When DVD first came to prominence as a popular home entertainment format in the mid-90s, it also brought with it a wonderful extra feature; deleted scenes, many of which would’ve changed their respective films for the better. Of course, editing is a key part of the filmmaking journey, and although directors may have a grand vision for their story, and have a ton of great footage to choose from, not everything can make the final cut of the movie.
The opportunity for fans to be able to witness scenes from their favorite movies on the DVD was hugely exciting, a tradition that has continued through Blu-Ray and digital releases. Sometimes, the scenes were cut for a specific reason. Generally, it’s for pacing purposes, or because the scene may be redundant because it doesn’t add any depth to the character or the narrative. However, sometimes, a deleted scene would have improved the movie.
10 Reservoir Dogs
A Flashback For Mr. Orange
Quentin Tarantino has often played with timelines in his movies, to great effect for the most part. Reservoir Dogs is no exception, and it’s one of Tarantino’s best films. It’s a heist movie in which the viewer never sees the actual heist, only the aftermath, plus flashbacks to before the event. It’s in one of these flashbacks that one of the characters is not who he first appears to be.
The character in question is Mr. Orange, played by Tim Roth, and the flashback scene would have revealed the real name of Harvey Keitel’s character, Mr. White. The movie isn’t one of Tarantino’s longest, so pacing wouldn’t have been an issue if it had stayed in. This scene would also have had some significant bearing on the plot overall. Perhaps a future edition of the 90s classic could be released with its inclusion.
9 The Lion King
Scar Wants To Marry Nala
The Lion King is a wonderful example of Disney animation at its very best during the 90s and features some great songs. It’s also gone on to produce sequels, a stage show, a live-action remake, plus a live-action Mufasa prequel. There’s one scene that was cut from towards the beginning of the movie that would have given some important information about one character.
The deleted scene shows that since Simba has been exiled, Mufasa’s evil brother Scar, a terrific Jeremy Irons, has taken over Pride Rock, and wants to take a queen, which would have been poor Nala. It was perhaps too creepy to keep in a Disney movie, but it would have revealed why Nala had been exiled in the first place.
8 The Sixth Sense
The Soldier Story
M. Night Shyamalan has forged a career out of pulling the rug from under the feet of unsuspecting audiences for around 30 years. His 1999 thriller, The Sixth Sense easily has the best reveal in any of his movies. Everyone will know by now that little Cole has been talking to Bruce Willis’ dead character, Malcolm, all along, and there’s one scene that would have highlighted his pain very well.
The scene shows Malcolm and Cole talking, while the younger character is playing with his Civil War figures. Two soldiers are lying on the ground, and when Malcolm asks Cole about them, he gets emotional and recounts a story about how they were killed in battle. It raises the question of how Cole would know about their death in such detail and would have been a great clue about the twist ending in The Sixth Sense.
7 Mrs Doubtfire
Daniel And Miranda’s Argument
The late great Robin Williams is sorely missed, and one of his most memorable performances was playing the title character in the 1993 classic, Mrs Doubtfire. Mrs Doubtfire has great quotes, and surprisingly, almost 30 minutes of deleted scenes were taken out of the movie. One of those scenes would have added some much-needed dramatic tension to the movie.
The moment comes when Sally Field’s character, Miranda, learns that her husband Daniel, played by Robin Williams, has been disguising himself as the family’s kooky nanny, with a Scottish accent, all along. The resulting argument is incredibly well-acted and would have added an extra dimension to the troubled couple. However, in the end, it was too serious a moment to keep in what is largely a family-friendly drama that could have done with a touch of gritty tension.
6 The Mask
Peggy Brandt’s Death
The Jim Carrey comedy extravaganza arrived at a time when his star was exponentially on the rise. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective placed him firmly on the map as a supremely comedic actor, and thanks to some eye-popping CGI, literally in one scene, his iconic role in The Mask propelled his career even further. It’s a fun comedy, but one deleted scene hinted that it could have been like its darker source material.
