Via his FATMAN BEYOND podcast/show on YouTube, Kevin Smith says he’s seen the “Schumacher Cut” of BATMAN FOREVER. Here’s what he said about it to his co-host Mark Bernardin…
You know what I got a copy of? BATMAN FOREVER the f*ckin’ Schumacher cut. That’s right, so guess what I’m going to do? I probably shouldn’t be talking about this, Warner Bros. is going to take my ticket (to THE FLASH premiere) away. I’m going to slip you a f*ckin’ copy so you and me can talk about it on that June 19th show. First, we’ll talk about THE FLASH, then we can review the Schumacher Cut of BATMAN FOREVER. I’ve watched it, it’s longer.
You know how the movie starts with Two-Face busting into the bank and sh*t like that. That don’t happen for like 15 minutes in the original cut, it’s crazy. It’s a crazy good copy too, it’s off an Avid, it’s got temp score and everything.
Yes, the original cut — known as “The Red Diary Cut” for years — of BATMAN FOREVER is indeed longer and begins differently than the version released in theaters in 1995 and subsequently on home video.
It starts off with a scene in Arkham Asylum where Dr. Burton (René Auberjonois) goes to confront Harvey Dent in his cell, only to discover that Two-Face has escaped and left a message in blood on his cell wall: “The Bat Must Die!” There’s a lot of other stuff in that version of the film as well as the full “Red Diary” subplot which was cut short and not fleshed out in the theatrical version. And it is a bit more serious and darker than the movie we got.
If you want to know more about it, check out this old article on BOF from 2005, BATMAN FOREVER: The Movie That Could’ve Been.
The story continues after the jump!
I’m not sure if this is an indication that Warner Bros. has any plans on actually releasing this extended cut, but I do hope that someone will take on the task of finishing it and Warner Bros. puts it out there for fans to buy. I’ve said several times over the years that I am quite fond of BATMAN FOREVER and I’d love to see the extended cut properly finished and released. What I’m not going to do is start a hashtag movement online and spend my entire life devoted to hashtagging non-stop daily. I’ve got other sh*t to do.
You can check out what Kevin Smith said himself by checking out his podcast HERE. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
