MovieChat Forums > 48 Hrs. (1982) Discussion > Test screenings, deleted scenes, special...

Test screenings, deleted scenes, special edition...

posted 8 years ago by Nick7080
8 replies | jump to latest

First, i would like to say hello to all fans of Walter Hill, Eddie Murphy and 48 Hrs who are reading this. In this board i wanted to share and ask for info about Walter Hill's first cut of the movie.

Over the years, while collecting info about missing scenes from films, to my surprise i found all kinds of stuff which indicated that 48 Hrs was originally quite longer film. I'll start with what i heard and reports i read from several different people who claimed to have seen preview/test screenings version of the film, which if i'm not mistaken was shown somewhere in California, maybe in Los Angeles...?

In short, they all mentioned how movie was originally about two hours long, maybe more, it had lot of extra scenes, some other scenes which are still in the movie were longer, the entire opening was much different and it focused more on Ganz and Billy Bear, there was different introduction scene for Cates and Elaine which included full frontal and rear nudity from Annette O'Toole, scene where she and Cates wake up apparently also included frontal nudity by O'Toole but in the final cut scene is zoomed in on her face (I'm not so sure is this correct because it doesn't looks like something is wrong with the scene), and there also was little longer ending where she and Cates get together again before he goes to pick up Reggie...

I do think that reason why so many people remember seeing deleted scenes in test screenings is because Paramount and Hill had a really bad working relationship and from what i read Paramount decided to preview Hill's first cut of the film against his will.

To make sure that these claims are true i went and got original script for the movie and from what i read, it looks like all of these scenes were in original cut. After further research, there unfortunately wasn't much more that i could find about deleted scenes other than well known couple extended scenes that are shown in theatrical trailer; Extended dialogue between Reggie and Jack in car while they are following Luther and more dialogue between Reggie and girl in the bar before he and Jack go after Luther.

Then there are of course couple extra scenes which were included in some TV versions of the film (and reportedly, sometimes this TV version is still broadcasted), they are; One extra scene between Jack and Elaine, and aftermath of subway shootout scene in which Jack talks with his Captain.

Personally, i love this movie, it's one of my favorite Walter Hill/Eddie Murphy films, and when it comes to deleted scenes, i wouldn't mind if it had more scenes with Ganz and Billy because both of them are missing for the large parts of the film, and of course, it would be great if Annette O'Toole's nude scenes weren't cut out. I can understand if they cut some scenes for better pacing, but still, her nude pool scene in Cat People is one of the best parts of the film, which is why i feel that 48 Hrs missed one other reason why movie would be considered classic.

Keeping with O'Toole, her character also seems like it could have been completely cut out and it wouldn't affect the film in any way. Reading the original script, her character and her relationship with Jack was better explained there, and she even had a small part in the ending by sort of helping Reggie and Jack to pick up the trail and track down Ganz and Billy. Just to show how much of her role was cut, it seems that there are quite a few stills showing some deleted scenes with her.

Original introduction scene for Elaine and Jack where he surprised her in the shower (Heads up, still includes some rear nudity by O'Toole);

http://www.nudecelebgalls.com/pics/celeb310/pics/annette-otoole-13.jpg

Another deleted scene after the first one where Elaine and Jack are in bed after having sex;

http://images3.cinema.de/imedia/5382/1965382,2ZszRrdlkp7knRVmpJlEf6Rsa6WvealzJUF0yOC831AtcAt+Fsvlg6ONLfyZMTzjSXWrTFvr7eQHr2OVvq3ulg==.jpg

Elaine with Jack and Reggie in the bar where she works, talking with them before final showdown with Billy and Ganz;

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CFqM-EJUgAEqgB8.jpg

As a fan of Walter Hill, i know that at times he has a strange way of re-editing or cutting down his films, whether it's by his decision or studios. When it comes to his other Buddy-Buddy films, Red Heat was also re-edited quite a lot, losing lot of good scenes in process, including Gina Gershon's nude scene (Talk about unfortunate coincidence), and Another 48 Hrs suffered even worse re-editing and cuts that really hurt the movie, even though i personally don't mind it. I'm not saying that Hill re-edits his movies poorly every time, Extreme Prejudice for example was two and a half hours long before he cut the movie down to be very nicely paced and well edited action film.

