4. Little Shop of Horrors - Audrey II's Rampage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSPsyCYaIW4 Talk about a studio messing with a film; the original cut of Little Shop of Horrors was about 20 minutes longer than the version we saw, but the studio balked at the notion of Seymour and Audrey being eaten by their plant creation, Audrey II, and that's only the beginning. Following this, Audrey II grows to gigantic proportions, eventually destroying New York City during a crazy rampage sequence, before climbing to the top of the Statue of Liberty. The theatrical version instead has a rushed, much less memorable happy ending, while the studio remains fiercely protective over allowing the full original cut to be seen by anyone, and it probably doesn't help that a studio fire destroyed the original negative many years ago. Though the film remains a hugely popular cult classic, it would probably be held in higher regard had the studio has the stones to stick to Frank Oz's original - not to mention damn expensive - vision, which we're only able to view now through these sparse, if awesome, YouTube clips.
Shaun Munro
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Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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