Story vs. Performance - The 1993 Director’s Cut of Anthology
focused primarily
on the Beatles story, using performance footage only to enhance the story.
The final
version would remove much of the story and details to include as much TV
and concert
footage as possible. At the time this appeared to be the best approach, but
in retrospect
opinions may change after hearing the uncut interviews; this was after all
their one
change to tell their story. Collectors have countless sources for the TV
and concert footage,
but only one option to hear their story as done for the Anthology series,
until now that is!
Uncensored Version - comparisons between the two versions of Anthology clearly
show
heavy editing. An entire sequence regarding Yoko Ono and her effects on the
band has
been cut-down to almost nothing; only on the 1993 version will you hear unedited
and
sometimes unflattering comments. Much of the filmed interviews did not make
it into the
final Anthology or even the book, with many being changed or reworded. One
example
is George commenting on the positive experiences he had with drugs, including
the famous
dentist real name! Director’s cut ’93 also includes the original
extended sequence on
George’s song writing later trimmed at George’s request. It becomes
obvious by program 1
what you are seeing is what the director and production team assembled and
presented to
the band before they made numerous change request.
Quality Of Archival Footage - At this early stage, Apple had to use what
footage it had
available with quality varying from poor to ex. Some of early TV appearances
and newsreels
are obviously taken from VHS screening tapes, and many include time-code.
Some scenes
contain the text “Temporary Picture” All of the new interviews
and Apple owned material,
including footage taken directly from the original cut of “The Long
And Winding Road” look
great and contains no time code. It is quite interesting to see what
Apple’s film archives looked
like in 1993. In 1995 Anthology producer Chips Chipperfield hinted at what
this early version
might look like when asked why they could not just use the original 10-hour
version for the
home video release “We can but that’s off-line. Off-line is a rough
cut. It’s cut from whatever
archive sources we have so a lot of it is VHS
Unused McCartney Interview - Programs 1&2 include an unused interview
with Paul.
This was the first interview shot and used before finally being replaced
with a re-recorded
Paul in black turtleneck With this first interview being re-shot, the stories
vary from the final release
Partially Unused Harrison Interview - For most of Programs 1&2, the only
Harrison interview
used is the control room interview with George sporting a mustache. More
than ½ of this interview
was later removed and replaced with a re-recorded clean-shaven George. With
much of this first
interview going unused, the stories vary from the final version
Unused Neil Aspinall Interviews - For most of the first two programs, we
see Neil’s first
interview sessions wearing no hat, the stories heard vary from the commercial
version.
Derek Taylor - Derek has a larger role in the early version of Anthology,
and is
featured in numerous unseen interviews
Program Endings - An early idea was to end each program with a sequence showing
the progression the band was making. Examples would be an overhead view
showing
the move from Liverpool to London, or the move from London to the US.
Audio Outtakes - It is important to note that the 1993 Anthology uses very
little studio
outtake recordings. There are no created studio sequences of audio outtakes.
We
don’t hear any real audio outtakes until the 68 studio sessions, as
the audio outtakes
were still being examined at this early stage of production and were not
made available
to the production team just yet. But… we do get to hear the unused
“Hums” ending for
“A Day In The Life” along with part of take 4!
Early/Abandoned Ideas - The 1993 Anthology uses many ideas later modified
or
dropped entirely. The recreations of fans rooms differ greatly; TV and tour
montages
were created then later dropped. An early idea was to show the move from
Liverpool
to Abbey Road studios, done by filming an entire trip-sequence taking you
from
Liverpool and ending at George Martin’s door in Abbey Road Studios.
Other early
ideas put Paul in the film “The Girl Can’t Help It” Various
other unused segments appear
throughout the entire eight programs
1993 Ending - At this early stage, the documentary ends with the “Let
It Be” sessions
and rooftop concert. Program 8 part 1 dates from December 1993. 1994 would
alter
the Documentary considerably, with the three remaining Beatles reforming
to record
new music and joint interviews. It was at this point; the 1993 version was
heavily
re-edited leaving only a hint of what it had originally looked like.
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