MovieChat Forums > Wayne's World (1992) Discussion > stairway to heaven joke

stairway to heaven joke

posted 9 years ago by namaGemo
7 replies | jump to latest

It made sense when seen at the theater, but on tv they change the guitar riff to something that's not stairway to heaven. What's the point?

[–] Jitterbug88 9 years ago

They lost the rights to the song, never saw the theatrical version, I didn't know that they used it. I just remember asking my older brother why that was funny when I was like 7, because I didn't know the song and he said it was banned because the song was so long but it turns out such signs do exist in music shops:

http://lawhaha.com/warning-dont-play-stairway-to-heaven/

[–] Littlebitsofgaming 9 years ago

he said it was banned because the song was so long

And he is wrong.

And so, God came forth and proclaimed widescreen is the best.
Sony 16:9

[–] TolerancEJ 9 years ago

I saw WW the theatre. It was not changed for TV. They never played anything remotely sounding like Stairway at all, which made me curious how the music store staff would "recognize" Stairway.

I enjoyed the "May I help you" riff much more than the Stairway bit.

[–] namaGemo 9 years ago

It WAS played in the theatrical version. That's what made the joke funny, and people I saw it with will say the same, because it's just dumb when you watch it on tv.
The scene probably would have been deleted for theatrical presentation because it makes no sense.

[–] lindseyd310 9 years ago

probably due to copyrights

[–] ebright99 9 years ago

Why did they remove the song from home video?

First of all it's not the actual Led Zeppelin recording
Second, they only played like 4 notes

Is acquiring the rights really necessary when you just use four notes? Doesn't an excerpt that short fall under fair use or something?

[–] jmillerdp 8 years ago

Certainly took the sting out of the joke! If Wayne was supposed to be an awful guitar player, that would've made more sense. Or, if they had anticipated that copyright would be a problem, Wayne could've said: "Time for some 'Stairway!'," then go on with the joke.

I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood