Friday The 13th SEs/Box Set Info Coming on September 19th!? (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

Except for Part V, our rankings are pretty similar. My ranking is:

The Final Chapter
Part 2
Jason Lives
the original
Part III
Jason Takes Manhattan
The New Blood
A New Beginning

I don't hate the New Line ones as much as some fans (I'd rate Freddy Vs. Jason higher than Jason Takes Manhattan and Jason Goes To Hell above A New Beginning but Jason X is just lousy) but the Paramount movie are the ones that will always have a special nostalgic place in my heart. Even the crummy ones.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Part 5 is great because it's a true exploitation film that feels like a porno. The thing is just so dirty that you have to love it.

But yet there were other "objectionable" scenes from KING KONG which were censored, but saved and then later re-incorporated into the film as we know it today - Kong fondling Fay Wray, Kong chewing on natives and stomping them into the ground... and the sme thing goes for the footage of the little girl being drowned in FRANKENSTEIN, which was edited for decades and then later found --

None of these things were cut out of the films. All of this footage was shown when millions of people saw the films when they were originally released. These scenes were cut out of re-releases that happened after the Hayes Office took control and demanded the cuts. The same with March's DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. In these cases everyone saw them uncut when they were released but future showings were cut. The F13 films have never been seen uncut outside the first one. KING KONG's issues were being in the hands of RKO who was notorious for not keeping anything and throwing away everything they could (just read the history of Welles at the studio).

 

[MattFini]

I agree with you here. I don't hate the New Line ones at all. I really like aspects of JGTH a lot ... how we get to see citizens of Crystal Lake outside of camp. It was a radical approach to the series (probably too radical), but now that 15 years have passed, I think the movie holds up pretty well. It's a fun gorefest, at least.

Jason X was a lot more fun at first. I think some of the humor that was shoehorned in there is pretty unfortunate, but there are some terrific bits.

FVJ is OK. The story isn't bad and the climactic battle is kinda fun. Other than that I can't say I pop this DVD in too often.

I'm with you on the nostalgia, Travis. The Paramount era all have a certain feel that the New Line ones didn't have.

 

[TravisR]

I remember when I first heard about Jason X, I thought it sounded terrible but when I saw it, I liked it OK. They took a different approach to a familiar character and story, it had some funny gags and a couple good kills (like the liquid nitrogen head smash and a fun redo of the sleeping bag kill from The New Blood). Unfortunately, every time I've watched it since then, I've disliked it more each time.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I don't know if we can confirm that each and every cut sequence was in the films when they were originally released... maybe a couple of them never made it to the premiere, I don't know for sure. But that doesn't matter, really; the studios still didn't go ahead and throw out the footage once the edits were required for future showings.

All I'm saying is that I don't think we can know for absolutely certain that all the gore sequences from the F13 sequels are long gone. I still think that filmmakers were more savvy by that time about the interest in alternate footage.

In the case of a few missing frames here or there with rough quality that won't match the rest of the film, I would think some of the gore cuts would be so quick that they could be restored (if they were available in ANY form) and it wouldn't bother or distract fans. Kane Hodder showed clips from Parts 7 and 8 at a convention I went to, and they were rough with the meter counters and so on ...

 

[MattFini]

True. Jason X seems to be the film that holds up the worst (although I'm not thinking about FvJ here, I just don't have much desire to watch it again).

I'll occasionally watch F13 with my girlfriend (she likes the earliest ones) and she was appalled by Jason X.

I couldn't really defend it, either. After a few viewings the film had lost most of its luster in my eyes. I do like parts of it still, but I don't see myself watching it again for a while.

 

[Michael Elliott]

In the case of a few missing frames here or there with rough quality that won't match the rest of the film, I would think some of the gore cuts would be so quick that they could be restored (if they were available in ANY form) and it wouldn't bother or distract fans. Kane Hodder showed clips from Parts 7 and 8 at a convention I went to, and they were rough with the meter counters and so on ...

Yes, you couldn't put a count meter back in the film. Keep your eyes open for the MY BLOODY VALENTINE thread on how lesser quality footage is accepted by the fans. Perhaps they've come to live with it but there were plenty of complaints with ZOMBI 3 and countless others were the "new" footage didn't match the rest of the film. Either way, I doubt poor quality is a reason any studio would hide a major selling point.

 

[Simon Caleb]

Why don't we wait until the 'final version' is released and then speculate what fans will and won't say about the state of the My Bloody Valentine additional footage.
And so what if 'fans' are happy to accept lesser quality footage, footage I might add that was long considered 'lost'.

I take it you include yourself as a fan Michael. As you appear to be writing like you consider yourself a step up from a fan, especially so with "you fans should" etc.
I'd like to think we're all respectful and passionate fans of the horror genre here.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Nevermind...sent you a PM instead.

