'uncut'

I uploaded most (but not all) of the major scenes that are exclusive to the Lancaster cut onto YouTube a year or two ago: just do a search on there for "Ulzana's Raid" and "Lancaster"; they should appear at the top of the search. (My username on there is the same as on here, "lewisherschell".) I only uploaded unique scenes that lasted more than a minute though.

In the 1990s, I compared the two edits extensively and compiled detailed notes on the differences, but those notes were handwritten and I doubt that they still exist.

However, in relation to the issue regarding alternate takes, these are evident in the scene that introduces Debuin: in Lancaster's edit, this scene makes use of some alternate angles and slightly different line readings (IIRC, of course). There are other instances of this practice scattered throughout the film. So Lancaster's cut contains both scene additions *and* alternate takes. It's a very different beast to Aldrich's cut of the film.

Much footage was apparently shot but never used: for example, Aldrich shot a much bigger subplot involving Aimee Eccles' character, but most of the footage wasn't used; Eccles appears only briefly in Aldrich's cut of the film and, IIRC, not at all in Lancaster's edit.

I'd love to see Lancaster's cut on DVD, but it's not available at present - at least not to my knowledge. I'd settle for a decent DVD of Aldrich's cut that contains the exclusive footage from Lancaster's edit as an 'extra' feature. I'd also love it if someone could unearth the reputedly extensive footage involving Aimee Eccles' character that Aldrich and Lancaster both chose to eliminate in postproduction.

I've got PAL running times for both cuts of the film.

The 'uncut' version of Aldrich's cut runs for 98:54.

The UK VHS release of Lancaster's cut runs for 96:20, with 45 seconds of cuts; so that would equate to an 'uncut' running time of 97:05.

As you can see, that doesn't appear to be much of a difference, in terms of the total running times of both cuts of the film - those running times imply little more than two minutes of difference between the two edits of the film. However, the difference between the two cuts of the film is far more than two minutes: where the Lancaster edit adds new footage, it also deletes some of the material found in Aldrich's cut of the film, and therefore taking account of scene deletions and additions, I'd estimate that the two cuts of the film contain around ten minutes' worth of differing footage.

When submitted to the BBFC in 1973, the film had an uncut running time of 103:04, which equates to 98:57 (in PAL format), so that would suggest that in 1973 Aldrich's cut of the film was submitted to the BBFC.

Have a gander at this article by Brad Stevens: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr0600/bsfr10c.htm

"Ulzana's raid (USA 1972).Aldrich's preferred cut of this film ran 103 minutes and was released to US cinemas. However, the European version was completely reedited by Burt Lancaster (Aldrich says,(4) "Lancaster changed the foreign version of Ulzana's raid, for what reason I don't know, but not the American version"), who cut a number of scenes, restored material that Aldrich had shot but decided not to use, ran several sequences in a different order, used some alternate takes and made some minor changes to the music (Trevor Willsmer, who interviewed the film's screenwriter Allan Sharp a few years ago, tells me that Sharp reluctantly agreed to assist Lancaster with the rediting). This version has virtually the same running time as Aldrich's but is obviously completely different. The scenes that Lancaster cut include a pre-credits sequence showing Ulzana and his men leaving the reservation in the middle of the night, a sequence showing DeBuin (Bruce Davison) cleaning his teeth, and much of Mrs Riordan's suicide attempt ("I have to wash it off"). The major deletions relate to the character of McIntosh (Lancaster)'s Indian lover, played by Aimee Eccles, who has been completely removed from the European edition (Lancaster even took out all the dialogue relating to the character, notably a lengthy section from McIntosh and DeBuin's campfire discussion). Curiously, Eccles is still prominently credited on this print. Scenes restored by Lancaster include the following:

(4) Pierre Sauvage, "Aldrich Interview," Movie 23 (1976/1977): 61.

1. Cartwright (Douglass Watson) asks Captain Gates (Lloyd Bochner) to lead the detail pursuing Ulzana, but Gates, who is expecting to be sent back East, asks to be relieved, mentioning his connections in Washington (Cartwright: "What is it you've got back there in Washington, an uncle is it?" Gates: "The Under Secretary is my mother's brother, sir." Cartwright: "Out here that's what we call an uncle."). The subsequent scene in which Gates congratulates DeBuin on being given the command thus has an irony missing from Aldrich's cut.
2. The scene in which Cartwright gives DeBuin advice is considerably longer, and includes a section in which McIntosh is present ("We don't have the initiative, and 'less he gets awful foolish we ain't about to get it").
3. A brief sequence in which the soldiers arrive at Rukeyser's farm (DeBuin: "Maybe they rode straight through." McIntosh "Maybe." DeBuin "A whim. You said they had whims." McIntosh: "So I did.").
DeBuin enters Rukeyser's cabin and finds McIntosh reading the family Bible ("Came from Holland. Appears they were married on the boat. Her maiden name was Van Hannigan. Hannah Van Hannigan.").
After this scene we see Ulzana waking up, waking his men and throwing a rock at his sleeping son.
Burns (Richard Jaeckel) and Miller (Richard Farnsworth) are ambushed by the Indian they have been pursuing. Miller dies, but Burns escapes.
4. Shortly after Mrs Riordan's suicide attempt, there is more dialogue between DeBuin and McIntosh (DeBuin: "You suggested that we leave them to their own devices and they'll go back to the agency, but how many innocent people are they going to butcher on the way? No, killing Ulzana now is no more than justice." McIntosh: "Don't be confused, Lieutenant. We're not in the justice business.")The UK video release is of Lancaster's European version, though the British censor insisted on removing all shots of horses falling headfirst (a banned stunt practice). The BBC regularly screens Aldrich's US edition, but with even more censorship cuts. A dubbed transfer sometimes shown on German television makes an attempt to combine all the footage from both versions. A fairly thorough, though unfortunately error-ridden, account of the differences between the two versions appeared in Monthly film bulletin 582 and 583 (July and August 1982)".

Hope that helps :)


'What does it matter what you say about people?'
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958).

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