20 Deleted Scenes Better Than What Made the Final Cut
Deleted scenes and alternate endings were kings of the DVD era of cinema, where the extras were almost as important as the movie itself. But the truth is that deleted content has existed forever, because one of the most important jobs for a filmmaker is knowing exactly what to cut and what to leave to tell the story.
There's no right or wrong when you have to make that decision, as you don't have an audience yet and you don't even know how they're going to react. All you can do is trust your gut and try to keep the studio executives from messing your movie up. But even then, you'll never be sure you made the right decision. And the decision might haunt your dreams for decades after the movie is released, even if it's a success.
So, here are some deleted scenes that might actually be better than what made the final cut.
Scream 2
After breaking every law of the slasher genre with Scream, there was a lot of pressure on the second one. Originally, the movie was going to start with a gruesome scene at a college campus, but it ended up being replaced by the opening at the theater, leaning toward the meta commentary.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Saruman's death wasn't part of the theatrical release, but was later added in the extended versions of the trilogy, like many other cut parts.
First Blood
The first Rambo film was going to end with Sylvester Stallone's character committing suicide in front of Colonel Trautman, but test screenings led to a change that spawned a whole franchise.
Pulp Fiction
The dance scene between Uma Thurman and John Travolta was going to be a lot longer to show the dynamic between the characters.
Kill Bill Vol. 2
One of the flashbacks had action star Michael Jai White fighting David Carradine. This was the only scene that'd show Bill in action, but it was cut.
I Am Legend
The movie was going to adapt the book's ending, but the audience reaction at test screenings scared the studio, and they went with a hopeful approach nobody liked.
Blade Runner
The Unicorn Dream scene in Blade Runner was a key element that hinted at Harrison Ford's character being a replicant. Without that scene, fans created all kinds of theories for years until the Director's Cut included that sequence.
Batman Forever
Val Kilmer was supposed to face a giant animatronic bat during a scene, but it was cut because it was too dark. And there was a giant bat that audiences weren't ready for. It was an introspective journey into Bruce Wayne's mind, but people were there for Jim Carrey's Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face.
Avengers
The post-credits shawarma scene was filmed and added after the movie premiere, but the original one had Chris Evans' Captain America still adjusting to modern times.
Aliens
A deleted scene from Aliens showed Ripley's daughter had died at 66 years old, giving more depth to the character and her relationship with Newt. Alien 3, on the other hand, has so many deleted scenes that you can make two movies out of it. And they actually did.
This is Spinal Tap
A whole segment of the band visiting the zoo was cut from the movie. Most of the movie's dialogues were improvised, so we lost unique material in that cut.
The Fly
The movie was going to include another experiment where Seth Brundle tries to merge a baboon and a cat with gruesome results. The scene was cut for being too much. And if you've seen The Fly, you know too much was probably too much.
Terminator
A deleted scene from the first movie showed Cyberdyne Systems' employees finding the Terminator's parts, which would bring the creation of Skynet. It was a nice touch that was removed entirely.
The Incredibles
The first storyboards of the movie showed the villain Syndrome being killed in the very first scene. Everyone liked the character so much, they ended up making it the main villain, so maybe it wasn't that bad.
Spider-Man 3
The movie was going to show a lot of psychological torment for Peter Parker, including flashbacks of Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborn.
Star Wars
In A New Hope, Han Solo was going to make his first appearance talking to an Imperial officer at a docking bay. The scene was cut to keep the character's aura as mysterious as possible.
Eternal Sunshina of a Spotless Mind
The movie completely cuts Ellen Pompeo's character, which changes how the audience perceives Jim Carrey's character. There was also a scene referencing other memory erasures, hinting at an endless cycle of love and loss.
Die Hard with a Vengeance
A scene was cut showing John McClane in an elevator, talking briefly with a man in a relaxed manner before the bomb threat. There was also a change to the sign he's forced to use in the picture, which was originally very offensive.
Almost Famous
The movie was going to feature a whole scene where the main character played Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, which is 8 minutes long. The band didn't want the song in the movie, so they couldn't have it. Later, the DVD included the scene without the song and invited you to play it alongside it.
War of the Worlds
What's known as the Camelot scene was going to show the aliens sucking up and feeding on human blood. The tone of the CGI-rendered scene was too gruesome compared with the rest of the film.