You know how fans of Zack Snyder went crazy about all the cuts to “Justice League” that happened before that film was released in 2017, eventually demanding that Warner Bros. release the original cut of the film? Well, 75 years before that happened, there was a Snyder Cut situation involving Orson Welles and his 1942 film, “The Magnificent Ambersons.” And in honor of its upcoming 80th anniversary, there is a real effort being taken to see if the Welles Cut of the film can be located and released.
According to WellesNet, Turner Classic Movies is funding the efforts of documentarian Josh Grossberg as he attempts to travel to Brazil in search of the long, lost cut of Welles’ Oscar-nominated feature, “The Magnificent Ambersons.” The original film is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from 1918 and tells the story of a Midwestern family that sees their fortune dwindling as the automobile age comes about.
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Prior to its release, RKO Pictures took over the editing of the film from Welles and changed large portions of the film, including a completely different, happier ending. While the changes have been long documented, the footage from the rough cut of the film, which is the true vision of Welles, was thought to be destroyed. Regardless of the discrepancies in edits, the theatrical release of ‘Ambersons’ would go on to be nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Enter Josh Grossberg.
The documentarian has received funding from TCM for a new documentary that will chronicle his quest to find this lost cut of Welles’ film. Though Welles himself said the footage was destroyed, there is optimism about the footage being preserved from when reels of the film were sent to Brazil for Welles to edit. The thought is that there are still reels in Brazil that might have survived.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that we will find the print,” Grossberg said. He also confirmed the September expedition “is our last, best chance of finding the original version of ‘The Magnificent Ambersons.’”
Regardless of whether or not a Welles Cut of “The Magnificent Ambersons” can be released, it appears there will be a documentary that will at least dive deep into the whole situation that you’ll be able to watch on TCM next year.