When "Carrie" debuted on CBS in October 1978, TV censorship was heavy. It was commonplace at the time for the networks to sub in alternate footage to replace objectionable shots and hire sound-alike actors to dub out profanity (often badly). Viewers got a major surprise when they discovered there was an alternate version of the lockerroom scene that didn't include any nudity. This version features white titles (as opposed to the normal red ones), several different shots... and Nancy Allen clad in a towel. This alternate opening continued to air on TV throughout the '80s but since television censorship has become less restrictive, this print has completely fallen out of circulation (just like many other beloved films that once were aired with alternate and deleted footage throughout the '70s & '80s). Major thanks to Ryan for providing this long-lost clip for the site:
A higher quality version of the clip above (.mp4, 41 MB) is available to download here.
There are two other versions that have also been seen. These days the normal theatrical version of the scene generally airs on TV with strategically placed fogging that blurs out the nudity. This version is the one most frequently seen on cable and network TV. The print that runs on A&E, however, is strange -- it's the theatrical version but they've added some light fogging and seemingly animated underwear onto Nancy Allen. Initially I thought this was the alternate scene but (as you can see from the clip above and comments below) it's not. Since this version airs less frequently, I decided to leave it here for posterity:
.
18 comments:
I have a copy of Carrie recorded from TV in the 80's that has the alternate "clothed" main credits sequence, and this isn't it. In the alternate shot, the credits are white and appear in the center of the screen, and Nancy Allen is wearing a towel. This one you linked to appears to be the fogged version that airs on TV today.
Okay, I watched this clip again and now I feel like an idiot because Nancy Allen *is* wearing a bra. But it must be yet another version they shot of the scene, because the one I have recorded from TV is very different. This version appears to be much closer to the theatrical version (in fact, I swear the rest of the shot apart from Nancy Allen's moment is the same as the theatrical version). This really puzzles me! I'll have to watch my copy again to compare, as I haven't seen it in a while.
Off the top of my head, I think there's a couple other bare-ly glimpsed, bra-less girls in the theatrical cut who have bras here too. But If you've got a different version, I'd love to see it!
I'll rip the scene from my VHS very soon and upload it to YouTube. What really puzzles me about the one you've uploaded is the fact that they blurred out Nancy Allen and the other girls even though they're wearing bras and panties!
Okay, I just did a side-by-side comparison of this TV clip versus the theatrical version, and everything seems to be the same (even Sue and that other girl talking) until Nancy Allen's frolicking across the screen. They must have somehow spliced a clothed shot of her into the original shot! I don't know how else to explain it; there's no way they could have been THAT accurate in re-enacting the scene in another take.
This is my last comment for the day, I promise! I did another comparison between the two shots, and it seems that even Nancy Allen's part is exactly the same! The facial expressions match up and everything! I can only conclude that they inserted the bra on Nancy Allen digitally, like they do for Showgirls when it airs on TV. This would explain why they still fogged the scene, to make the effect more convincing.
But as I said, there is definitely a different take of this scene with the girls wearing towels. I will upload that soon for your site!
My initial thought was that the bra might be animated on, but it's not a tactic that's often employed. I've watched the opening many times in the past few years (TNT, TBS, AMC, once on a local station, etc.) and the scene plays intact -- including Sissy's part -- on all of the other networks with far more fogging and no animated bras. In those versions there's very few cuts (mostly to jam in commercials) and cuss words are just aired out instead of dubbed. There's some strange editing and dubbing on the A&E version, so I presumed it was the old TV print.
When you get around to it, if at all possible, could you upload the clip to MegaUpload or somewhere that I can download it from? I have major issues with You Tube -- the biggest being that with all of the ridiculous policing, things are quickly deleted from the site.
Sure thing. I don't have the ability to rip VHS at home, but I can do it at my school. :)
I think you'll find it very interesting indeed!
Here's the true alternate locker room scene:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/w5ou9e
I had uploaded it before but the audio was out of sync as a result of the program I was using to compress the file. This one is fixed! :)
I also uploaded it to YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYJSg9i9-WI
Feel free to put it on your site!
Wow! Thank you! I felt sort of dumb for posting the A&E clip when you pointed out it wasn't the real alternate scene, but I'm glad I did or I prob'ly never would have found this version. The video's now above... and thank you again! :-P
Hunh... I presume there's nothing else different in your TV print or you would've mentioned it, right? It's not unusual for TV prints to feature additional scenes but if there was anything else in 'Carrie' I probably would've read about it somewhere...
No problem! And no, I don't believe there are any additional scenes in the TV print. I'd have to watch it again to be 100% sure, but I don't recall any.
Yikes! According to the alternate versions section at imdb, the scene in the parking lot (just before Nancy Allen goes down on John Travolta) was also different in the old TV print. Any chance of getting that too? If it's too much trouble, I'll understand. I am indeed grateful just for the locker room scene.
I'll check, but if I remember correctly, that scene is cut out altogether in the version I have. But I haven't watched it all the way through since I was a kid (it was how I first saw the movie) so I will have to skim through it again to make sure there are no other differences.
The alternate versions listing on imdb used to be completely different and said that Nancy Allen was in her bra and panties (which could be why I thought the A&E print was the old TV version). The current listing mentions that Nancy Allen has a towel and goes on to say this:
"Most bad language, especially the scene with John Travolta and Nancy Allen arguing while he is driving is re-looped to remove bad language. However, alternate, no profanity takes are used when Travolta and Allen are stopped in a parking lot just before the oral sex scene (which of course is deleted)."
Yeah, I just read that! I will definitely check sometime in the next couple of days to see if those alternate takes are present, but I recall the scene being cut out completely (again, I could be wrong).
A funny story: My first experience watching "Carrie" was from this edited-for-TV version. Because they omitted the shots of blood running down Carrie's leg, when I was a kid I thought her hand was bleeding. My mom refused to tell me what a period was, just that it was something that happens to women when they reach a certain age, so for a while I went around thinking that women's hands started bleeding when they reached a certain age. lol
That's too funny... particularly for someone who went on to be a fan of John Waters! Thinking women's hands bleed when they have their periods must've fueled a depraved sense of humor! ;)
LOL... yes, definitely. And I've been a lifelong fan of horror films ever since. ;)
Post a Comment