Finding The "First Version"

[BGMurphy2012]

I am one of what I assume is a large group of people who have never seen the first version of this film shown in America, the shorter version cut to be purely chronological and usually blamed on The Ladd Company.  Do any of my fellow OUATIA fanatics know where I could buy, rent, or borrow a copy of that version, either by streaming it or on a DVD?

Thanks very much. 


BGM

(Btw, I can't wait to see the latest iteration and I love this Board!)

[Cusser]

I believe the "full version" was actually first shown in USA, but only in NY and Los Angeles, maybe Chicago.  My brother soon after saw the shortened chronological version here in Phoenix, didn't like at all.  He said don't bother.

How can a film about memories not be in flashback style?  Anyway, I didn't see this until early 1985 at an art theater in Tempe (Valley Art).  The currently-available DVD has several scenes in it that were not in that 1985-restored version. 

Paramount also restored Once/West in 1985, saw that at the same place.  They passed out a sheet that detailed the additional scenes at the theater.  I had scene Once/West first run in 1969, and I did notice most of the additions (such as Harmonica lying wounded at the train station).

[drinkanddestroy]

why would anyone want to see this butchered bastard child of a movie?

Just knowing that a copy of it ay exist in the cellar of some movie studio makes my skin crawl. I hope that no copy exists and nobody will ever see it again

[Groggy]

Curiosity

[stanton]

I had scene Once/West first run in 1969, and I did notice most of the additions (such as Harmonica lying wounded at the train station).

Are you sure?

Cause according to the detailed Video Warchdog article (http://www.fistful-of-leone.com/forums/index.php?topic=10564.0) this scene was not part of the 1969 145 min version, and first appeared in the 16 mm prints of the then slightly altered 145 min version in late 1970.

[drinkanddestroy]

Curiosity

if your wife cut off your manhood and then you were fortunate enough to have doctors surgically restore it -- completely to its previous beauty, so that there is no scar or anything whatsoever to remind you that you were chopped --   would you want to have a picture of the chopped you; cuz after all it did happen to be moment in your life so you feel you should have some record of it, just for curiosity's sake? Or, would you want no evidence whatsoever to exist of the travesty of that moment in time when you had less than a complete manhood, and live the rest of your life without any record at all of that travesty?


Well  my feelings about OUATIA are about equal to my feelings about my manhood. And I definitely choose the latter option.

While I am sure that some copy exists deep in the bowels of some archive somewhere, I really, really, really hope that it never gets out anywhere, and that nobody ever sees it in all the future of the world. If I knew there was one copy in existence somewhere, I would steal it and burn it just so it never gets out anywhere. And if I was imprisoned in solitary confinement for the rest of my life and was left with nothing at all except a video of that piece of shit (I won't even acknowledge it enough to call it a "version of OUATIA") , I'd smash it to pieces and prefer to sit there staring at the wall for the next 50 years rather than ever seeing that piece of shit.


 BGMurphy 2012: Please don't take the wrong way   Welcome to these boards, it's always nice to have new members and I am sure you will have a great time here and add a lot to the conversation, but I have to respectfully wish you nothing but complete failure in your quest in finding this video  

[MatViola]

if your wife cut off your manhood and then you were fortunate enough to have doctors surgically restore it -- completely to its previous beauty, so that there is no scar or anything whatsoever to remind you that you were chopped --   would you want to have a picture of the chopped you

Well, my manhood is way too long and its flashback structure is confusing, so it would be a vast improvement if my girlfriend cut it down to size and rearranged it into chronological order.

Mat

[PowerRR]

I WANT TO SEE IT TOO.

It's not like Leone would be rolling in his grave if I watched it. Because I've seen his cut. And I love it. It makes no difference whether or not I see the American cut at this point besides out of curiosity of how much someone else ruined a movie.

[Groggy]

if your wife cut off your manhood and then you were fortunate enough to have doctors surgically restore it -- completely to its previous beauty, so that there is no scar or anything whatsoever to remind you that you were chopped --   would you want to have a picture of the chopped you; cuz after all it did happen to be moment in your life so you feel you should have some record of it, just for curiosity's sake? Or, would you want no evidence whatsoever to exist of the travesty of that moment in time when you had less than a complete manhood, and live the rest of your life without any record at all of that travesty?

Well  my feelings about OUATIA are about equal to my feelings about my manhood. And I definitely choose the latter option.

It would be more like if you had a choice of regrowing your dick or remain a castrati, which so far as I know isn't possible.

[Groggy]

I WANT TO SEE IT TOO.

It's not like Leone would be rolling in his grave if I watched it. Because I've seen his cut. And I love it. It makes no difference whether or not I see the American cut at this point besides out of curiosity of how much someone else ruined a movie.

Yeah and there's something to be said also for keeping it intact, just for the sake of film history.

[drinkanddestroy]

Yeah and there's something to be said also for keeping it intact, just for the sake of film history.

there's a question of what is considered legitimate. all legitimate versions, yes, keep intact, for the sake of keeping records of history. but what we are talking about is such a bastard,  -- it is not a "version of OUATIA" -- I don't want it recorded for posterity in any way.

happily, I don't think any of you will ever get to see it 

[Groggy]

You can't pretend something didn't happen by ignoring it. If nothing else it would Exhibit A in the case against clueless studios. Pretending it doesn't exist is intellectually vacuous.

[MatViola]

happily, I don't think any of you will ever get to see it  

I've already seen it. It does have curiosity value.

By the way, there's at least one person in the world who prefers the short version: Mary Corliss. In a Film Comment article from 1984 she wrote, "...under Ladd's instructions, an editor named Zach Staenburg reshaped Leone's mesmerizing, intermittently powerful botch of a movie into a 145-minute film that is within shooting distance of masterpiece."

Should we put her on our death list?

Mat

[dave jenkins]

Mary Corliss? Richard Corliss was bad enough, you mean to say that he let his wife do reviews when he himself couldn't be bothered? Ignore the whole family.

[MatViola]

Oh, I almost forgot, there's also Leonard Maltin. His video guide gives the short version 3 stars and says it's "well worth watching." There you have it, it's official: the short version rules!

Looks like d&d will have to see it now.

Mat