Jewish World Review Sept. 27, 2000 / 27 Elul 5760
Bob Greene
Like being with old
friends in places you
don't remember
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
TRY TO IMAGINE, if you will, what it would be like if
you discovered dozens of additional scenes that
Shakespeare had written while he was writing
"Hamlet" -- scenes featuring the same characters,
scenes that never made it into the final play.
Or what it would be like if you found hundreds of
additional pages that William Faulkner had written
at the same time he wrote "The Sound and the
Fury" -- chapters featuring the same characters that
populate the rest of the novel, chapters that had not
made the final cut.
Now . . . never having read anything by
Shakespeare or Faulkner, I would not be
particularly excited by finding those lost passages.
I use the example just to set the stage for some
truly thrilling news.
The DVD version of "This Is Spinal Tap" was
released recently. I purchased it on its first day in
stores. My taste in movies is somewhat limited;
virtually the only movies I have seen in recent years
are 1984's "This Is Spinal Tap" and 1996's "That
Thing You Do!" -- I play them both over and over
on videotape.
The DVD version of "This Is Spinal Tap," though,
includes something that I found startling. "Spinal
Tap" itself, in its original form, was only 83 minutes
long. As many of you know, the movie, the first film
directed by Rob Reiner, is a comedy about a
fictional rock band trying to make a comeback tour
of America years after its first successes.
On the DVD, there is more than an hour of scenes
that didn't make it into the movie -- scenes shot by
Reiner as he was filming the original. These aren't
blooper shots -- they're not mistakes. They're parts
of the story that were not able to be included in the
final cut.
It's like . . . well, it's like seeing old friends in
situations that, as far as you knew, never happened.
It's not like a sequel -- no one is trying to re-create
anything. It's like dropping in on events for which
you weren't present the first time around.
This is significant even for those of you who have
never seen "Spinal Tap" and who never plan to. I'll
get to the reason for that in a few moments. For the
next several paragraphs, though, I will give "Spinal
Tap" fans some examples of what I'm talking about.
Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls
(Harry Shearer) try to pick up some women in a
hotel bar after a show, while David St. Hubbins
(Michael McKean) impatiently holds the elevator.
Filmmaker Marty DiBergi (Reiner) conducts a
group interview in a hot tub.
David's girlfriend, Jeanine Pettibone (June
Chadwick), brings in a young guitar player after
Nigel leaves the band -- and not only are there
indications that she has a romantic past with the
young guy, but he clearly is much better on stage
than David.
Manager Ian Faith (Tony Hendra) threatens to
make Marty DiBergi stop filming the movie,
because contracts have never been signed with the
producer.
Limousine driver Tommy Pischedda (Bruno Kirby)
has many more scenes than the brief one he had in
the original "Spinal Tap" -- including one where he
sings to the band in his underwear.
David has a teenaged son -- who shows up at a
concert.
So . . . what does this mean for those of you who
have no interest in "Spinal Tap"?
It means the new technology that has been forced
down all of our throats finally has the potential to
do something useful for us.
One of the things moviegoers seldom think about is
all the material that gets left out -- the scenes that
are shot, and for whatever reason never make it to
the screen.
DVD technology (I have a feeling that many of you,
rolling your eyes right now, already know this)
makes it possible for movie studios to go through
their vaults, to dig up all the original footage from
some of the best-loved films of all time -- and to let
viewers see those new/old scenes. They're on a
separate track -- you don't have to watch the extra
scenes unless you choose to.
But, if you adore, say, "Casablanca," how would
you like to see Bogart and Bergman just as you
remember them looking and sounding -- but in
scenes you'd never imagined before? If you know
every line in "The Graduate," how would you like to
see Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft together
again, exactly as they were -- in situations you've
never witnessed?
It's -- literally -- a whole new world.
I had no idea that Derek Smalls was in the midst of
a divorce. Think how you'd feel if you were to find
that out about Benjamin Braddock's
parents.
JWR contributor Bob Greene is a novelist and columnist. Send your comments to him by clicking here.
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