Video
Video....moving images...the film.... On this page we'll check out the different versions and see some footage.Let's start with Peter Jackson, the man himself, in an interview from around 1997:
"Different versions of Heavenly Creatures?"
Good question. Let's clear this up:
Version 1 (longest). My "final cut" for release in New Zealand. I can't remember what other countries had this cut, but there weren't many.
Version 2 (shortest). When Miramax acquired the movie for the US, they ran some test screenings and asked me if I could take about 10 mins out. They made specal reference to the dinner scene where Pauline imagines her parents dying.
Miramax sent their "hatchetman" Charlie McClelland to New Zealand to work on these cuts with us. I also took out some of the more "English" feeling stuff. I had final approval over all cuts. You have to realise that I have no problem "dabbling" with the cutting, so long as I retain control. I quite enjoy it. In fact I liked working with Charlie so much, I poached him off Miramax, and he now runs WETA DIGITAL here in New Zealand!
Version 3 (middle). When Miramax were prepping the UK release, they were going to use the US version. I suggested we put some of the cut footage back in, especially the "English" stuff - as this was England! About 5 mins was stuck back in, and I think this is the version that most other countries saw ... but I have lost track of it a bit after 3 years.
We'll come back in detail after some clips.
Heavenly Creatures trailers
You can watch the trailers here, or on YouTube...classic trailer:
1994 Miramax trailer:
remastered BluRay/DVD trailer:
Heavenly Creatures (full movie)
You can watch the full movie here, or on YouTube, or on OK.ru...Comparison: Theatrical Version vs Uncut Version
Compared are the Theatrical Cut (German DVD) and the Uncut Version (German Free TV, 3Sat, 01-11-2007)"Heavenly Creatures" from 1994 is Peter Jackson's forth movie which is a perfect example that he's not only good in making solid and hilarious fun splatter flicks, but also in making a first class psychological drama based on true events.
Unfortenately the movie has been shortened for its release in US theaters. In Germany the Uncut Version was shown and also released on VHS and shown in TV, but for some reason the German DVD only contains the shorter US Theatrical Version.
The removed scenes are almost minor plot scenes to tighten the movie. Nevertheless the missing scenes at 61:45 and 62:50 are worth being watched, that's why the Uncut Version should be prefered. Escpecially the first one (garden party at the Hulmes' house) is really important for the plot because it contains lots of information about Juliet's parents and their lifes. Hilda's lover Bill, who suddenly pops up in the Theatrical Version, is being introduced here very nicely.
It's also conspicious that a lot of dreaming scenes have been shortend or completely removed. Even though lots of these scenes are still in it, one might get the impression that this version wants to concentrate more on the so-called "real" plot.
In Germany, only the Theatrical Version of Heavenly Creatures is available on DVD. In the US instead the both versions have been released on DVD.
The running times refer to the Theatrical Version
- Theatrical Version: 92:31 min credits excluded (95:12 min credits included) in PAL
- Uncut Version: 101:16 min credits excluded (103:41 min credits included) in PAL
- 32 cuts [+ 5 jump cuts in the available Uncut Version (German Free TV)]
- Running time of the cuts: 547.8 sec (= 9:08 min)
The remaing difference of 23 sec results from additional logos and extended black images in the Theatrical Version plus some minor jump cuts in the Uncut Version (German Free TV).
00:00-00:15
Additional Miramax logo in the Theatrical Cut (TC), the movie starts after the lettering "A WingNut Films Production". In the Uncut Version (UV) the logo is missing, instead the lettering "Hanno Huth präsentiert" pops up before the Wing Nut lettering.
+ 11 sec
| Theatrical Cut | Uncut Version |
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00:46
Removed footage after mentioning the blooming yellow narcissi on the gras of Headley Park.
The voice over continues while idyllic images are shown. This time the narrator talks about a small river being sunned by green riversides and shadowy trees, which flows placidly and cool to the riversides. He calls it a sanctuary of the noisy city.
13.7 sec
01:02
After the statement that all streets were still flat, the voice over continues in the UV. The narrator says it was ideal for biking, then a shot of several bikers. The narrator explains that was a city of bikers. Shots of severals bikers driving in the camera's direction, then a police man who controls the traffic. The narrator talks about biking, that all family members (mothers, fathers, sons and daughters) enjoy riding the bike. He continues there were bikers of any age, from 8 to 80, on their way to work or to play.
Birds eye view of the city. The narrator talks about the tremendous amount of bikers and mentions that only in Copenhagen were even more of them.
28.2 sec
02:38-02:41
Extension of the black image before the title appears in the TC.
