Working Three Hour Version of Labyrinth

[quixotic]

This is original quote from Neil Gaiman's blog regarding a viewing that he and Dave Mckean saw in the Henson family house while they worked on the new film.

They saw an original three hour version of Labyrinth which inspired Mirrormask!:

It's a story about a teenage girl on a strange quest through a magical world. It's not a sequel to Labyrinth, or even an indirect sequel. It's more something that came out of talking about how you'd do something like that today. But Labyrinth was all around while we created it -- not only in the ancient puppets, and original Brian Froud Labyrinth concept paintings hanging on the walls.

Poking around in a closet of videos, I found a working print of Labyrinth, when it was three hours long, had puppeteer voices instead of actor voices, and lots of genuinely funny Sir Didimus stuff that never made it into the final film (voiced by Dave Goelz -- voice of the Great Gonzo), and Dave and I played it over several evenings, curious and fascinated."

​

Now what can they have produced in that further hour and a half????!!!!

This is news to me anyway and well is just a wee bit teasing to say the least!

We need extras! By the bucket load! Who's with me?

And I think all you muppet fans would have loved to have heard the puppeter voices to the characters.

 

[Laszlo]

Wow!

WE NEED AN EXTENDED VERSION DVD ! PLEASE !

 

[quixotic]

YES! It would be fabulous to see this film without its polished edges and such!

I wonder why we we never given the chance to see the other hour and a half?? I'm imagining more intro to the film, more hurdles that Sarah would have to face in the Labyrinth, more characters? Maybe they rearranged the order she arrived at them, and possible more scenes with Bowie too. Gosh what this does to the imagination!

I mean come on, a further 80 minutes! That's almost as long as the film itself, 80% free! In fact 80 minutes could almost be another film intself!!!

ROLL ON THE REQUESTS!!

And blantant fan cries!

 

[Vic Romano]

Wow, a three hour version? Man, does that make me curious!

 

[Infinity Sirius]

I remember bring this up some years ago, at least I think I do. I believe that someone said the deleted scenes were not all that great and they were just repetive scenes of what we see in the final cut of the film. Even if they are monotaneous scenes I would love to see them too. Makes me want to rob the Henson archives more than ever, but with all of their moving and the deal with Disney who knows where all the good stuff is anymore.

I think in some of the Labyrinth lobby cards released along with the movie in 1986 there is a still photo of Hoggle holding a sword during the Goblin Battle. This was probably one of the scenes cut from the movie and not just a publicity photo, because right before Sarah, Sir Diydmus, and Ludo enter the castle you can see Hoggle dropping a sword. There's at least one deleted scene we know of right there.

 

[quixotic]

Wow! Thankyou for saying, that sounds great, I will have to look out for that sword!

Yes and in the making of Documentary all the actors/puppeteers that play Hoggle are rehearsing the scene where he first meets Sarah in some rehearsal room, I think they included it to show how the actress deals with finding her way around the place inside the head and Cheryl McFadden is seeing how the scene will look. Sarah is played by a stand-in and if you listen to the dialogue it's the part in the original script when Hoggle goes to give Sarah a leaf after the fairy bites her, and instead of it making her feel better it makes her worse, and Hoggle (Brian) laughs cackling away. This was not included, and I dont know if even actually played by Jennifer on set? But that could make deleted scene number 2.

I can't see how things can be repeated all the way through, things can only be repeated so many times, even for the makers themselves. For it to stay in the Henson house all that time, it must have meant that it held some precious moments and some importance for them.

I mean its over an hour, there must be some quality in there! And still even if its the worst and the film be better off without them, I wouldn't turn down a further 80 minutes of Labyrinth anyday! It would be great to see it with the puppeteers voices, like a little segment of the documentary shows in the Magic Dance sequence- it would be fun!

I wonder how that person you refer to got a chance to see it, gosh I would do anything!

 

[Infinity Sirius]

Neil Gaiman was able to see the movie, because he wrote the script for Mirrormask and to inspire himself he and someone else went through the Henson archives to look at previous fantasy films made by the Henson company.

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

I mean its over an hour, there must be some quality in there! And still even if its the worst and the film be better off without them, I wouldn't turn down a further 80 minutes of Labyrinth anyday! It would be great to see it with the puppeteers voices, like a little segment of the documentary shows in the Magic Dance sequence- it would be fun!

Saying it like that makes me think of the Star Wars Christmas Special. I've never seen it and, even though from what I've heard about it being crummy, I still want to see it.

 

[SheWolfAnya]

"Anything new to do with Labyrinth, makes me happy."

 

[alorindanya]

I think in some of the Labyrinth lobby cards released along with the movie in 1986 there is a still photo of Hoggle holding a sword during the Goblin Battle. This was probably one of the scenes cut from the movie and not just a publicity photo, because right before Sarah, Sir Diydmus, and Ludo enter the castle you can see Hoggle dropping a sword. There's at least one deleted scene we know of right there.

Hoggle picked up the sword when Sarah led them into the house to get away from the goblins, right before she yells "Ludo, call the rocks" you can see Hoggle trying to ward off a goblin coming through a window, sword in hand. It isn't a deleted scene, it's right there.