OUTIW Severely Edited!!

[Simon]

I read a bizarre thing today, in an old 1995 Virgin film guide. It says that the original release of OUTIW in America was severely edited because Paramount wanted to cram an extra show in every night in order to sell more popcorn!!
Tell me this is not true?
Anybody Know??

[visitor]

entirely true.
The major cuts were the first appearance of Cheyenne(the entire scene at the watering station was missing) and the death of Cheyenne at the end of the movie.

[Frank]

I saw the movie in 1969 in Dallas in its edited form.  The exhibitor felt the movie was so hard to understand that the radio commercials in Dallas contained a sort of plot summary, so you could sort of understand who was who.

Even so I loved the film (the first Leone I had ever seen) but I was confused over several parts.  In 1972 the film was shown on tv (I think ABC on Sunday night) with atleast some of the scenes restored.  I can recall how several confusing plot points were cleared up.  

I think most of the cuts were regarding Cheyenne.  There was no explanation as to why the train was shot up either.  It is hard to remember since I've seen the film so many times since then as to what was left out, but that's my recollection.

I'm looking forward to the DVD!

[KERMIT]

the truth is US distributors  amputated OUATITW & OUATIA , leaving a dismembered body that made no sense like the death of cheyenne.  US dristributors did not like foreign people to have success in the US. they went to dirty tricks to prevent italian stars to intrude on their market like contracting them
and freezing them to keep them from working.

after his battle with the US distributors leone started to suffer, his health was shaken by this great disapointment.

talking about cuts, the scene with tuco and the chicken...in the cave leone discarded himself as it was no good and didn't belong to GB&U. so why all this commotion ? US film ben-hur went on for 212 mins.
leone's editing style was very particular. if shortening was necessary, he would never cut inside a certian scene. rather, he would leave the complete scene out, to preserve the rythm of the narration.
tonio delli colli

[Groggy]

the truth is US distributors  amputated OUATITW & OUATIA , leaving a dismembered body that made no sense like the death of cheyenne.  US dristributors did not like foreign people to have success in the US. they went to dirty tricks to prevent italian stars to intrude on their market like contracting them
and freezing them to keep them from working.

after his battle with the US distributors leone started to suffer, his health was shaken by this great disapointment.

talking about cuts, the scene with tuco and the chicken...in the cave leone discarded himself as it was no good and didn't belong to GB&U. so why all this commotion ? US film ben-hur went on for 212 mins.
leone's editing style was very particular. if shortening was necessary, he would never cut inside a certian scene. rather, he would leave the complete scene out, to preserve the rythm of the narration.
tonio delli colli

Quite a cynical theory you have there Kermit, however you're correct more likely than not.  

[Jon]

Indeed!Think of all the [sometimes over]long US films-Ben Hur,Meet Joe Black,Dances With Wolves,etc.........Then think of Leone's films.They are so well constructed that cutting weakens them considerably.Maybe not so much in the case of Fistful Of Dynamite and GBU,but OUATITW and OUATIA,almost every scene is essential.Why cut?It has been proved that long films CAN do well at the box office.I am so glad that the first and only versions of OUATITW and OUATIA I saw were the full versions.

[The clint]

Thank goodness I haven't seen a cut version of OUATITW. Apparently, all Leone films have undergone some cuts during the years. A fistful of Dollars was cut by five minutes in the UK (Beating up scene of Joe, the Baxters being shot), the German version of FAFDM is still lacking 10 minutes of violent footage, the original UK version of GB&U ran only 148 minutes (Tuco being tortured, the scene in the gunshop, etc) and Fistful of Dynamite was trimmed of 20 minutes both for length and to obtain a PG certificate (This is the only case I like the cut version more than the longer one)