+ 2.8 sec
13:54
Extended shot of the boy who's running away from Juliet and Pauline.
3.4 sec
13:56
Dito. Furthermore a shot of Juliet and Pauline.
3.4 sec
14:00
Extended shot of Juliet's back while she's hastily running, she also steps out.
1.8 sec
14:24
Juliet tells her little brother to leave her alone. The boy, who just wants to play, justifies she was an intruder.
3.6 sec
14:25
After the statement that nobody's going to play with the little boy anymore, the conversation continues.
Juliet tells him to screw hisself, he mentions he didn't like that kind of language and he was going to tell Mum. Juliet calls him a sqealer and threatens that she would destroy his toys in his room if he told Mum.
7.5 sec
16:06
Conspicious sound when Juliet and Pauline have just started dancing: a part of the music is missing, so it's obvious that sth. had been removed here. The TC shows the bird's eye view immediately.
Missing shot of the annoyed father. He gets up and leaves, the mother keeps her seat and watches him leave.
3.8 sec
16:10
After they left the room, the TC continues outside.
A shot of the hallway, which shows them going to the door, has been removed. Pauline also turns around, she seems to be confused.
6.8 sec
18:33
Extended shot of the two getting undressed while they're dancing and singing.
9.3 sec
18:44
Trivial extension when they're in the woods.
1 sec
25:41
In the TC, the trip to Port Levy ends with the statement that nobody was able to honor them as they deserve.
In the UV, there's also a shot of Pauline, Juliet and her brother singing on the back seat.The camera goes backwards to the erratic driving father and the mother on the passenger seat. The father is being forced to bark when the cute little dog is mentioned, e.g. "I do hope that doggy's for sale". Then a shot of the landscape with the driving car, the singing is still audible.
When the car is gone, a lettering "Port Levy, Easter 1953" pops up.
In the TC, this lettering pops up in the following scene (estimated time index 25:43 - 25:46).
31.4 sec
| DVD | Uncut Version |
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27:20
The mother also laughs and mentions that, if the two borovnian princesses didn't excist, it had to be them.
Cut to the laughing girfriends Pauline and Juliet, then the mother continues talking about her daughter and her foster daughter.
The camera comes closer to Pauline and Juliet, Pauline's head is on her shoulder.
17.5 sec
28:13
Extended tracking shot of the hill Juliet is running down in the UV. We see her running until she looks like an ant (because of the distance). Pauline follows her, then she pauses shortly, then a shot over the hills from her perspective. She starts running again; again the birds eye view. This shot is even longer than the first one of Juliet, the camera moves "around a bent". Pauline calls for her friend several times.
16.5 sec
30:44-30:45
Voice over about being in the forth world when you're dead in the car. In the TC it's followed by the luck to know that they excisted and the switch to the distance shot of the driving car.
Shot of Pauline & Juliet on the back seat in the UV instead. Furthermore the voice over continues, it's about being allowed to use the key twice a year to have a peek at that wonderful world. Then the sentence about luck (mentionend above).
8.6 sec
36:23
Trivial extended shot of Juliet when she's working on her clay figure.
The gap between the two sentences in the voice over is smaller in the TC to make the sound suitable with the images. Nevertheless it sounds weird.
1.5 sec
38:49-38:50
Maybe just a jump cut in the UV:
Extended shot of Pauline's sceptical-looking mother in the TC. Furthermore the following scene, which shows a fruit basket being put down, begins a couple of frames earlier.
+ 1.8 sec
47:09
After the shot of the "Borovnia" sign, a short scene (Pauline's view while she's walking through the corridor) is missing. She sees the court, where the living clay figures are gathering, immediately.
2.8 sec
47:14
After the first tracking shot of the court, a close-up of a singing clay figure (presumably Mario Lanza) has been removed.
3.3 sec
47:17
Again some singing, the shot begins slightly earlier in the UV.
1 sec
47:20
Dito. The ending of the shot is extended. The camera also circles Mario, then the choir in the background. Then another tracking shot of the court, which shows some more clay figures. Then Pauline happily on stilts.
18 sec
47:24-47:36
Now most of the beforehand-removed scenes have been reinsert here. But the tracking shot is interrupted earlier plus the choir in the background is missing. Instead the shot of the figure on stilts at once. To sum it up, the first two shown images are nevertheless missing.
+ 11.6 sec
50:36
Missing shot in the TC which shows the clay figure Charles' body being cut in two pieces and the upper body part falling forward.
0.6 sec
50:51
After the voice over, which mentions two pairs of eyes that were so different, the close-up of the eyes and the new sentence (that hate burned in brown eyes) follows immediately in the TC.
