Jon Martin

Flirting With Disaster DVD Question

Does anyone here have the FLIRTING WITH DISASTER DVD? I remember when it came out, people complained that it was missing footage from the end credits. Was that the case?

I'm reading the great new book DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES by Peter Biskind, all about independent filmmaking in the 90's and Miramax. In it, they interview David Russell over FLIRTING WITH DISASTER. He states that Harvey Weinstein wanted him to remove the footage from the ending credits. But, since Russell had final cut, he refused causing Harvey to say he wouldn't let marketing promote it.

Anyway, if that footage is indeed cut from the DVD, it looks like Harvey got his way, intentionally screwing up the DVD to make it the way he wanted it.

WillardK

Yes. If I remember, there are two credit scenes deleted. Do a search on the forum and you'll likely come up with at least one other thread about this.

The deletion that angered me most I remember noticing when watching it on cable. The scene remains deleted on dvd. Not sure if this is a spoiler but:

Jodee

Actually that footage was also missing from the theatrical cut. I actually saw this film in the theatres and I remember that EW had a small blurb about how the credits scene was excised for the US release.

I finally saw the missing scenes for the first time when I bought the laserdisc (which was the true "director's cut").

I was extremely disappointed when I bought the DVD on release date and discoverd that they used the theatrical cut and not the laserdisc version. (I had already sold off my LD in advance of the DVD--that's the last time I ever did that!)

WillardK

That's interesting, Jodee.

Flirting is imo one of the very best comedies from the last few decades, shining as brightly as the classic screwballs from the 30's. I mean it. It deserves more respect.

I never saw this at the theater, btw. But I definitely saw the deleted scenes when it first aired on cable. They have since used the censored version. It's a pointless edit, as those who would be offended would have walked out half-way through. Very disappointing, antithetical and a big let-down. Why end such an audacious and playfully challenging film with an insultingly 'politically correct' hatchet job? (As much as I have grown to hate that term because of it's popular (politically correct?) overuse and misuse.)

I think the other scene involved Tea Leoni's character: