Scenes can be cut out of movies for any number of reasons.
Sometimes they grind the plot to a halt, while other times they clash with the tone of the
rest of the movie.
Often, they’re just totally unnecessary.
These deleted scenes, however, are some of the greatest ever filmed which makes it even
more of a shame that they ended up on the cutting room floor.
Arguably the most important and horrifying scene in Andy Muschietti's [MUH-shee-EH-tee]
adaptation of It is the debut of Pennywise, Stephen King's unforgettable "Eater of Worlds."
Spawning a thousand memes and a thousand more nightmares, the moment when Pennywise lures
Georgie Denbrough into the sewers below Derry is as terrifying as it is instantly memorable,
and it's hard to imagine the situation could have played out differently.
But it turns out that Muschietti actually directed a surprise alternate opening for
It which ends in a very different way.
“See you later, bye!”
While this was obviously filmed as a gag, Muschietti's alternate opening does provoke
some interesting thoughts about the story.
If Georgie had survived Pennywise's attack, it's entirely possible that the evil demon’s
reign over the town of Derry would have continued unchallenged.
After all, the murder of Georgie was the beginning of the end of of his demise even if he didn’t
know it at the time.
When we first meet Steve Rogers in The Avengers, he’s taking out his frustration and despair
on a punching bag, as memories of his life during World War II flash through his mind.
But there’s also an entire deleted sequence which demonstrates just how depressed Cap
has really become.
The scene opens with Steve, alone in his apartment, watching World War II propaganda films.
After poring through the government files of his long-gone friends, he briefly considers
calling his old flame Peggy Carter but never picks up the phone.
Steve then wanders through a city filled with cell phones and fancy cars, completely lost
in the 21st century, before winding up at a cafe.
“Ask for her number, you moron.”
He then takes a lonely subway ride to the boxing gym where he meet him in the actual
film.
It's a shame this sequence was cut from the movie, since it shows the full extent of Steve's
isolation and makes it a more satisfying victory when he finally finds his place in the world.
Marvel movie dads are often rotten, and Thanos has got to be the worst of the bunch.
Even his favorite daughter Gamora has suffered a fair bit of abuse at his hands but while
their relationship is incredibly twisted, the two still feel some affection for each
other, and Infinity War did a good job of exploring their complex dynamic in a short
amount of time.
However, there's one deleted scene that digs even deeper into their relationship.
It opens in Thanos' throne room, with the Mad Titan showing his imprisoned daughter
a scene from their past, back when she was his most trusted assassin.
“By the look of it, you seemed content enough at the time.”
“I was a prisoner.”
But Gamora explains that that her self-loathing only started to disappear when she joined
up with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Even a guilt trip from Thanos isn’t enough to get her back onside.
“You had a family here, little one - you just didn’t care what happened to it.”
While the scene isn't exactly necessary to the story, it does give some color to one
of the movie’s most fascinating relationships.
A deleted scene doesn't need to be long to be great.
Take this moment from Spider-Man 2, for example.
The scene comes after Peter Parker has given up on his crime-fighting career, and is finally
ready to live a normal life having thrown his suit into a garbage can.
Eventually, the suit makes its way to J. Jonah Jameson.
The Daily Bugle’s cantankerous editor is thrilled that Spider-Man has called it quits,
but in this deleted scene we learn that maybe there’s a reason why Jameson dislikes Spidey
so much.
“Pew pew pew.”
Even though this scene is incredibly brief, it's a hysterical moment that suggests Jameson
might be a bigger Spider-Man fan than he cares to admit.
The weightlifting sequence is one of the best moments from M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable.
“How much is it, Dad?”
“About 350 pounds.”
It's a triumphant moment for the self-doubting David, but in one deleted scene he gets an
extra bit of reassurance that he's really something special.
After impressing his kid, David goes to visit the weight room at the football stadium where
he works and successfully lifts nearly 500 pounds.
It's a nice comic sting to close the scene, although, as Shyamalan himself has pointed
out, it was just a bit "redundant" coming straight after the basement sequence.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun.
Hannibal Lecter is a stone cold psychopath.
He’s a genuine monster who feeds on others, both emotionally and literally — but while
serial killers aren't usually big on feelings, there's a deleted scene from The Silence of
the Lambs that shows Hannibal is actually capable of empathy.
Locked away in his underworld prison, Hannibal launches into a monologue about the psychology
behind his fellow killer, Buffalo Bill.
“Our Billy wasn’t born a killer, Clarice.
Oh no, he was made one through years of systematic abuse.”
Tellingly, Hannibal isn’t speaking in his usual condescending tone — you can actually
hear the sympathy in his voice.
“Billy’s houses will be very small, with tiny windows; no flowers no pets no toys,
no sun.”
He ends his impassioned speech with a line that is both chilling and strangely sad.
"Our Billy wants to be reborn, Clarice.
And he will be reborn.”
Only segments of Hannibal's speech are heard in the movie’s theatrical cut, but had the
original scene remained intact, it might have offered audiences a deeper look into Bill’s
twisted mind and a better understanding of Hannibal Lecter himself.
Captain Quint has got to be one of the greatest movie characters of all time.
Played by the inimitable Robert Shaw, Quint is a salty sea dog who loves beer, hates sharks,
and has fun antagonizing "wealthy college boys."
It soon becomes clear that there's a lot more going on beneath Quint’s strange exterior,
but early in the film he’s played as a cackling coot with a bizarre sense of humor.
One deleted scene from Jaws demonstrates just how odd Quint can be.
Requiring some fishing line that’s strong enough to catch sharks, he drops by the local
music store to buy some piano wire.
There, he finds a young boy practicing the clarinet and starts to sing along.
“Bap bap bap bap bap bap bap bap.”
Granted, the scene doesn't really contribute much to the film and would've done some damage
to the story’s pacing, but it’s a hilarious performance from Shaw and a welcome chance
to spend some more time with Quint.
One of the defining character traits of Lethal Weapon’s Martin Riggs is his unflinching
willingness to put himself in harm’s way.
This is a guy who’s always hoping that somebody will end his lonely life and his desire for
death is made all the clearer in this deleted scene, where Riggs squares off against a schoolyard
sniper.
Riggs gets a call that there's a gunman firing at a school, and the SWAT team isn't going
to show up anytime soon.
Naturally, he makes his move.
“Get down get down you're in the line of fire”
When he finally reaches the sniper, he doesn’t hold back.
Yeah, it's not entirely necessary to the plot, but don’t pretend it’s not badass.
Few deleted scenes have captured the hearts of movie lovers quite like the "Jitterbug"
musical number that was cut from The Wizard of Oz.
Clocking in at six whole minutes, the dance sequence took five weeks to rehearse and perform,
costing MGM a total of $80,000.
Reports suggest that the scene was ultimately cut to reduce the film's running time, but
it's also possible that the upbeat nature of the song simply didn't fit with the story’s
darker elements.
Written by composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E.Y.
Harburg, the scene was based around a pink and blue insect that caused its victims to
dance uncontrollably once bitten.
Although the Jitterbug wasn't included in the movie’s theatrical cut, hints towards
its existence still remain.
“I’ve sent a little insect to take the fight out of them.”
It just goes to show some things can’t be disposed of so easily.
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