Another missing part of the dreaming scene plus an additional dreaming scene which shows Pauline & Juliet as borovnian princesses.
The voice over continues while they're bringing their glasses to their mouths. During the voice over, both of them transform into their "clay figure versions" and the background changes as well.
7.6 sec
55:12
In the TC, Dr. Bennett's words of advise finish with the words she could also have friends and be with them as a boy.
In the UV, the camera comes closer to Pauline, sinister music in the background. Dr. Bennett continues, he says he understood that she didn't want to hurt Juliet. Then a shot of Dr. Bennett, the camera also comes closer while sinister music is being played. Close-up of the evil-looking Pauline, then Dr. Bennett again. He mentions there were so many clubs and hobbies. Then the stabbing in the stomach which is also on the DVD.
11.5 sec
56:34-56:35
Probably another jump cut in the UV:
Extended shot of Pauline's mother after she agreed. In the following scene, which shows the family in the living room, a couple of frames are missing as well.
+ 1.3 sec
61:26
Missing part after Juliet's statement that they had the money they needed pretty soon. She also walks across the deck while Pauline is leaning on the handrail and says the people would be really enthusiastic when they arrived in Hollywood.
Pauline also mentions they would understand each other immediately, that she couldn't wait to do the love scenes. The camera comes closer and she continues that, once they were married... But Juliet interrupts her and says she wasn't worried about that because they were going to kill any wife that crosses their path. Pauline happily sighs.
24.7 sec
61:45
Here a complete scene is missing after Pauline hung up the clothes and said they were really marvelous.
Garden party at the Hulmes, Juliet's parents. It turns out that the mother is having an affair. We also get to know that Dr. Hulme doesn't change his residence voluntarily later in the movie. He will be fired and will be given some time to look for a new job abroud.
Juliet's mother Hilda and Bill on the tennis court. It turns out that he's the one she's having an affair with, the father's on the sidelines. Her lover congrats her to the point.
A car drives by; a distance shot of the residence. Dr. Bennett is walking in his garden, when suddenly a ?stone? is being tossed out of the bushes. It comes down in the water in front of him and his female companion, both of them get really wet.
Juliet says (to Pauline in the bushes) that had been a great success because his pants were completely wet. Pauline adds everyone would think he had peed his pants. Juliet laughs and both leave.
Then Hilda, who doesn't hit the ball very well, and Bill, who says it might happen, then he puts his arm on her.
The scene was watched by the two girls in the woods. Juliet is angry about Bill, she doesn't want him sneaking around her Mum. Pauline assumes he could be really sick and Juliet replies that's what they were trying to make them believe.
Now a flashback to intensify the relationship of Bill & Hilda. Cut to the common dinner, Hilda tells her husband she was worried about Bill Perry. While an image of the disapproving-looking Juliet is being shown, she keeps on talking. She explains she was worried he wouldn't have a place to recover. Her husband just makes clear he got it, but Hilda becomes more boldly and mentions the appartments for guests. She also says being alone wouldn't be good for him in his current condition. Juliet's father is still desinterested and agrees shortly, then a shot of Juliet again. One can hear her thoughts, that she had been very excited about the transportation. Then a surreal flashback of the patient being transported plus her voice over which says a body on a stretcher was exciting somehow.
Bill, who's lying on the stretcher, starts coughing. Juliet and her mother, being lightened by the ambulance, are on his way to Bill. Hilda expresses her worries very dramatically. After the mother is much closer, the ambulance light goes off abruptly and Julian, who has stopped running, is back in reality. Then a voice over about the big disappointment.
In reality Bill arrives in his own car and is perfectly healthy. The mother welcomes him. She says she was delighted to see him and wants to know if the trip wasn't too exhausting, then he kisses her. Bill answers the trip had been convenient and their place to live was absolutely beautiful. He (more or less) ignores Juliet and says "Oh, hello" too her while he's passing by. Juliet imitates him by giving him the same look.
Hilda on the stairs, she explains it had been made for the staff and it was really comfortable. Bill is enthusiastic. Behind him, the father arrives. He has been degraded to Bill's baggage porter.
