It almost feels as if Kubrick has completed this movie from beyond the grave.
Given how so shortly after presenting the final cut allegedly, he passed away in 1999 at the age of 70.
shareIf it was an "alleged' final cut, why would they (whomever that might be) cut out the orgy and Mask Shop pedo scene if they had the power to do it? I don't believe the theatrical version would have been much different than the one we got - perhaps a bit shorter and "pace-ier", and maybe some different sound and music choices (probably minor).
shareThere are supposedly 19 minutes cut from Kubrick's cut right? Contractually, Kubrick had the final say; however, the studio re-cut/edited the film right after his death.
A theater in England as the Kubrick cut. I wonder if anyone has ever done an analysis comparing the two.
Supposedly? Supposed by who? Are you talking about 19 minutes beyond cut from the film in general? Or are you talking about the digital blocking out of some of the more explicit sexually activity in the orgy scene - which I'm pretty sure has been restored for most home video copies of the film? If so, that's really no big deal, considering nearly the same amount of footage was cut from 2001 (and recently found in a salt mine), and an entire epilogue was cut from The Shining AFTER it had already been released to theaters back in 1980.
As it stands, Kubrick could likely have shaved another 5 or 10 minutes from the film just by faster cutting between cuts and between scenes (losing establishing shots, for instance), and it would still be the same film. The fact that more footage exists (probably does, using Kubrick's previous history and method of shooting) does not prove what was in it, when it was cut, who cut it, and for what reason. What some people seen to be suggesting is that the film Kubrick showed to executives was not the film released.
Here's how I know the cuts were only prunings and pacing problems - the rest of the scenes that happen after the orgy make almost no sense if Harford already knows for an almost certainly that the mystery woman who "redeems him" was in fact a human sacrifice. The ambiguity is the key to understanding the entire film. It makes no sense without it. The scene in the billiard room makes no sense, the final scene at the toy store makes no sense. Why would Harford waste so much time amateur sleuthing over the mystery woman if he already is pretty sure there is outright human sacrifice and child rape going on? The scene in the toy shop with the daughter being pimped out seems rather redundant (and way too "darkly humorous" in tone) if you've already established that sort of thing is occurring for sure at the mansion. Are they suggesting the entire second half of the film was reshot? If so, when, and by whom? Because that's the only way I'm seeing some of the more sensationalist and extravagant claims about "missing footage" makes any sense.