Do you think you know — “THE NEVERENDING STORY” movie?
Well…how about this? — PART 1
If you grew up in the early 1980s, chances are that you have seen “THE NEVERENDING STORY.”
And if you still love the film, I don´t need to tell you how iconic this fantasy movie became, to the point that it´s referenced today in shows like -STRANGER THINGS- which actually tries to capture that same early 80s kids’ movie vibe.
But there are still many things about this movie that not many people know.
1. For example, few people know it´s based on a book. It is a book that, to me, is the best fantasy story ever written, primarily because in 300 pages, it manages to have more imagination than many so-called fantasy sagas of several volumes nowadays with a thousand pages each.
2. The movie only adapted about 25% of the story. In fact… the entire plot we see in “THE NEVERENDING STORY,” directed by Wolfgang Petersen, represents mainly what in the book is the intro for the real adventure that comes next, to Bastian and Atreyu (after the movie ends).
3. It´s not a Hollywood production or an American movie. It was the most expensive European movie made then, and it´s a German production. Shot in English.
The only reason we all know the movie was that it ended up being distributed internationally by Hollywood, who bought the distribution rights, but not after demanding the movie to be recut to make it more “Disney-like.”
4. The movie has two distinct versions. The original German cut and the “American cut” we know well.
5. The “American cut” is 6 minutes shorter than the original German cut released in theaters in Germany only before an American Hollywood company distributed the movie.
6. The original cut does not include the popular Limahl theme song.
7. Until a couple of years ago, it was almost impossible for us to watch the original cut, as it was not available on home video, but recently was released in a German Bluray Special Edition, and now it´s even available in German in a fantastic 4K release.
8. Although the two versions look the same visually, they feel entirely different, particularly regarding sound.
Want to know more?
Keep reading.
6 MINUTES.
It is now generally known among fans that the anonymous uncredited editor for the “Hollywood version” (also referred to as ” The American Cut ”) that everyone knows from the international release was none other than Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg, was the one who recut the original German movie and chose what to remove from its original editing structure. His objective was to make the film feel -lighter- in tone and give it a more Disney vibe, as the Hollywood distribution company required it at that time.
That meant that the movie version we all are familiar with ended up with 6 minutes less.
But…Why was that important? Well, those removed Six minutes made the difference between the movie being accepted for release in America and reaching international markets, as it ended up happening or not being released at all.
For years, I heard about the six minutes that only the Germans saw, but I never gave them much importance. What difference could six minutes make?
Besides the original German, Wolfgang Petersen’s cut was impossible to get on home video, which meant that everyone who saw the international cut outside Germany had no idea a more extended original cut existed.
Now, decades later, after I have finally seen the original version of the film with those 6 minutes restored ( 10, in fact, if we add the different credits too ), I just wonder if Spielberg did the best he could or was he the first in the Hollywood to begin the destruction of Michael Ende’s novel. This is in terms of its (subsequent) miserable film adaptations if we consider what happened in the sequels produced by Hollywood studios after this rather good beginning of German origin.
What the sequels produced with Hollywood money did to destroy what is, for me, the best fantasy novel ever written continues to be simply unspeakable on every possible and imaginary level. But that…is another story that needs to be told later… ;)
[ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ], in its original “long” version, is not only a film that looks completely different but, above all, it restores that special touch that had always seemed a bit absent to me when we compare the “American Cut” with the spirit of the novel by Michael Ende.
And I’m talking about the atmosphere of [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] as a pure fantasy film for audiences of all ages.
IT´S THE WORLD OF HUMAN IMAGINATION…
I found myself watching [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] as if I had never seen “THE NEVERENDING STORY,” mainly because it felt like I had been returned to the cinema seat at the age of 14 back in 1984.
I absorbed each sequence as if I were watching it for the first time.
And trust me… I know “THE NEVERENDING STORY” as I became an illustrator because of this movie. Until I saw the original cut, though, I thought I knew by heart every little scene and line of dialogue. But apparently, I was wrong!
Watching the original German cut glued me to the screen again.
And you ask…. But all this because of 6 minutes of restored footage?!…
Yes.
And no.
Contrary to what has been released since it became known that Spielberg had been responsible for the cuts to create the “Disneyfied” version that we all know, the truth is that there is much more to surprise us in [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] in its original version, than just the lost six minutes.
Visually, the editing may have “only” restored the original 6 minutes, but… the sound!
My friends, THE SOUND!
If you ever want to see a great example of the importance of sound ( effects and music ) and be aware of how much they can affect a film without us noticing, compare [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] with “THE NEVERENDING STORY.”
There are no words to describe how different “the two films” are, especially regarding the final atmosphere of each version!
STRANGER THINGS…ARE HAPPENING HERE.
In the first few seconds, we realize something is “wrong” with this original version…
The fact that [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] does not feature music by Georgio Moroder and especially does not open with Limahl’s popular song in the title immediately creates a strange sensation in the viewer.
Spielberg commissioned the classic theme song for the “American Cut” version to take advantage of the emergence of MTV at the time in the USA.
Watch the original German Cut, and suddenly, the generic of our “THE NEVERENDING STORY” no longer has that fantasy-Disney atmosphere we all know but looks (and feels) more like the opening of a supernatural thriller for adults. The credits of [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE”] would not be out of place with a sequel of The Exorcist.
Or in a 70s horror film like “The Omen.” Trust me.
But actually, the movie horror feel of the credits in the German version makes more sense than the happy Limahl Pop song we all know.
In the original cut, the creepy credits were supposed to represent the nightmare Bastian wakes from in the initial seconds of the story!
And by the way, anyone who knows Michael Ende’s book will notice that by watching the German cut, we get a chance to glimpse into the haunted tone of the original novel.
Now all we have to do is watch [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] to realize that Wolfgang Petersen had nailed the serious and haunted tone in his movie adaptation after all, contrary to what it seems if we see the “American Cut” trimmed by Spielberg.
The original film has a dark, suspenseful atmosphere that is absolutely faithful to the book’s events.
An atmosphere that was utterly “successfully” eliminated in the re-editing for American distribution that we all know, not only due to the absence of 6 minutes but above all due to the way the sound and music were mixed in the two versions of the film.
MUCH MORE THAN 6 MINUTES
It’s that [ “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] doesn’t just feel different because of the lost 6 minutes of video footage, but primarily because throughout its duration, the original cut of the movie has at least 75 minutes of -“new details”- where “new” audio details keep popping up when we least expect, mainly if you know the “American Cut” by heart as I do. Image and sound!
Regarding the sound, at least 85% of the “DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” original version contains countless completely new details you have never… heard. (!)
Beyond the extra 6 (visual) minutes, which… -my friends, make all the difference-, as incredible as it may seem, experiencing this fascinating fantasy adventure “ again” when our ears constantly deceive us makes us feel we are watching a new film all the time.
Not only is the music by original composer Klaus Doldinger placed in the middle of sequences we are not used to, but [“ DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ]” is loaded with new or completely alternative dialogues when compared to what we were used to hear in “ THE NEVERENDING STORY ”!
This immediately wholly changes the atmosphere of the story; it makes the adventure seem much more serious and dark at times, and above all, it shows us a [ “ DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE” ] that this time tells a more complex story than the light adventure we were used to. Including some darker and more detailed details ( in dialogues with Gmork, for example) makes this ENDLESS STORY suddenly seem like a more faithful adaptation of the novel’s first part than it used to.
How faithful? And why?
Come with me, and read PART 2 to know more.
