Doomed Ending.....

[DEAD BEAT]

I know that the doomed end of Dawn has always been a topic but i must throw this out.

I was recently watching Document of the Dead and when George and the director are walking around the mall talking he states clear as day that both ending's were shot!

I was just thinking about it and how it has even become a matter to talk about, i guess by now we can assume it will never materialize but it sure did exsist at one time or another!:D

Any comments?:rolleyes:

[AcesandEights]

Can celluloid be used as a substitute for rolling papers? If so, George and assorted hangers-on probably smoked the footage at some point around oh, '78 or '79.

That's my official take on the mystery.

[sandrock74]

Geez, this "alternate ending" footage is like the mysterious "spider pit" scene from the original 30's King Kong. Was it filmed? Did it exist/Does it? Yeesh.

[MikePizzoff]

I own the original film roll of Fran being beheaded. :shifty:

[MoonSylver]

Geez, this "alternate ending" footage is like the mysterious "spider pit" scene from the original 30's King Kong. Was it filmed? Did it exist/Does it? Yeesh.

Except the spider pit footage eventually surfaced didn't it?

There seems to be so much vague memory surrounding this I don't know if we'll ever have an answer unless the foot actually DOES surface. From what I understand a test shot was done of the Fran spfx & then the dummy was used for the shotgun to the head gag, so I've always leaned toward no...:confused:

[sandrock74]

Except the spider pit footage eventually surfaced didn't it?


Nope.
It was filmed for the 2005 King Kong, but the original 30's footage has never resurfaced. It was allegedly cut from the film after it SO traumatized audiences and its never been seen anywhere since.
Personally, I don't think it was ever filmed. We're relying on the memories of people who are in their 80's and 90's as "proof" that it was ever seen. I, myself, need more proof than that.

[capncnut]

I was recently watching Document of the Dead and when George and the director are walking around the mall talking he states clear as day that both ending's were shot!
According to Savini, it was only partially shot. Just a basic head effect followed by her body falling away from the chopper - maybe 3-4 seconds at most. Where is this footage, who knows?

Then again, Savini's memories can change drastically per DVD commentary/interview and he's a bit Jackanory-ish at times. This is not a knock 'cos let's face it, we'd all be a bit sktechy when it comes to FX made 31 years ago, especially when there's been so much work after. The one thing that's consistent is the "Tom, start thinking of ways to kill people" line. :D

[bassman]

All I've ever seen is a photograph of the dummy sitting on the roof of the mall.

I think we'll eventually see some sort of footage from this scene, but it will be so short and pointless we'll wonder why we ever cared.:confused:

[Trencher]

I own the original film roll of Fran being beheaded. :shifty:
Get your local studio to make it into digital format and show it to us! That would be cool.

[slickwilly13]

The 30's King Kong scene was filmed. I only saw still shots of what happened. There was other things down there eating them besides giant insects and arachnids. Smaller dinosaurs, too.

[blind2d]

Sounds nice. Everyone here realizes they sound like old fogies when talking about a '30s film right? (Just kidding, I respect you guys more than I do my parents).

[3pidemiC]

Yep.

http://www2.netdoor.com/~campbab/kong/spider.jpg

[sandrock74]

Yep.

http://www2.netdoor.com/~campbab/kong/spider.jpg

You know thats from King Kong? If it is, its the first ever picture I've ever seen of it! Still, how bad could claymation creatures "eating" people be? Grown adults couldn't handle that??
It's like the warning before the old Universal Frankenstein movie. When I saw that, I started laughing!

[clanglee]

People weren't as jaded as they are today. Society was even more puritanical, and film was new. I know it would shock me if I had little experience with the moving picture and I saw something from my nightmares come to life on screen in front of my eyes. No matter how "badly done" it seems to us, that was cream of the crop ahead of it's time technology back then!!

[slickwilly13]

It is King Kong. Notice the dinosaur in the background. The same type that made the cut after that scene. It was crawling up a large vine after the lead character, before he cut the vine. Btw, from what I understand there was a lot of screaming and agony during the feeding scene.

You have to realize movies were sort of new at the time. People were not exposed to violence in the theaters. Plus, people were uptight stiffs.

[MoonSylver]

It is King Kong. Notice the dinosaur in the background. The same type that made the cut after that scene. It was crawling up a large vine after the lead character, before he cut the vine. Btw, from what I understand there was a lot of screaming and agony during the feeding scene.

You have to realize movies were sort of new at the time. People were not exposed to violence in the theaters. Plus, people were uptight stiffs.

Yep. Kong, Frankenstein, etc had people freaking out back in the day. It was all so new & never seen before. They weren't jaded like we are today.

Glad to see someone else knew about this besides me. I was starting to think I'd imagined it. I'm pretty sure I saw it included in a special on AMC or TMC, maybe or some such.

