The Thing (1982) - Alternate versions - IMDb (original) (raw)
The Thing
- CBS edited 12 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.
- In the original Australian video version of the scene between Bennings and Childs where Bennings comes running into the room and says to Childs, "Childs! Mac wants the flamethrower!" Childs turns to look at him, and the next scene starts. But in the DVD version of the film, the scene is extended when Bennings comes in and says "Childs! Mac wants the flamethrower!" then Childs asks, "Mac wants the what?" Bennings replies "You heard what he said now MOVE!" then Childs says lastly, "Dammit!" while getting his flamethrower gear on.
- The film was cut in Finland back in 1982 to receive the K18 rating, these cuts include:
- The scene where the dog turns to the weirdo creature is shortened, the scene where the stomach opens and rips doc's hands off is shortened (the stomach opening is intact, but the hand-severing is no more), shots of the alive separate head have been deleted, the scene where one of the team members turns to a weirdo-creature pretty graphically (in the blood test) is shortened, and the burning of Windows is shortened.
- List of differences and extended/alternate scenes from TV cut of The Thing;
- Entire TV cut is shown in cropped screen.
- Voiceover is present during some scenes.
- Entire opening with spaceship crash plays much faster.
- Different version of "The Thing" theme playing during the first 5 minutes.
- Shot where "United States Outpost 31" sign is shown appears to be couple of seconds longer.
- Extra 6 seconds long scene where Windows is introduced by voiceover saying how he is radio operator who can't wait to get back into states.
- Mac is also introduced by voiceover saying how he is ex army pilot who got into confrontation with someone and then he took his assignment in outpost. This voiceover is spoken during the "Cheatin' Bitch" scene, however, almost entire scene is cut and only opening 4 seconds are present.
- Extra shot of camp radio antenna.
- Extra 7 seconds long scene where Childs is introduced by voiceover saying that he is mechanic. In this scene he stops working on bulldozer after he notices Norwegian chopper flying around. Also Palmer can be seen walking behind him.
- For some reason, Childs's line about Norwegian chopper is strangely dubbed, deleting his "Says Norge..." words.
- Scene where Norwegian pilot is trying to find the grenade before it explodes is deleted, instead it cuts to Mac and others and then it cuts back where a Norwegian with the rifle ducks down when grenade explodes and destroys the chopper.
- Extra 6 seconds long scene where Garry is introduced by voiceover saying that he is an army man who likes his job as a station manager. In this scene Garry checks his gun after he shot and killed the Norwegian with the rifle and takes out empty shell from it. Also, some cheesy music is added in background when he kills Norwegian.
- Scene where crew is trying to put out the burning chopper is 7 seconds longer with camera moving to the left showing more of the destroyed chopper.
- Voiceover introduces Clark during his first scene with Norwegian dog saying that he is doing some research about effects of extreme cold on animal behavior.
- Voiceover then says "These men were commissioned by United States National Science Institute to gather data concerning the physical and natural science of continent of Antarctica." This voiceover is present during the scene where crew watches destroyed chopper. At the same time some extra music is heard during the scene (Sterilization track from original soundtrack)
- Mac's line "First god damn week of winter" is changed into "First darn week of winter".
- Alternate take of Bennings having his wound stitched by Copper. Instead of the close ups of their faces, alternate side shot of both of them is shown.
- Voiceover introduces Copper during this scene as "graduate from Harvard medical school" and how "personal tragedy in his life sent him on this adventure".
- Voiceover introduces Bennings as "meteorologist, old pro with many papers published in his field".
- Interesting scene where Blair is introduced by voiceover saying that he is biologist. What's interesting is that the scene where he is introduced is actually scene where he is looking at a photo of Norwegians found in their station. Of course, this TV version doesn't show a close up of Norwegians on the photo, it only shows Blair sitting and looking at something.
- Alternate line from Blair. When he is talking with Windows he says "Windows, come on" instead of just "Come on", like in theatrical version.
