MovieChat Forums > The War Lord (1965) Discussion > PLEASE RESTORE THIS FILM!

PLEASE RESTORE THIS FILM!

posted 16 years ago by triplecrosser
5 replies | jump to latest

With DVD now revisiting old classic movies in vast numbers and restoring certain titles, i would like to suggest this film for a restoration job. This was another of those epic films that suffered during the editing process. What the cinema/home viewing public have seen since 1965 is a entertaininly good film at 123 minutes, as it stands. What would this classic be like restored to it's original intended 171 minutes? Fans can at least wonder. Perhaps someone can make this possible.

[–] stefan-andersson72 15 years ago

Where did you get the 171 min. info? This is news to me, though I can believe a Road Show was intended.

The movie is real good.

[–] triplecrosser 15 years ago

I agree this is a really good movie. Definitely worth a restoration job. As for the extended running time, Charlton Heston himself revealed the film being shortened during the editing process. Thus, the considerable unused footage has never actually been seen by the public at large.

[–] janks46 15 years ago

I would LOVE to see an extended cut of the film...

More feudal politics, romance and maybe another battle! This is a truly underrated gem of a film.

[–] haristas 15 years ago

I think I read somewhere that Heston looked into restoring this film when he was still alive -- back in the '90s -- and that Universal hadn't saved anything on it. I just wish they'd remaster the DVD for anamorphic -- it's been years and they haven't done it yet. Maybe when the economy gets better it'll show up on Blu-ray.

[–] judith-mcgee1025 15 years ago

Unfortunately Mr. Heston did not indicate what material was removed from "The War Lord" but he was definitely incensed about it. As I believe he was one of the film's producers he must have seen the material which was cut and I wish he could have written about it. My guess is that the removed material is at the end of the film as it really is - literally - "cut to the chase". As it stands the film makes sense, it just ends a bit too quickly.

If any film would have been a candidate for being shown in the road-show genre, it would have been this one (instead of "55 Days at Peking").