying that standing around won't get him votes.
- Some extended footage of King Kong peering in the window at Dwan in the bar.
- A military official ordering jet fighters to be aborted and for choppers to be sent instead.
- Jack stealing a discarded ten-speed bike and racing after Dwan and King Kong down a New York street.
- Three short clips of King Kong lumbering down Wall Street with Dwan in hand.
- The helicopter gunships taking off.
- An extended scene of King Kong climbing the World Trade Center where he actually stops to rest about halfway up the twin towers.
-
darthhade — 10 years ago(September 13, 2015 12:21 AM)
I hope after you learn what ended up on the cutting room floor, you will consider signing the petition to try and get the Extended Television Cut released on DVD and/or Blu-Ray.
Stranger things have happened.
The Petition Thread:
http://www.imdb.com/board/10074751/board/thread/248100959 -
Eric-62-2 — 9 years ago(August 27, 2016 06:27 PM)
Most of the added footage tends to be "filler" in the sense of more reaction shots, padding action sequences etc. but the most important added scene was the one in the bar which had more dialogue between Prescott and Dwan where he basically says that if Kong doesn't live they'd never be able to look at each other again and this exchange sets up why at the end Prescott stops short and they don't reunite.
The scene of the Petrox chairman finding time in the chaos following Kong's escape to shout at Wilson and tell him he's fired was cut from the film when they re-edited the stomping scene to make it look like Wilson had been stomped to death by Kong. In the original preview cut, Kong misses him and only his hat is stomped and Wilson slinks off knowing he might as well be dead because his career is ruined etc. This metaphorical death wasn't enough for audiences who wanted to see Kong kill him so they did a re-edit and that meant deleting the Petrox chairman's angry rant (which really doesn't work to begin with as a scene) as it was no longer relevant with Wilson "dead".
] — 3 years ago(December 13, 2022 02:36 PM)