"The Cage" Original Version

[CaptainBearclaw]

It has recently come to my attention that the version of "The Cage" on Blu-Ray was in fact not the original version, and there is in fact some material left out. The following is what I believe to have been changed.
-Many of the effect shots appear to have been desaturated in the Blu-Ray version. No idea why.
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x00hd/thecagehd0011.jpg Blu-Ray version
http://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/0x00/thecage005.jpg
2003 DVD version
-Big one. Malachi Throne's original voice for The Keeper. Pitch-shifted for The Menagerie. The original was heard in the 1986 restoration's black and white footage, but not the Blu-Ray where the remaining dialogue was pitch-shifted to match the Menagerie footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eB6ZelxXTA
-A brief music sting added for the Menagerie has gone unnoticed in all versions except Roddenberry's 16mm.
-A few frames of footage in the briefing scene, including Spock switching the monitor off, are missing in the 1989 restoration. (Although the monitor is back on in the last shot of the scene)
-The picnic scene is missing some shots. To fit the existing color footage to the uncut soundtrack, some shots are repeated. Additionally, both the 1986, 1989, and Blu-Ray are missing some dialogue present in the original 16mm print.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI__mmuIsiY
-Before Pike's line "Don't help me. . . They can't read through hate", the Keeper exits the menagerie. After that line, a shot from a later scene of the Keeper returning is re-used. This was made to cover up the dissolve to the later scene that was made for "The Menagerie". Originally, this shot followed a closeup to Veena, a cut to the Enterprise bridge, and a cut to the prisoners asleep in the cage.
-A brief portion of dialogue was edited out here as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI__mmuIsiY
-After Pike beams back to the ship, there is a reaction shot of Number One and Spock. The color print of this shot was lost, so what is used instead is a re-photographed shot of the shot played on the view screen (taken from The Menagerie). This is evident because the shot begins to pull back and we can see the edge of the monitor screen.

Just a little thing showing how the Blu-Ray version is incomplete and rather strange in terms of coloring and editing choices.

 

[SpHeRe31459]

Are you sure these are intrinsic to the BD version and not just the color version in general?

I was under the impression that the only "complete" version is the version that used B&W footage when there was no matching color footage that was originally released on home video in the late-80s.

 

[mb22]

-Big one. Malachi Throne's original voice for The Keeper. Pitch-shifted for The Menagerie. The original was heard in the 1986 restoration, but not the Blu-Ray where the remaining dialogue was pitch-shifted to match the Menagerie footage.

In the 1986 version the original vpoice was only heard in restored black and white footage. The color footage was taken from the aired version and featured the altered voice.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Also, all released versions of The Cage include a music sting composed for The Man Trap two years after the fact. When the Keeper says "we may now begin the experiment," the music hits. It's actually a variation on the original theme written for Where No Man Has Gone Before. It was put there in The Menagerie part 2 to accent the line (and it works great), but it went unnoticed when the color clips from the two parter were used for the restoration. Nobody ever removed it for later restorations.

 

[Warped9]

Tampering, tampering, there's always tampering.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Tampering, tampering, there's always tampering.

The first bit of tampering occurred in 1966. The only version of the episode which could possibly be called definitive is the first version to actually air on television, and that didn't happen until 1988. I guess you could call the first VHS version with both color and B&W footage the definitive version, in which case there's no problem because this version is also on the Blu-ray.

 

[CaptainBearclaw]

i wish there was someone out there with enough digital tools to recreate the original version, but I doubt that, since there's no one I know has successfully colorized black and white footage.

 

[Hober Mallow]

i wish there was someone out there with enough digital tools to recreate the original version, but I doubt that, since there's no one I know has successfully colorized black and white footage.

The main problem with that is that there is no original version. There's the pieced-together job for the first VHS release, which was already altered by being used in "The Menagerie," and there's the aired TV version from 1988. Then there's the version Gene Roddenberry showed at speaking events or whatever which I've heard was different from both versions.

 

[Melakon]

Maybe Rod Jr is hiding it in the vault until the 50th anniversary.

 

[CaptainBearclaw]

Ok, just listened to the YouTube clip I linked to and noticed some things.

1. Additional music. I don't remember hearing this before but it occurs twice. There is a brief sting as the Keeper exits the menagerie, and one as he enters after Colt and No. 1 have beamed down.

2. Pike lets out several pained screams during the hell pit scene. This is interestingly on the 1986 version's introduction.

 

[Lance]

i wish there was someone out there with enough digital tools to recreate the original version, but I doubt that, since there's no one I know has successfully colorized black and white footage.

A Youtube user named Babelcolour did an astonishing job colorizing old black & white clips from Doctor Who, but it was only short scenes not full episodes. The work was very convincing, and it proves to me that it can be done, but on a project like The Cage I'd imagine it would be cost prohibitive. Especially when there's an 'almost complete' full color copy already.

 

[CaptainBearclaw]

Well, all we'd need was some short frames colorized, everything else is just audio work or stuff that can be restored from older DVD's.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

i wish there was someone out there with enough digital tools to recreate the original version, but I doubt that, since there's no one I know has successfully colorized black and white footage.

A Youtube user named Babelcolour did an astonishing job colorizing old black & white clips from Doctor Who, but it was only short scenes not full episodes.

He subsequently went on to recreate the original colour for the whole of episode 1 of The Mind of Evil, which is now released on DVD. So it definitely can be done.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

There are lots of other points where the pacing was changed by editing out pauses between lines. For just one example, there were significant pauses both before and after the Magistrate's line "No other species has shown your adaptability. You were our last hope."


They should release the complete black and white print of the original on DVD, just to set the record straight, and then let everyone have at it as far as colorization.

 

[Christopher]

The main problem with that is that there is no original version.

Essentially correct. We're talking about an unsold pilot film, essentially an unfinished draft. If it had been purchased in that form, it would probably have been edited before broadcast anyway, because it was too long to fit in a 1-hour slot. Once it was rejected, Roddenberry considered shooting more material to expand it into a theatrical film, but ended up cutting up the color master of the pilot to turn it into the "Menagerie" 2-parter, which is why the only "intact" version of the pilot that survived was Roddenberry's B&W print. The film cuts from the master were recovered in 1987 and incorporated into the full-color home-video release, but the cut parts of the master soundtrack were never recovered, which is why they had to keep using the soundtrack cut together from "The Menagerie" and the B&W print.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

I don't see the sense in keeping Roddenberry's B&W print under lock and key, though. It's an important historical document and somebody ought to make it available to the public, warts and all.

(Yes, even members of the public who have warts.)

If you want to hear the complete original soundtrack (albeit in the form of a very crappy audience recording), try this.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE4RPRxPyns[/yt]

 

[Christopher]

^It's not about "lock and key," it's about profitability, most likely. The market for a print of such low quality is limited, so the potential profit CBS could make from a release wouldn't be enough to justify the cost of producing it.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Would have made a good extra, though, and they wouldn't really need to clean it up.

 

[marksound]

I remember seeing the patched together print in 1988, watching it on a 19" tv. As rough as it was, it was still great. It had not been broadcast in its entirety before. GR's commentary was pretty cool, too.

I think people these days don't appreciate the way things were before big flat screens and 1080 resolution and 1000 channels, and even remote controls. Making people aware of how good things are now is not a bad thing.

Reminding people of this stuff is good, no matter how stupid they think it is.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Reminding people of this stuff is good, no matter how stupid they think it is.

The cool 1% won't think it's stupid.