- Funny sounding dubbed line where Windows says "Look, i haven't been able to reach a soul in two weeks". Then again, Sterilization track is heard in background.
- Extra scene where Palmer is introduced by voiceover. This scene has couple extra shots of him looking at Garry who is checking Norwegian which he killed. Also in this scene, Norris is introduced by voiceover. Similary like with Blair's introduction, a shot of his face is actually just a little longer shot of his reaction taken from other scene later in the movie where Mac and Copper have brought burned body from Norwegian camp.
- Extra scene where Garry is checking dead Norwegian's tags and asks Childs did they hear anything what Norwegian was saying. Childs responds "Am i start lookin' Norwegian to you, bwana?"
- Voiceover introduces Nauls during his arrival in the room where the crew is checking the dead Norwegian.
- About 8 seconds long alternate scene where Fuchs is introduced by voiceover. Instead of a view of entire room like in normal version, scene shows close up of Fuchs while Nauls is rolling behind him and then Garry gets into the shot and asks how long Norwegians were stationed there.
- When Nauls says "bullshit" the word is dubbed. Also when he says how Palmer is the way he is since the first day, camera doesn't shows Palmer raising his middle finger, instead it shows him turning over to Nauls and then cuts onto next scene.
- Palmer's line "Shit Doc, I'll give you a lift" is cut. Instead he just says, "Doc I'll give you a lift".
- Scene where Mac agrees to take Doc to the Norwegian camp is slightly cut, or edited differently.
- Different version of The Thing theme is playing while the Norwegian dog is under the table.
- Scene where Bennings is shouting at Nauls to turn the music down is not shown, instead it cuts to usual camera view of the entire kitchen and games room, and dog moving across the hallway.
- Scene where Mac and Doc find the ax in the door inside Norwegian camp is cut.
- Scene where Mac and Doc are checking the corpse of a dead Norwegian is cut short (about 15 seconds), it only shows two close ups of Mac's face, hand with frozen blood on it and Doc's line "My god, what the hell happened here?" is heard off screen.
- Extra line is heard by Mac after he finds Norwegians' video unit. It's something like "Video cassettes oughta tell us something".
- Extra line is spoken by Mac in a little longer scene after he and Doc found a dead two-face thing. After he says "Help me find the shovel, Doc", both of them are walking away and Mac says "We can get this thing into chopper".
- And then, the scene where Bennings is telling Nauls to turn down the music is shown, but Bennings's line "Turn that crap down" is dubbed into "Turn that junk down".
- Scene where a Norwegian dog watches the crew bringing the dead two-face thing inside has different "The Thing" theme playing in background.
- Scene where crew watches burned two-face is cut down and little sped up, but it has extra shot of following close up on Blair, Bennings and Norris.
- Autopsy of the thing is cut short, but it looks like it has little longer shot of Fuchs looking at shredded clothes.
- Scene where Palmer changes videotapes is cut. It doesn't show Palmer and Childs smoking pot and watching what looks like a porn movie.
- Entire kennel scene is cut short and edited. Much of the gore and violence is deleted or cut short. Part where Mac is walking inside kitchen and gets a drink is cut, instead it just shows him hearing the screaming and activating alarm. The alarm sound is much louder in this version. Mac's line "Get your ass over here" is changed into "Get your butt over here". After Childs burns the dog-thing, somebody in background says "Stop! I wanna see what the hell that is!" However, voice doesn't sound like it belongs to anyone from crew. There is also extra shot of Blair watching the carnage, but it looks like this shot is taken from some other part of the movie.
- There is alternate, almost completely different scene after the autopsy of the dog-thing where Blair explains to everyone what the thing is. This scene has different dialogue and extra shots of everyone in the room.
- Extra scene where Mac shows everyone ripped clothes that Nauls found.
- Mac's line "Screw it, I'm gonna go anyway" is cut to "I'm gonna go anyway"
- Word "Jesus" is deleted from Mac's line "Jesus, how long do you think it has been in ice"
- Childs's "Voodoo bullshit" words are changed into "Voodoo bull stuff". Also his "motherfucker" word is changed into "monkey fella"
- Extra scene where Bennings sees someone inside the kennel and thinks it's Clark. This is actually part of his original deleted death scene.
