nems12's terrific Logan's Run Lost Footage video clips are now back online!! To view them: click here .
During the making of any film, the director has many decisions he must make in order to achieve his ultimate goal in presenting his film to the public. Is it running too long? Is the ending not going well with test audiences? Is the beginning way too dramatic or totally unnecessary? Will it pass the censors o.k. and what rating will it earn, so as not to limit a certain audience?
Logan's Run is just one of the millions of movies that must go through this final editing process. A film must be accepted by the vast majority of an audience, so as to capture enough sales and PROFITS as possible.
Do you want an 'R' rating and restrict younger viewers from seeing your film? Or could you settle for a 'PG' rating, and cut out the 'racy' footage altogether. No one may ever know that this footage was even missing to begin with.
Logan's Run had 3 main scenes cut from the film's final release. Unfortuantely, most of the actual footage has long since been lost or destroyed (the Special Edition Laserdisc even mentions this), and 'mostly' all that remains are some still photos and footage without sound.
So without further delay, we present the missing scenes, along with the excerpts from the original Logan's Run Script (as written by David Zelag Goodman).
The Film's Original Opening
The Francis7 Hunt Scene. Cut from the beginning of the film because it supposedly started the movie on a depressing note. Also, approximately 10-15 mintues into the film, we get another runner chase scene, making this one seem unnecessary. Hence, this footage ended up on the cutting room floor.
While Logan and Francis are walking through Arcade at the beginning of the film, Francis bumps into a female 'aquaintance' whom he presumably had a 'liason' with. She is to be a participant in that evening's Carousel ritual and that is what they discuss. This scene was cut because of time and it seemed to slow the movie down because we find out both how this society and ritual works later in the film, so it presumably really doesn't need to be said here.
Too bad, because what is said here shows how cold this society really is to one another. It's just a communtiy of uncaring, egotistical 'children' only out to please themselves and not one another, a major premise to the story.
The Box Sculpture Scene
Before Box will tell Logan and Jessica what happened to the other runners, he asks them to pose nude so that he may sculpt them in ice, to be permanently displayed at his Ice Palace. There are a few different theories as to why this scene was cut from the film at the last minute. Was it due to time constaints, or was it to ensure that the film receive a PG-rating in order for the studio to maximize profits?
According to Logan's Run director Michael Anderson's commentary on the DVD, he claims that the scene was merely cut to help trim the film's total running time to come in at under two hours. Whatever the reason, supposedly the footage is gone forever. Sadly, all that remains of this most-talked about scene are a few still photos circling around, the small bit of actual footage found in the trailer, and the actual spoken dialogue from this scene - courtesy of a fan who snuck a tape recorder into the film's advanced screening event, months before the familiar 'cut' version of the film would premiere!
This lost scene captures another great underlying theme, the loss of love in this society. As you read this scene, you can tell that Logan and Jessica start sensing this feeling of love for one another. Logan begins to realize what Jessica has always believed in - that LOVE between two people can exist! It's not just using people for sex anymore. People can live happily together because of this strong emotion called love, creating a family and growing old together.
We begin to see Logan's and Jessica's love for each other while they're swimming in the river later in the film, but THIS cut scene , in our opinion, shows this emotion and discovery much more beautifully! It's a shame that this footage is gone forever....
Still, even more footage was filmed but cut. These include several more moments during the Love Shop scene, some footage from the Sandman Gymnasium (the gym footage is included in the Marvel Comics adaptation of the film), some missing dialogue between Logan5 and Holly13 at New You #483, and even more 'muscle' and drug references from the Cubs in Cathedral. The Marvel Comic series includes an interpretation of the original opening hunt between Francis and the runner he terminates in the residence pool, as well as Logan and Jessica's missing Ice Sculpture scene.)
Other smaller edits were made throughout the film, mostly in lines referencing past edited events or drug related dialogue ('muscle' and 'lifts'). My personal favorite cut line was one that was spoken by Peter Ustinov (Old Man) of all people. When Francis shows up in the US Capitol building and makes his appearance known by calling down to Logan, the Old Man looks up at Francis and says, "Oh my..... more company." One of the funniest lines in the entire movie! I'm sure it was cut because it created an unintential audience tension break when the film actually needed to build upon that tension even more! After all, this is THE moment the audience has been waiting for - the final confrontation between Logan and Francis - and that one single line threw it all out the window! Good edit call, Michael Anderson! Too bad though - it was the funniest line in the entire movie!
Francis and Logan thank you for checking out these cool 'lost' pictures!