 

[WillG]

Fangoria could have had an issue of "what you won't see in F13 2" when the movie was released. There wasn't any call for this from what I've seen.

Interestingly enough the on the back of the box of the VHS release, the was a still of a shot of the double impalement scene that was not in the film. Basically it was a shot of the couple on the bed after they got the spear through them.

 

[JeffMc]

Yes, it wasn't the norm back then to release 'unrated" videos, but that doesn't mean the studios just threw away all extraneous footage, alternate scenes, or alternate cuts of a film once it hits theaters. It was a couple of years later, but VIDEODROME is one example where the film was trimmed to get an R rating in theaters and then the video release included the uncut unrated version. In fact, VIDEODROME even showed up on cable tv (A&E) many years later in an exclusive tv-version with lots of exclusive footage and alternate scenes never seen before - almost a completely different film made from scraps. HALLOWEEN 2 also showed up in a severely altered tv-version with a completely different alternate ending from the theatrical. That was also years after the original simply edited "tv-version" of the film. Where did that come from?

I have no idea if all the Ft13th censored footage still exists, but it's not that hard to believe that somewhere in Paramount's vaults actual prints of one of the original cuts of the various films still exist. How many prints did Paramount create to show the MPAA during the ratings process? One? Two? Five? Did they cut the same print down each time for resubmission? Were some prints not used at all? No one knows any of this. It's all just conjecture. To keep fighting and debating about it is pointless. Right now, the uncut footage is simply "not available" for public consumption.

 

[MattFini]

Well said Jeff ... I couldn't agree more, sir!

As sure as the sun rises every day, I know I will live to see A New Beginning's alternate vag-stab.

 

[Michael Elliott]

You've named two out of the hundreds of horror films that were cut down. That pretty much proves my point. Let's go even further back to 1889. How many movies have survived being cut and restored at a later date? Very few and most of them (like METROPOLIS) are found outside this country.

Lost films turn up each and every year so you never know but I just wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[JeffMc]

A lot of genre movies that were cut or altered in the past have been showing up on DVD in their original uncut versions. A lot of the AIP stuff, for instance. Even WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH showed up uncut on cable and DVD even though WB had never issued that version before in the US. I guess that uncut master was just sitting in their vault somewhere since 1970. We've seen the pre-censored versions of THE BURNING, THE BROOD, DON'T LOOK NOW, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, EYES OF A STRANGER, DEADLY FRIEND, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT, SWAMP THING, etc., all showed up out of nowhere. Heck, even PIRANHA 2 and TENTACLES are uncut. Someone even has a website with trims and cut footage he found from PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.

Honestly, I'm trying to think of any horror/slasher films that have NOT been restored over the years. It seems like the uncut versions usually pop up eventually. Besides the Ft13th series and MBV, what are some MPAA butchered genre films that haven't been restored as of yet? I don't think there's that many left.

 

[Michael Elliott]

JAWS THE REVENGE is another, although I think the "alternate" version was meant for overseas.

Those titles you mentioned were saved by either the producers or were released somewhere overseas. That option is out for F13 because Paramount sent out the R-rated cuts for overseas with the exception of part 1, which was controled by the producer's. If it weren't for them that one might be lost as well. We're lucky for Euro Horror that the majority of those releases, butchered in the States, are uncut because producer's held onto their prints. Studios (Warner, Paramount, Fox) are known to be cheap bastards and that's probably why most of the cuts ended up in the trash.

I'm just worried about two second trims being saved. Even when lost movies turn up they are usually complete films and not just "seconds" worth of material.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Ive finally got that making friday the 13th book .In the part 3 chapter of the book , it does say 3 alternate endings were shot for part 3.So, if the book says so, it has to be true.It even decribes 2 of the 3 scenes in great detail.I can understand if these alternate scenes are lost, but I refuse to beleive they will never be found.

 

[Chuck West]

Wal-Mart's website is indicating that the "Deluxe Edition" DVDs of parts 4, 5, 6 as well as the Blu-Ray releases of parts 2 and 3 are coming on June 9th.

Search results for friday 13th - Wal-mart

 

[Simon Caleb]

Did you notice Part's 5 & 6 are, so far, listed as not rated...

 

[Chuck West]

I did, but it's Wal-Mart's listing, so I won't give it too much credibility until the official details arrive (hopefully soon).

 

[Simon Caleb]

If we're to consider the recent Jason documentary makers veiled hints of vault searches turning up footage and the fact Wal-Mart states "The following content was provided by the publisher." It wouldn't come as a surprise to see restored or at least partially restored Part's 5 & 6...