The Muppet Movie Extended Edition

"I hope that something better comes along ..." - Kermit/Rowlf Something better indeed. Here is a great extended PAL DVD version of the classic Muppet Movie, restoring a number of scenes and shots later cut of the film. It's rare enough that not a lot of people know about it, but there are indeed two edits of The Muppet Movie out there - the familiar version and a longer edit which has never been made available on DVD. It turned up on VHS in England in the 1980s. I was especially impressed by the ending of this version, which is I think exponentially better than the theatrical ending. We hear the Muppets talking over the end credits, as they talk about the movie and their roles in it. It's funny and sweet and very Muppety. The audio is the only difference here - a big difference. And then there's the full version of Rowlf and Kermit's song "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along," which is excellent. [Both clips are available at Yootoob from user ocpmovie2.] We also get more footage of the evil Doc Hopper, and other little moments throughout. The author, who is British so his DVD is in PAL format, has taken an old VHS of the extended version, and edited the extra footage into a nice high quality DVD version of the film, so that we can all enjoy it. For the most part you're watching the theatrical cut in DVD quality, but then for the extended clips we cut to lower quality VHS footage. It's certainly noticeable but not jarring, especially since the audio is edited smoothly. I did notice that sometimes he used the lower quality VHS for shots that were still in the theatrical cut in some form, but perhaps the shots were cut shorter in the theatrical cut or something. The VHS he used was apparently pretty much a "full screen" "open matte" transfer, rather than pan & scanned, so we don't lose much if any picture when it's cropped to widescreen. Certainly when we cut from his VHS footage to DVD footage, I don't see much if any difference in the framing of shots. Very nice. When originally released in theaters in England (and possibly elsewhere), the runtime of the film was 97.5 minutes or so. Many small scenes were cut from the film to reach the current 94 minute running time. The original longer version has become very rare for some reason, but was released in England on PAL laserdisc and home video during the 1980s. Most notably the longer version has a different (and better) ending, where the Muppets talk to each other during the credits, talking about how they did in the movie. This is a very funny scene. Also, the full version of "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along" is performed by Rowlf and Kermit, with several more verses than in the 94 minute version. The longer version, as released on video in England in the 80s, contains the following extended scenes: Extended shots of Kermit entering the bar where Fozzie is performing, after the James Coburn cameo. More of Fozzie being heckled in the bar. He honks a horn which falls apart. "This is not my night." Extra shots as Doc Hopper and Max watch Fozzie and Kermit dance in the bar. A little bit more dancing and more of the crowd manhandling Kermit and Fozzie. An extended commercial for Doc Hopper's Frog Legs. More of Doc Hopper asking Kermit to be his spokesman. Extra Fozzie in "Moving right along." "A bear in his natural habitat - a Studebaker." Even more Doc Hopper trying to convince Kermit. "Shut up, Max!" In the church, an extended recap of the entire movie by Dr. Teeth - we see shots from previous scenes. It's not clear if this was actually in the version which screened in theaters, or if it was added for the video version, as the laserdisc version seems to have been edited on video. (Because this is a recap, the version on this fan DVD still has DVD picture quality - the author was able to use footage from earlier, excluding one shot of Doc Hopper.) Doc Hopper and Max chase Kermit and Fozzie. Max asks what his cut of a million is. A whole extra car chase scene of Max trying to catch up to Fozzie and Kermit, and failing. An alternate musical arrangement on Never Before, Never Again. (The UK and Canadian releases of the soundtrack LP feature yet another recording of the song...) Great extended version of Rowlf and Kermit dueting on "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along," with about two or three more verses. "A laddy needs a lassie." "Come father's day, the litterbug's gonna get ya." (For some reason, on the fan DVD the lower quality footage covers much of the sequence, even though some of it is actually in the theatrical cut, such as "She made a monkey out of old king kong" and the final verse.) Extra shot of Giant Animal laughing at the bad guys (possibly deleted because Animal's fingers were thought to look unconvincing - just a guess from me). LESS reaction shots in Orson Welles scene than the shorter version - strange. A lot more explosion and set destruction footage when Crazy Harry blows up the set at the end, before "Life's like a movie." Seems like padding really. It's set to circus-y music. Extended and alternate ending in the movie theater - Sweetums says "I just knew I'd catch up to you guys." All Muppets talk and say funny things over ending credits. Robin says Kermit is a great actor. Fozzie wants to hear that he was funny in the movie, but no one will tell him that except Kermit. Muppets are in character for the entire credits. Music is also different in this section. Apart from Sweetums shots, picture quality doesn't change for this addition as only sound is changed. Timecode Cause Lost/gained Notes Audio Content (dialogue) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0:01:01:15 Film break -0:00:00:04 0:01:41:01 Film break -0:00:00:02 0:02:13:11 Film break -0:00:00:01 0:03:18:14 Film break -0:00:00:07 0:07:25:10 Film break -0:00:00:01 0:08:07:02 Film break -0:00:00:01 0:11:26:21 Film break -0:00:00:04 0:11:47:13 Cut -0:00:00:10 Trim handle/start 0:12:04:02 Cut -0:00:00:11 Trim handle/start 0:14:12:19 Cut -0:00:10:05 Edit end/3 shots/handle Fozzie: "Hey hey hey hey, I got it, I got it!" [horn breaks] "This is not my night..." 