On Sat, 27 Jul 2019 02:54:09 GMT, "Straight Man"
<straight.man@straight.org> wrote:
>Hello Dick Baker!
>
>Please check out:
>https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015881/alternateversions?tab=cz&ref_=tt_trv_alt.
>
>Paraphrasing IMDb, the story as they relate it, in a nutshell:
>
>"The original version ran for 9 h 11m." (That's 551 min.) It was only shown
>once before being destroyed by the studio. It was described as "wonderful"
>and "brilliant."
>
>Version 3, edited by Erich von Stroheim, is considered the "Director's cut",
>running at 5 h 15m. (That's 315 min.) The studio forbade the director to
>touch the film again, and called for further cuts. Versions 1 to 4 are
>considered lost films.
>
>Version 5 had exactly 4 hours running time. (That's 240 min.) It cut off all
>derivative stories about supporting characters, concentrating the story on
>the character McTeague, and adding a number of inter-titles to explain what
>happened in the deleted scenes.
>
>Version 6 is the final version and was released by MGM with a runtime of 2 h
>15 m. (That's 135 min.)
>
>It sounds like you're looking for version 6. Given that it's 135 min, and
>the original was 551 min, you want a version that is less than 25 percent of
>the original runtime.
>
>Of course you're welcome to watch anything you want. But for my taste, since
>over 75 percent of the original film has been cut, I wouldn't be interested
>in the released version.
>
>Most of that 75 percent is gone. Lost. History. But please watch the 1999
>restored version. I am not a Silent Film fan, but I enjoyed the restored
>version. Yeah, it's on the long side for one sitting by today's standards.
>But it sounds like it includes the same storyline, subplots, and character
>development that Erich von Stroheim had envisioned.
>
>It also sounds like the released version may, in some senses, border on
>incoherent, and constitute a disrespect for Erich von Stroheim's talent. It
>sounds like the restored version uses much of the 75 percent that is gone.
>My opinion.
Too bad they didn't have television back in them thar days. Stroheim
could've released the complete 9hr version as a mini-series. Would've
taken five nights to broadcast. Including commercials from Burger King
and personal injury lawyers.
Colonel Buckshot
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