Actually decided to do a search &, lo & behold: it's on Youtube. ;)

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PY0BGSi2T6U&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PY0BGSi2T6U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[blind2d]

wow... that scared me a little. hey, what the heck is that last guy with all the tentacles anyway?

[slickwilly13]

HELL YEAH!!! Awesome find. So it wasn't destroyed by the director. That scene was funny. Notice the small dinosaur crawling up the wall. He was the one I was referring to in the earlier post. You see him in the final cut. I do not remember them being trapped between Kong and a Stracosaurus, either. That was funny, too.

[capncnut]

Actually, for a film thats bordering on 76 years old, that was pretty fuggin' good. I might have to dust off my old VHS tape now.

Edit: Wait a minute, that's Peter Jackson's recreated version!

[EvilNed]

Man, I wish I could see the original.

[slickwilly13]

Edit: Wait a minute, that's Peter Jackson's recreated version!

What do you mean? He re-shot it in B&W with claymation?


Edit: Damnit! Well, it looks cool and it will be the closest thing we will ever see.

[sandrock74]

You almost had me fooled by that! I was wondering how a scene that was lost for nearly 80 years ended up on youtube and in such great shape to boot. Then I remembered the Peter Jackson recreation I've heard about. LOL

Still, it baffles me how grown men and women could find such a scene so horrorific that they would run out of the theater. Of course, these are the same people who believed that martians invaded New Jersey because they heard it on the radio!

Was the american public really so easily frightened back then??

[slickwilly13]

Same type who were giving marijuana users life prison sentences. *L* But really, I wasn't aware Jackson recreated that scene.

[MoonSylver]

Peter Jackson recreation? WTF?!?! Now I'm confused....:confused:

[ProfessorChaos]

yeah, i did a quick youtube search last night after reading this thread and stumbled across the scene. i almost thought that i was hot sh!t for a second, but then read the description and saw that pj had filmed it.

[sandrock74]

Professor, if you HAD found the legitimate lost scene, you would have definately been "The King of Hot Sh!t of Stink Mountain". No doubt!

[Kaos]

Peter Jackson recreation? WTF?!?! Now I'm confused....:confused:

Peter Jackson did a recreation of the spider pit with the folks at WETA. It was an extra on the release of the restored thirties King Kong DVD which I own.

[ProfessorChaos]

"The King of Hot Sh!t of Stink Mountain".

would you happen to be a fan of Mr. Show? This sounds very similar to the preachings of Reverend Winton Dupree.;)

[sandrock74]

would you happen to be a fan of Mr. Show? This sounds very similar to the preachings of Reverend Winton Dupree.;)

Honestly, I don't even know who that is. Is that a radio or tv show?

[ProfessorChaos]

Mr. Show is an awesome sketch comedy series that aired on HBO for 4 seasons during the mid 90's with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. "Swear to God", with the Reverend Winton Dupree, has a line very similar to the one you used earlier:
KRx7fU2Y0UA

but uh...back to topic, i really doubt we'll ever see footage of the helicopter suicide.

[sandrock74]

The helicopter suicide footage is sitting on a shelf next to the spider pit scene and the Luke Skywalker talking to Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine footage from Star Wars. The big question is, just where is this shelf?

[MoonSylver]

The helicopter suicide footage is sitting on a shelf next to the spider pit scene and the Luke Skywalker talking to Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine footage from Star Wars. The big question is, just where is this shelf?

GHAH!!! The Luke/Biggs footage was one I was hoping for when they did the Special Editions, but nooooo......:mad:

[blind2d]

Oh yeah... I think there's a still of that in a book I found at the library (where the books live) one time... coulda been a hallucination.

[MoonSylver]

Oh yeah... I think there's a still of that in a book I found at the library (where the books live) one time... coulda been a hallucination.

Yeah...it was in a storybook I had as a kid (still have in fact). And I have seen some of the footage where they meet back up, & where Luke sheds a tear & makes a reference to earlier dialog about the being "shooting stars" after Bigg's is shot down in the old broadcast TV edit.

One of the reasons I wanted to see this included was that I had read the storybook & novel when I was a kid before I ever saw the movie, so it seemed like it SHOULD have been in there!:)

[Thorn]

zEPQ9OYOPnU

[capncnut]

Fixed your link, Thorn. :)


The helicopter suicide footage is sitting on a shelf next to the spider pit scene and the Luke Skywalker talking to Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine footage from Star Wars. The big question is, just where is this shelf?
The Luke/Biggs footage from Star Wars has been around for some time now (see above).

[Thorn]

Thanks Cap I always mess that code up somehow.

[blind2d]

Wow, I thought I'd never live to see the day! You have brightened this moment of my life, sir. I humbly thank you.