- Little longer scene where Blair is doing his research with thing's cells. During this scene he reads the words and lines shown on his computer out loud.
- Alternate take of the scene where Windows is looking at two-face. Instead of close up on two-face, camera stays on Windows and we see him saying his "We gotta just burn these things" line onscreen, while in normal version he says that off screen. There is what appears to be an added line where Windows says "I wish they left this thing at the Norwegians' camp". This line is clearly not spoken by actor, instead it's dubbed by someone else. Also, the part where blood from two-face is dripping on floor is cut short and instead the scene cuts to Bennings from another angle. Different music is heard in this alternate scene.
- Mac has extra line in the beginning of the scene where he talks with Fuchs; "Is that one of Blair's notebooks?" Fuchs also has an extra line in the end; "Mac, I just can't forget that Blair is great scientist."
- Scene where Windows sees Bennings being assimilated is cut short in a way that it doesn't show blood on the floor and Bennings covered with blood, instead camera stays on Windows whose line "Jesus Christ" is changed into "Holy smokes". Windows's line "I swear to god it had a hold of him" is dubbed by someone with different voice into "I swear to you it had a hold of him". Alarm sound is not heard in this version, and screaming of Bennings-thing is barely heard, but the music is louder.
- Garry's line "My god" line is poorly dubbed in "My gosh".
- Scene where crew is burning the things is cut. It doesn't show parts where you can see dead bodies burning.
- Blair's "Son of a bitch" line during his rampage is deleted. Some of his other lines are also changed.
- Mac's "Christ" line is dubbed with some other word.
- Scene where Doc gives Blair a shot is edited. Instead of a close up on the injection and the arm, the scene shows Blair saying his "Why am i here?" line onscreen.
- Scene where crew is talking outside of tool shed is edited differently.
- Scene where blood is gushing out in storage is cut short and edited. First, it doesn't show someone's legs moving next to the blood, instead it cuts to "Garry! Hey you guys come here!" line. Alternate shot shows close up of Mac saying "Who's got access to it?" line. Extra line is spoken by Fuchs. "Something wants to keep us from making the blood tests." Alternate shot shows close up of Childs saying "So what, is that supposed to clear him" and then one extra shot shows Windows turning around and running into the hallway. Clark's "Like hell you will" line is not heard.
- There is what looks like to be an extended or alternate shot of Mac pointing his flamethrower on Doc.
- Scene where Mac is recording his audio message is cut. It only shows part from "One other thing..." and to "R.J. MacReady, U.S. outpost number 31".
- Alternate shot during Mac's conversation with Fuchs shows close up of Mac saying "Alright" and then it cuts to extra shot of Fuchs while additional line is heard from Mac; "Keep trying to find that new blood test".
- Scene where Fuchs is outside after seeing someone in dark has two extra shots of left and right side of the camp and he is also heard saying "MacReady" when he finds Mac's clothes in snow.
- Windows's line "Hey fuck you Palmer" is very obviously dubbed into "Hey fry you Palmer". Mac's "Alright, cut the bullshit" line is cut in a funny way. It shows him getting mad and saying "Alright cut the bull" and then scene cuts and suddenly he is calm.
- Scene where Mac and others are asking Blair did he see Fuchs is deleted, instead it shows extra shot of tow line and them finding Fuchs dead.
- Scene where crew is refusing to let Mac back inside is edited differently.
- Mac says extra line while he is holding a flare and dynamite. It sounds like "Something set me to go to my shack". His "You asshole" line is dubbed "You jackass".
- Scene where Norris turns into the thing is cut. It doesn't show his head trying to get away and it cuts most of the other gore effects. However, it has two extra shots of Mac and two extra shots of crew members.
- There is one short extra shot of Childs after Garry says that Mac is not gonna blow them up. Also, a scene where Clark is shot is edited differently.