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The deleted scene in question is visually inventive, and although it’s darker in tone than the rest of the family-friendly movie, it would have added a wonderful touch of darkness that’s missing. When bad guy Dorian gets hold of the titular mask, he kills reporter Peggy by throwing her into a printing press, with newspapers coming out reporting about her demise. It’s clever and would have been a fun re-addition to the movie.
5 Jurassic Park
Why The Triceratops Was Sick
The great Steven Spielberg’s 1993 epic, Jurassic Park, is one of the very best action adventure movies ever made and brought the wonder of dinosaurs back into the lives of children and grown-ups forever. Its legacy is continuing, but there’s one moment in the original movie that would have added some much-needed clues about the overall plot had it been left in.
Jurassic Park’s Triceratops scene is already legendary, mainly thanks to Jeff Goldblum’s character, Malcolm, joking about the size of the animal’s feces. However, there’s a deleted scene that explains that the beast was sick because of inadvertently eating poisonous berries. It showed that the park’s owners weren’t fully prepared to care for animals of their particular magnitude, and this would have been a great clue to their incompetence in the movie.
4 Back To The Future Part III
The Tannens Kill Strickland
The Back to the Future series is one of the most iconic franchises of all time and delivered many unforgettable moments. It also featured great VFX and a wonderful cast. However, while the third movie from 1990 may be a Western, it almost featured a deleted scene that would have added some great tension but was too dark to include.
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The scene in question features two of the best side characters from the series, Biff’s great-grandfather Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen, and Marshal James Strickland, the grandfather of future Hill Valley High School Principal, Strickland. They come to blows, resulting in Buford shooting Strickland in the back while his son watches him die. It’s dark but would have explained why Strickland just disappears from the rest of the movie.
3 The Truman Show
Christof’s Grim Plan For Truman’s Future
The entire plot of The Truman Show is based around deceit, betrayal, and deception. It focuses on Jim Carrey’s Truman Burbank, an insurance salesman who discovers his entire life has been one big televised reality show. The premise alone is disturbing, and there’s one deleted scene that would have added an extra dimension to the TV show itself.
Truman’s on-screen wife Meryl has opted to leave the show, and the deleted scene shows Ed Harris’ showrunner Christof meeting with the principal cast members to announce a huge introduction to the narrative. He explains that TV’s first on-air conception will take place, as a new love interest for Truman seduces him away from Meryl, leading to the “next generation” of the Truman Show. It’s ethically horrific, but would have been a suitably shocking revelation about the potential of reality TV.
2 The Silence Of The Lambs
Hannibal Lecter Gets Emotional
The serial killer genre has thrived both on the big and small screen over the years, and its success is in no small part due to the fascinating portrayal of Hannibal Lecter by Anthony Hopkins in 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. The movie has some great quotes and paints Lecter as the personification of evil, but there’s one deleted scene that shows his more human side.
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The central pairing of Hopkins’ Lecter with Jodie Foster’s rookie F.B.I. agent Clarice Starling is the beating heart of the movie, and the scenes in which they meet are fascinating. In the deleted scene, Lecter opens up about the life of serial killer, Buffalo Bill, explaining his years of abuse and feeling ignored all his life. It’s rare to see Lecter visually upset, and this suggests that he may also have had a similar experience when he was younger.
1 Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Resetting The Terminator
One of the best elements of the first two Terminator movies is how the sequel subverts the intentions of the titular killing machine. The first movie shows the cyborg as a relentless killing machine. The sequel ups the emotional stakes by having the Terminator protect John Connor and forming a bond with him at the same time. Much of what makes T2 such a great story has to do with how a killing machine can learn and evolve, which was explained in a deleted scene.
It takes place when the heroes have arrived at their hideout and John asks the Terminator about his mind. Schwarzeneggers’ now good cyborg explains that Terminators can learn, but have a “read-only” setting, leading to John and his mother re-programming him. This gives the moment at the end, when the Terminator sacrifices himself, greater meaning. It also sets up the T-800’s ability to “become more human,” which the sequels explored.