The flashback ends and Juliet says to Pauline her mother made sheep's eyes at Bill. Pauline asks if he wanted to go for her. Juliet says she was certain about that and he wasn't going to succeed because her daddy was the only one. To disprove that, a shot of him while he's foolishly running after the ball his wife hit pretty awful. Pauline expresses her sympathy for him, but Juliet tells her not to worry because they were still in love with each other. He returns the ball, Bill catches it and thanks him. Apparently Bill has striked a nerve because the following flashback shows that Henry had lost his job as well. We see his former boss, he says Henry had everybody against him and he had lost all sympathies. Another guy, who's sitting next to him, explains Henry had made wrong decisions regarding the forestry faculty. Henry, sitting at the other side of the table, replies he still agreed with his report from the year before. Furthermore he says Canterbury College might not escalate that way. A third guy starts talking, he reminds Henry to be honest to each other and a man like him would be needed in England. Henry, a bit overwhelmed, answers he had to think at his daughter's health, she needed a warm climate urgently. Then a shot of those three. They tell him they wanted to avoid public interest and he had time until the end of the year to find a new job. Henry looks shocked, then a cut. Henry is in his bedroom, reading some letters (either love letters from Bill & Hilda or the letters from/to Pauline). Reading these letters intensifies his grief.
totally 211.7 sec
62:50
Missing scene after the shot of the furious-looking Pauline.
Pauline at the dinner table, she lets her parents die in her imagination.
Again the voice over which says she couldn't go to ?Ailen? before she had reached a weight of 50 kilos, so that she was in a good mood. She goes on she had been excited the whole week and can't believe what had happened to her. Then a shot of her mother, the voice over continues. She thinks that was unfair, furthermore she talks about her mother's snarky comments and about her being upset about it. Now Pauline again, the voice over goes on. She's glad that the boys really understood her and that adults could notice what her mother was really like. Finally she hopes Dr. Humel was going to sth.
Beginning of the dreaming scene. It seems that the food hasn't been very well for Pauline's mother. Then the voice over again, which asks why mother couldn't just die. Then Pauline again, who's relishingly watching her mother's agony. Then the mother again, she gasps for air. Tracking shot of the other family members at the table, nobody cares. Everyone acts like nothing happens and eats. Then the mother drops on her plate. Pauline, who's looking in another direction, says father would be the next. Her father bends forward to get sth. from the table, but suddenly his body drops backwards. A knife in his back appears. Pauline looks satisfied, but then the flashback ends because her grandmother calls for her. She holds her hand in Pauline's direction with sth. in it. Pauline takes it and mother becomes noticable behind her hands (she was blurred in advance). Pauline holds the ring-like item in her hand, her grandmother tells her to close her eyes and to make a wish. So she does while the camera is coming closer.
80.2 sec
63:28
Extended shot of Hilda & Bill in the UV. Hilda also mentions Mr. Perry wasn't feeling very well and she had brought him some tea. Bill asks Juliet if she also wanted a cup of tea, but Juliet denies and explains she wasn't dumb.
6.2 sec
66:09-66:10
Again a jump cut in the UV. Extended shot of Pauline with her notebook.
+ 2.7 sec
72:27
The scene is actually much longer. The camera also circles Pauline & Juliet who are dancing around the singer.
13.4 sec
72:34
Extended shot of Pauline dancing with the clay figure. Then another shot, which shows the two girls dancing in the room, the focus lies on Pauline. The TC immediately continues with the following scene, a closer shot of Juliet and her dancing partner.
6.6 sec
73:08
That's odd. A couple of frames at the ending and the beginning of two shorts are missing (when the first shot of the hatchet pops up which looses the banner that reads "Mad").
0.7 sec
77:00
Missing shot of a huge banner which reads "SIN" in red letters. The letters explode and blood splatters on the camera until nothing can be recognized anymore. Then a shot of the furious, close-standing clay figures. The camera moves backwards and passes the bathroom window, which shows the clay figures behind Pauline, who's in the bath tub, in the court. The clay figures "drown" in black until they're completely gone.
9.1 sec
78:49-78:50
Extended shot in the TC which shows the girls standing close to the fire. The UV immediately continues with the next scene, presumably another jump cut.
+ 3.6 sec
91:15-91:27
Here the image of the crying Pauline in black and white turns slowly in black, but her crying is still audible.
In the UV Pauline cries onscreen for a longer period, then an additional shot of her with blood in the face.
Furthermore the score begins earlier, before the credits start.
The UV is approx. 4 sec longer.
4.1 sec
| DVD | Uncut Version |
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Finally a comparison of the images. The quality of the images in the TC (German DVD) is much better than it is in the UV (German Free TV). Furthermore the image of the UV is cropped heavily, so that a lot of information is lost.
As a matter of fact the supporting film about Christchurch is also cropped (slightly more than the rest of the movie) to reach the usual aspect ratio. In the TC on the other hand, it's presented in a different aspect ratio so that nothing is lost. The letters are different as well but the text itself remains unchanged.
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