There’s also the famous “pie fight ending” that didn’t make it into Dr. Strangelove. I heard somewhere it was because they had just one take in which to film it and the actors couldn’t contain their laughter so it ended up as one big outtake.
I've heard that the ending for Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior) was changed after test screenings. The original cut had the Gyro Captain killed when his ultralight is shot down. The viewers were bummed out about the Gyro Captain getting killed. So the makers went and shot a new ending with the Gyro Captain surviving the crash, meeting up with Max and then going along with the tribe The new version resulted in much more positive test screenings.
Having been a cast member and eventual director an amateur version of Little Shop. I was gobsmacked when I saw the ending in the theatrical release. Leaving the theatre I was paraphrase thinking "You BASTARDS! You MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT ALL UP!!! Damn you all to hell..."
Clerks? Dante get's shot and killed at the end in the original version. It's even referenced in Clerks 3. As for Little Shop of Horrors, so much prefer the original ending with the world takeover. So happy the negative was found and restored.
Apparently the (spoiler) fountain that Charlton Heston dies in at the end of The Omega Man was used many times, in redressed form, for all kinds of different films, because it's on the Warner Bros Ranch. Most famously, you know the opening credits of Friends? Same fountain Heston died in.
You can add Gilliam's Brazil to the collection: the studios got got severely cold feet about the downbeat ending and tried to change it, producing two edits of the film. Gilliam took his version and screened it without consent of the studio...when it won awards, the studios relented.
The first one that came to mind was the Shawshank Redemption, where in the original ending we didn't get to see if Red and Andy meet up. (changed after testing)
LAST MAN ON EARTH was filmed in the early 60's, not 50's.. Ending was basically same as book but minus the line referring to himself wit a fully articulated note that he was now the legend. The idea is implied though. And, just for the fun of it, re-done endings were also put together for a few films I worked on, including TREMORS, HEART AND SOULS, THE STEPFORD WIVES,, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (much to the film's detriment, I feel). And just off the top of my head while on this subject, others I can think of include THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, SPLASH, BLADERUNNER, , INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (original). PHASE 4, and THE LOST HORIZON (original), .
Watched the original Little Shop of Horrors ending, the song is great I just found the destruction bit went on too long. Bit of editing (like I know what I'm on about) might have helped. Fact it's not a happy ending doesn't bother me at all
Not sure if this counts but Independence Day (1996) originally had Randy Quaid's character rejected from flying in the final battle for being obviously drunk. He then turns up in his cropduster biplane with a missile strapped to it and he flies into the beam of the alien ship, destroying it. Audiences didn't like the way his sacrifice was premeditated and suicidal from the start (not to mention how silly it looks having a biplane flying alongside fighter jets) so they shot some extra scenes of him sobering up and put him into the battle flying an F18 with everyone else. He makes the decision in the moment when his last missile jams and he knows it's their last chance. It's a very good editing job and I do think it was for the best.
Not necessarily a test audience, but „Freaks“ got brutalised after release. The final scens was supposed to include the strongman singing falsetto, implying his castration. Chopping that out kinda skews the film misogynist, as it implies the troupe only punished the woman for the murder plot.
"her tongue has been removed, one eye has been gouged out, the flesh of her hands has been melted and deformed to look like duck feet, her legs have been cut off, and what is left of her torso has been permanently tarred and feathered" I'm not sure "being castrated" comes close to the fate she suffers, so it's still pretty one-sided, even in the original version.
Please do another video including Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey original ending. In Act 3, we get the duo chased and attacked by horrific real life versions of their 'fears': Colonel Oates, Granny S Preston esq and a fanged, hulking Easter Bunny. Then at the Battle of the Bands, the good robots run off so the boys face the evil robots themselves. The boys are killed again but cite the Grim Reaper with the amount of times they beat him at board games (4/7) This grants them 2 more chances to be resurrected (having already used 2 chances to get back on Earth) Then they sneak up on the bad robots and pop their heads off, defeating them (we see how easily their heads come off in an earlier scene) De Nomolos tries to hijack the concert but the boys use the robot heads to blow him up. The climax is a different speech and they play the final song in their regular clothes. De Nomolos ends up in Hell for eternity with Evil Bill and Ted (his own personal Hell, since he hates them) This ending was not well received, but was filmed in its entirety. They felt it was way too dark for a kids film. So the ending was changed, but according to Alex Winter, all the footage of the original ending is lost forever 😢 Only a few production stills remain
Bladerunner had it's ending changed to the "happy" (and tonaly jarring) ending after test audience feedback. Not really relevant, but amusing. In Gremlins 2, there's a reference to Gone with the Wind, "Now in colour, and with a happier ending".
There’s also the famous “pie fight ending” that didn’t make it into Dr. Strangelove. I heard somewhere it was because they had just one take in which to film it and the actors couldn’t contain their laughter so it ended up as one big outtake.
Wholly agree with "Little Shop", "Legend" and "Rambo". Nice video. More like this, please!
