1776 - 2 Cuts Available on Blu-Ray 6/2

[Eric Paddon]

Well the show may not have underscoring on Broadway but the underscoring was always a part of the original theatrical cut and exactly in the spots where they appeared. Joe didn't add any underscoring to the body of the film, he just retained what was always there from the beginning. What Hunt did by taking out the Ray Heindorf orchestrated underscore in the Tower scene and in the Franklin portrait moment (now back in) was the equivalent of a Lucas style tampering from the original if we want to be literal on the subject.

Joe is also adamant that the only reason why he put together the Overture/Entr'acte is because he had access to Ray Heindorf's notes that spelled out how it was to be done and in the LD commentary Hunt himself makes reference to the idea that one was intended. I took him at his word then which is why I don't believe a word he says later.

[AndyDursin]

Isn't the point of this film to be as close to the Broadway show as possible? If that's the case, why did it need 1950s-styled melodramatic underscoring in a few scenes? I can understand quick sections of transitional score here and there, but the tower scene is nearly three full minutes of underscore. Lovely as it is, it sounds like Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr are going to show up at any second and express their love for one another!

At any rate, like I said, you have your bootleg. I have the two musical numbers I wanted restored back. Hunt basically put everything back in except those minor trims, and the music we'll just agree to disagree on.

[Eric Paddon]

Well if we were being so overly literal in being just like the Broadway film, then Lee would not have entered on a horse! The point is that Hunt didn't remove *all* of the underscore (you get plenty of it in other spots like "Cool Men" when Dickinson enters) so there was no need to be this pick and choose for that reason alone.

[Eric Paddon]

That magnificent boot alas is no longer available on ioffer, which I suspect is due to the pending release of the official version. Thanks for the alert on it when you gave it to me since it looks like I got it just in the nick of time!

[AndyDursin]

Glad you got in it Eric!

[Eric Paddon]

Even amidst the chaos of all I have gone through I found time for the Blu-Ray boot upgrade of the LD cut as well as a camcorder DVD of the 1997 Broadway revival with Brent Spiner and Pat Hingle that I remember seeing in August 1997. A nice reminder that even if I think the present state of America is very bad it can't remove my pride in what I felt was always great about it.