Posted by One-Shot Scot on 02/25/09 11:31

"Sue" <sueb1863@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:436E9ADB.8010506@earthlink.net...
>
> >
> >
> > But nobody ever notices the chief Flying Monkey still handing her the
> > script-deleted Wishing Cap, right after the poppies scene...
> >
> > Derek Janssen
> > djanss@charter.net
>
> Oh, is that what that thing is? Thanks, I always wondered! I just
> thought it was a generic hat or bag or something.


This is a real tragedy. Early studio heads decide that a movie is too long
(whatever that means) or that a certain scene is not appropriate
(censorship) or stops the film's forward momentum, and a lot of fascinating
material is taken out of a movie. This wouldn't be so bad if the original
film hadn't been destroyed.

As a result, _The Wizard of Oz_ is missing Hickory's cyclone buster, lots of
snipped Wicked Witch of the West dialog, The Jitterbug scene and The
Triumphal Return march into Oz, among other things.

_King Kong_ suffered the same fate, but most of the censored footage was
still available in one form or another. However, the Spider scene appears to
have been lost forever. Yet, Warner has included _The Mystery of the Lost
Spider Pit Sequence_ in the bonus material:

*** Featurette 2: "The Mystery of the Spider Sequence" (approx. 15 mins) -
This piece is a documentary in three parts that leads up to the 25-second
recreation as a pay-off. The first part covers the legend of the Spider
Sequence, how it supposedly appeared in the original cut of the film (Ray
Bradbury saw it as a child), how it was edited out, lost for decades,
rumored to exist and sought by fans and historians alike. The second part is
Peter Jackson and his team taking on the job of recreating it (interviews,
etc.), Weta studying the only existing photos to build the spiders and
miniature environments, the NZ Miniatures Dept. shooting the sets and
skilled stop-motion animators bringing the creatures to life. Finally, the
third section and pay-off is the recreation cut together with sound effects
and Max Steiner music.***


http://www.retrocrush.com/kong/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00003CXAW/104-9375755-6670361?v=glance&n=130&v=glance

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024216/alternateversions

http://www.cinemastrikesback.com/?p=702

The Region 4 version of _King Kong_ has been delayed indefinitely. I hope
that this doesn't happen to the Region 1 version. Warner is notorious for
DVD delays:

http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/782019

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