It should be common knowledge by now that the version of the film released into cinemas in 1998 (and put onto DVD) was heavily edited, there are a few theories for this but nothing has been officially stated.
There is evidence of the deleted scenes in both the movie's novelisation and script book, but most importantly clips from some of the scenes are included in the film's trailer, also the soundtrack CD features music from the scenes so we know at least some of them were filmed.
Ever since the film was released in the cinema there's been an interest in having the full length version of the film released especially since none the extra material was included on the DVD, this site is the latest to support that campaign.
What can we do?
Stephen Cummings Guide
The first stage of getting the full length film released is to get people interested, there are many fans of the Avengers movie, but on our own were not enough.
From the IMDb Message Board posted by user Stephen Cummings (aka sthom-1), a mini guide to do just that:
1) Try and get your friends to give it another chance.
Better still, find someone who hasn't seen the film, and knows nothing of its tarnished reputation. Recommend it. Tell them that its not meant to be a hard-hitting social drama, a Marvel Comics adaptation, or an Austin Powers-type spoof. Point out that it was butchered before general release. If you can, tell them what was excised.
2) Illuminate the film's good points.
There's Ralph Fiennes' Steed, Eddie Izzard's Bailey, Eileen Atkins' Alice, Jim Broadbent's Mother. The sets are colourful and imaginative, so are the costumes, the dialogue's sophisticated, the music's good, the action scenes exciting, particularly the training ground opening, the 'Wonderland Weather' fight, and robot bee attack.
3) Point out there are far worse TV adaptation movies.
'I Spy' and 'Sgt.Bilko' as obvious examples of botched TV series' adaptations and at least Steed doesn't turn out to be the villain.
4) If they mention the Teddy Bear henchmen..
Point them in the direction of the original Avengers TV series and they'll soon realise that only in 'Avengersland' would that happen! Meaning that the film is faithful to the spirit of it's TV cousin.
In 2007 a Myspace profile and group were created to provide a visual way of supporting the film and providing a way of communicating with other fans of the film.
They can be found by clicking on the link below.
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Since it's creation the profile has received a steady number of visitors and friend requests, a map logging the location of the visitors via ISP addresses shows the widespread fanbase of the film.
A big part of getting the film released as a Director's Cut or Special Edition is letting Warner Brothers know there's a demand for it. Recently there's been some rumours that Warner Home Video are considering a release, but people still need to express an interest.
Here are some contact details for Warner Home Video in the US and the UK.
| Warner Home Video (US) | Warner Home Video (UK) | |
3400 Riverside Drive |
Warner House 98, Theobalds Road London WC1X 8WB |
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| Telephone: 818-954-6000 | Telephone: (02079) 846480 | |
If anyone has any information that would be helpful to the campaign, please contact us.