0:14:51:20 Cut -0:00:00:21 Trim handle/start Music change; lasts until next cut 0:15:19:10 Cut -0:00:08:11 Edit end/start Camera pans from window to show Doc Hopper poster on wall 0:15:42:05 Cut -0:00:06:00 Edit handle/shot/handle Kermit being manhandled: "Frogs are ticklish, guys!" 0:17:09:22 Film break -0:00:00:01 0:19:07:04 Cut -0:00:18:06 Edit handle/3 shots/handle Alt. take on "If you want/Just a snack" plus "So like we say down at Doc Hopper's, 'Hop on down to Hopper's!' We 'hop' that you do!" 0:19:49:10 Cut -0:00:05:21 Edit handle/2 shots/handle Kermit: "Me?" Doc: "You! Singin' and dancin' into every living room across the country!" 0:20:58:19 New reel -0:00:00:01 0:21:03:15 Film break -0:00:11:21 0:22:42:21 Cut -0:00:01:03 Trim handle/start 0:24:22:00 Film break -0:00:00:03 0:24:49:14 Cut -0:00:01:16 Edit end/handle Doc: "I know what you're thinking." 0:25:08:13 Film break -0:00:00:01 0:26:04:20 Film break -0:00:00:06 0:26:49:06 Film break -0:00:00:03 0:27:47:03 Film break -0:00:07:08 0:28:29:03 Film break -0:00:00:04 0:28:32:07 Film break -0:00:01:18 0:28:46:13 Film break -0:00:00:02 0:29:18:03 Cut -0:00:42:02 15 shots (taken from earlier in film) Dr Teeth's recap 0:30:24:01 Film break -0:00:04:20 0:30:39:13 Film break -0:00:00:01 0:32:59:10 Cut -0:00:02:11 Trim end Rainbow spin 0:33:50:07 Cut -0:00:06:03 Edit handle/2 shots/start Doc: "That frog is worth a million!" Max: "How much is my share of a million?" Doc: "Forget about the money." 0:33:58:23 Cut -0:00:00:12 Trim handle/start Music timing change; lasts until 0:34:56:00 0:34:15:15 Cut -0:00:04:02 Edit handle/shot/handle Fozzie: "Waaa - burning rubber!" 0:34:21:17 Cut -0:00:00:17 Trim handle/start 0:34:35:17 Cut -0:00:20:15 Edit handle/7 shots/handle Max: "Where are they?" Doc: "Turn around, Max! Not you! Turn the car around!" [car skids around wildly] "Look out, Max - the tree!" [car skids to a halt] "Can't you make a simple U-turn?!" Max: "What's the matter, Doc? Don't you like the complicated kind?" 0:40:59:00 New reel -0:00:00:04 0:43:46:16 Film break -0:00:00:03 0:45:03:17 Film break -0:00:00:04 0:45:19:14 Film break -0:00:00:04 0:47:34:09 Film break -0:00:00:08 0:47:51:01 Film break -0:00:00:03 0:47:58:02 Film break -0:00:00:06 0:48:10:18 Film break -0:00:00:05 0:48:55:17 Film break -0:00:00:02 0:50:19:01 Film break -0:00:00:04 0:54:29:20 Tape change -0:00:00:01 0:56:10:23 Cut -0:00:52:07 Edit handle/8 shots/handle "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along" - extra verse 0:58:47:19 Film break -0:00:00:05 0:59:04:20 Film break -0:00:00:07 1:01:24:09 New reel -0:00:00:02 1:05:38:11 Film break -0:00:00:04 1:06:33:00 Film break -0:00:00:01 1:19:26:10 Film break -0:00:00:04 1:19:48:12 Film break -0:00:00:01 1:21:15:03 New reel -0:00:00:03 1:21:46:14 Film break -0:00:00:05 1:21:58:08 Film break -0:00:00:02 1:23:54:05 Film break -0:00:00:04 1:24:01:04 Film break -0:00:00:03 1:24:44:05 Cut -0:00:07:15 Edit handle/shot/??? Giant Animal 1:24:51:21 Film break -??? Minimum of 6 frames missing 1:24:57:22 Film break -0:00:00:02 1:26:12:00 Film break -0:00:00:05 1:27:22:09 Film break -0:00:00:04 1:28:12:04 Insert +0:00:05:19 Extra reaction shots of Lew Lord and Kermit 1:28:31:06 Film break -0:00:00:01 1:29:16:00 Film break -0:00:00:03 1:30:18:20 Film break -0:00:00:06 1:32:33:02 Film break -0:00:00:02 1:32:52:03 Cut -0:00:03:13 Edit handle/4 shots/handle Audio change from 1:32:43:18 Collapsing scenery 1:32:59:20 Cut -0:00:00:02 Edit handle/start Caused by a shot being moved 1:33:01:01 Cut -0:00:02:20 Edit end/shot/handle Crazy Harry 1:33:05:04 Cut -0:00:06:19 Edit end/3 shots/start Reaction shots 1:33:15:06 Cut -0:00:02:23 Edit handle/shot Reaction shot 1:33:21:05 Film break -??? Unknown number of frames missing 1:33:21:06 Cut -0:00:02:09 Trim shot/handle Audio change ends 1:33:32:00 1:33:42:14 Film break -0:00:00:02 1:34:29:02 Cut -0:00:01:08 Trim handle/start 1:34:32:22 Film break -0:00:00:04 1:38:18:06 Film break -0:00:00:09 Audio notes ----------- Timecode Edit Details --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0:14:33:00 94 New audio - Fozzie: "Cut! Cut!" 0:14:51:20 94 Music change due to re-edit of scene; lasts until next cut 0:33:58:23 94 Music change due to re-edit of scene; lasts until 0:34:56:00 0:41:35:00 94 New audio - different arrangement of "Never Before, Never Again" 0:54:00:00 94 Underscore added until 0:54:20:00 1:32:43:18 94 Music change due to re-edit of scene; lasts until 1:33:32:00 1:34:31:00 94 Music mixed up, dialogue mixed down 1:35:47:00 94 Music changed to "The Magic Store"

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