I've heard that the ending for Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior) was changed after test screenings. The original cut had the Gyro Captain killed when his ultralight is shot down. The viewers were bummed out about the Gyro Captain getting killed. So the makers went and shot a new ending with the Gyro Captain surviving the crash, meeting up with Max and then going along with the tribe The new version resulted in much more positive test screenings.
Having been a cast member and eventual director an amateur version of Little Shop. I was gobsmacked when I saw the ending in the theatrical release. Leaving the theatre I was paraphrase thinking "You BASTARDS! You MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT ALL UP!!! Damn you all to hell..."
Clerks? Dante get's shot and killed at the end in the original version. It's even referenced in Clerks 3.
As for Little Shop of Horrors, so much prefer the original ending with the world takeover. So happy the negative was found and restored.
Apparently the (spoiler) fountain that Charlton Heston dies in at the end of The Omega Man was used many times, in redressed form, for all kinds of different films, because it's on the Warner Bros Ranch.
Most famously, you know the opening credits of Friends? Same fountain Heston died in.
You can add Gilliam's Brazil to the collection: the studios got got severely cold feet about the downbeat ending and tried to change it, producing two edits of the film. Gilliam took his version and screened it without consent of the studio...when it won awards, the studios relented.
I really enjoyed both endings of I Am Legend.
Really interesting discussion. Thanks Mitch!
The first one that came to mind was the Shawshank Redemption, where in the original ending we didn't get to see if Red and Andy meet up. (changed after testing)
LAST MAN ON EARTH was filmed in the early 60's, not 50's.. Ending was basically same as book but minus the line referring to himself wit a fully articulated note that he was now the legend. The idea is implied though.
And, just for the fun of it, re-done endings were also put together for a few films I worked on, including TREMORS, HEART AND SOULS, THE STEPFORD WIVES,, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (much to the film's detriment, I feel). And just off the top of my head while on this subject, others I can think of include THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, SPLASH, BLADERUNNER, , INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (original). PHASE 4, and THE LOST HORIZON (original), .
Watched the original Little Shop of Horrors ending, the song is great I just found the destruction bit went on too long. Bit of editing (like I know what I'm on about) might have helped. Fact it's not a happy ending doesn't bother me at all
Not sure if this counts but Independence Day (1996) originally had Randy Quaid's character rejected from flying in the final battle for being obviously drunk. He then turns up in his cropduster biplane with a missile strapped to it and he flies into the beam of the alien ship, destroying it. Audiences didn't like the way his sacrifice was premeditated and suicidal from the start (not to mention how silly it looks having a biplane flying alongside fighter jets) so they shot some extra scenes of him sobering up and put him into the battle flying an F18 with everyone else. He makes the decision in the moment when his last missile jams and he knows it's their last chance.
It's a very good editing job and I do think it was for the best.
Not necessarily a test audience, but „Freaks“ got brutalised after release. The final scens was supposed to include the strongman singing falsetto, implying his castration. Chopping that out kinda skews the film misogynist, as it implies the troupe only punished the woman for the murder plot.
"her tongue has been removed, one eye has been gouged out, the flesh of her hands has been melted and deformed to look like duck feet, her legs have been cut off, and what is left of her torso has been permanently tarred and feathered"
I'm not sure "being castrated" comes close to the fate she suffers, so it's still pretty one-sided, even in the original version.
Please do another video including Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey original ending. In Act 3, we get the duo chased and attacked by horrific real life versions of their 'fears': Colonel Oates, Granny S Preston esq and a fanged, hulking Easter Bunny. Then at the Battle of the Bands, the good robots run off so the boys face the evil robots themselves. The boys are killed again but cite the Grim Reaper with the amount of times they beat him at board games (4/7) This grants them 2 more chances to be resurrected (having already used 2 chances to get back on Earth) Then they sneak up on the bad robots and pop their heads off, defeating them (we see how easily their heads come off in an earlier scene) De Nomolos tries to hijack the concert but the boys use the robot heads to blow him up. The climax is a different speech and they play the final song in their regular clothes. De Nomolos ends up in Hell for eternity with Evil Bill and Ted (his own personal Hell, since he hates them) This ending was not well received, but was filmed in its entirety. They felt it was way too dark for a kids film. So the ending was changed, but according to Alex Winter, all the footage of the original ending is lost forever 😢 Only a few production stills remain
I thought Troutman topped Rambo in the book...Mandela?
Bladerunner had it's ending changed to the "happy" (and tonaly jarring) ending after test audience feedback.
Not really relevant, but amusing.
In Gremlins 2, there's a reference to Gone with the Wind, "Now in colour, and with a happier ending".
Not sure if it was due to test screening but Titanic had a slightly changed ending that was thankfully scrapped
In which the ship survives?
So any film having a woman villain is misogynistic?
That's not what he said: he explained why it felt misogynistic in that particular film.
@@cathygardner4438 And I don't agree with Mitch.
@@geoffreypiltz271 your perogative.