- Blood test scene; Extra music is added (maybe "Humanity Part 1" track from original soundtrack). Close up of Nauls getting his finger cut and his reaction is cut. There is one extra shot of Mac watching Windows cutting his finger and one extra shot of Palmer watching them. Childs's "It's a crock of shit" line is changed into "It is crock of stuff". First couple seconds of Nauls watching the bodies of Doc and Clark are cut. Palmer's transformation scene is cut short, but not as much as one with Norris. Extra shot of Mac trying to turn on the flamethrower is added. Palmer's death scene is cut short, while Windows's death scene is deleted. There are some extra shots of camp inserted after Palmer's death scene. Extra shot of Mac looking at Nauls while testing his blood. Childs's "Cut me the hell loose" line is deleted.
- Garry's famous line "Tied to this fuckin' couch" is dubbed by what appears to be someone with British accent (?) into "Tied to this stinkin' couch".
- Scene with Mac, Garry and Nauls in tools shed is cut short and edited. It doesn't show them finding the thing's ship, but instead cuts to the scene where Nauls is watching Childs running out of the camp. Tracking shot of hallway inside the base is also cut. Mac's line "It got back inside and blew the generator" is changed into "Blair got back inside and blew the generator". This line doesn't seem to be dubbed. Mac says extra line "It freezes inside the complex and makes sure that rescue team finds it". Extra shot of Mac after he says "But neither is that thing". Scene where tools shed is destroyed is deleted and bulldozer is crashed into the camp is cut. There is one extra shot of camp in the dark.
- Mac's "Generator room" line is cut. There is an extra shot of him and others going underground and then we hear "Generator room" line. Extra music is added in the scene (maybe "Humanity Part 1" track again). Garry's line "Generator's gone" is changed or dubbed into "Generator disappeared". When Blair appears and starts killing Garry, there are few strangely dubbed lines spoken by him. He says something like: "The world, did ya" and "Nobody gets in or out of here! Nobody!" Extra shot of Blair is shown when Nauls starts walking deeper into the tunnel. Extra shot of MacReady watching the floor rising up when the thing starts moving towards him. Mac's "Fuck you too" line is changed in "Blast you too".
- So called "alternate ending" is added with final voiceover saying to watch others around cause who knows what tomorrow, tonight will bring. This ending is actually longer version of the opening scene with Norwegian dog escaping while their camp is in flames.
- The audio commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell which has been included since 2008 on all home media releases (domestic and internationally) was partly reedited for pacing and to better align the spoken words to what happens on screen. Additionaly, it was partly censored, for example by removing Russell's comments about Keith David allegedly driving a stolen car in New York.
- In the theatrical version the cook is listening to Stevie Wonder's "Superstition". Because Universal did not secure rights for the home video release, the song was replaced. However, for more recent releases, Universal was able to use "Superstition" because they relicensed the song.
- The American syndicated televison version features:
- A voiceover for title card reading "Antarctica, 1982".
- A voiceover added and film re-cut introducing each character and providing their back stories.
- The version broadcast on television in the eighties ended with a few shots of a dog running, stopping to look around and heading off into the distance, leading the spectator to believe the Thing had survived. Also, the scene where a man's head tears itself apart from his body, grows legs and eyes and runs off, was cut.
- The television broadcast version sometimes has an unknown person narrate the beginning of the film. He introduces all of the characters as they appear and gives a brief blurb about their goals/reasons for being there. At the end of the film, the narrator returns once more to deliver a haunting speech, and then a shot of the Huskie running away from the burning base is shown. This version often appears on TNT or TBS. This version also has so much of the gore edited out that originally deleted scenes are used as time fillers to extend existing scenes.
- The American syndicated television version has a slightly extended version of the scene where outside in the tractor MacReady and Fuchs secretly discuss Blair's sanity. In the extended version Fuchs remarks that while Blair may be losing his mind he is still a brilliant scientist and his rantings should not be totally dismissed.
What is the streaming release date of The Thing (1982) in Spain?