10 Awesome Deleted Scenes That Should've Been Restored
3. The Courtroom - Natural Born Killers
The Scene: A survivor of one of Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory Knox's (Juliette Lewis) rampages, Grace Mulberry (Ashley Judd), takes the stand and is cross-examined by Mickey. He uses a number of intimidation tactics and ultimately ends up murdering her with a pencil, which he repeatedly stabs into her chest.
Why It Was Deleted: Oliver Stone claims that he cut it because it pulled Mickey and Mallory back in a most violent direction, when their murder of the Indian in the desert is supposed to be a philosophical turning point for them to consider their actions. Tonally, the courtroom scene doesn't quite fit according to Stone, and given that the scene lasts nearly 10 minutes, pacing may have been a problem.
Why It Should've Stayed In: It's an absolute masterpiece of a scene in terms of the social commentary on media violence and courtroom testimony, not to mention Harrelson's charismatic performance. Stone's direction is also terrific, and the editing really makes this one extraordinarily powerful, so it's a shame it didn't even make it into the Director's Cut. Check it out here.