I don't know was his or Paramount's decision to cut so many scenes from 48 Hrs, maybe somebody, maybe even both Hill and Paramount, wanted for movie to be 96 minutes long, but i think that it could have been at least 105 minutes long, just to include more scenes with O'Toole, James Remar and Sony Landham which i think would help flesh out their characters instead of making them seem like window dressing at times.

To finish this, if anyone happens to know more about deleted scenes, post your reply. And if you think that both 48 Hrs films deserve special editions with original fully uncut versions of both films as bonus, go right ahead and share your opinion about it.

Original script which includes deleted scenes can be read here;
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/48-Hrs..html

[–] arthurab 8 years ago

Rear and Landham's characters were fun to watch- wouldn't mind seeing more of them.

Annette O'Toole is pretty, but the link u posted has a body double in it. No way a skinny Irish girl like AO is that woman in that still imo. Besides, the woman in that still has different hair, or did I misunderstand you??

It would have been interesting if the scene with Nolte, Murphy, and AO was left in tho. I liked her character...lots o' spunk.

[–] Dan_Garten 8 years ago

Interesting, thanks.

[–] Binkconn 8 years ago

In fact the rear of that girl looks like it might belong to the hooker that Ganz had in his room before he shot up the hotel. I bet it was a scene where Nolte bursts in on her in the shower, looking for Ganz (either before or after the shoot-out).

[–] Nick7080 8 years ago

In fact the rear of that girl looks like it might belong to the hooker that Ganz had in his room before he shot up the hotel.

No, i'm sure it's O'Toole's rear. In fact, here, still which shows rear of the blonde girl from hotel scene, you can clearly see that she is not the girl in that other still with Nolte;
http://images3.cinema.de/imedia/5407/1965407,osq4TfXo43sAJASaT6HYQAUKITxq_dHfAqnqe+d6m+5GjloOH+T4rMz5VSWRYOGwLjvcjUu1YrRzqTUZsIYyBg==.jpg

Also, if you or anyone else is interested, here's the original script for the film which includes all scenes which were deleted from the film;
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/48-Hrs..html

[–] stevenackerman69 8 years ago

I remember those two deleted scenes you talked about from seeing the film on TV. I think they should've kept in the second scene with Frank McRae's character talking to Cates about what happened in the subway. Sometimes you have to cut stuff for time because it slows down the film or it isn't necessary to the story.

I wanna say something else about this film that I've always admired. I always loved the fact that you had an Indian killer using a gun. When I saw that the first time, I was stunned. Remember, Indians have not been treated well in this country and in Westerns so in a way I thought it was a revenge thing in a way, which I admired.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] stevenackerman69 8 years ago

Not only were there deleted scenes I recognize here from TV, but some lines that got changed as they shot the film. I guess that does happen at times.

[–] Collector-Man 7 years ago

Lines change in scripts because actors often paraphrase the lines as it makes learning them easier. I think Eddie and Nicky improvised a lot on this film too. Paramount were worried about this film not being funny enough, maybe that's why Hill had to cut some scenes.

The writers Steven De Souza and Jeb Stuart also worked on Die Hard and Stuart mentioned on the blu ray Die Hard extras disc that he wanted McClane to have a realistic troubled relationship with his on-screen wife to make the character more three-dimensional - maybe he was trying to do the same with Jack Cates and Elaine.

I read some of the script last night. I recall Elaine at the start telling Jack about her horrible job as a barmaid and that some guy called her a bitch and that she wanted to throw a drink at him. The scene in the bar just before the final showdown originally included Elaine, she worked there and Jack went to patch up. Its actually Elaine that suggests they go see Billy's girl like Jack did with her.

Another big difference is Rosalie appears in the climax too. She's in Billy's girl's apartment in the final showdown scene. Reggie busts into the room like in the film and sees Rosalie naked in bed with Billy sitting on it like in the scene. She says, "Please Billy, don't let him hurt me!" So somewhere in between Luther getting shot and this scene she and Billy get it on? WTF? And Billy's girl is fine with it! She tells Jack at the bottom of the stairs, "Billy's making Rosalie happy tonight."

I would love to see an extended version of the sequel though. About 50 mins were cut I heard.