***BREAKING: FINAL SPECS for NIGHTBREED:THE DIRECTOR'S CUT Revealed!*** "We are very excited today to announce the final list of extras that will be available on our two releases of NIGHTBREED: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT (both out on 10/28). We thank every fan of "Midian" for being patient for this long-awaited news and we hope you are pleased.
"We begin with an official statement from Clive Barker's team on this extraordinary project: 'The Nightbreed Director's Cut is an entirely different film than the one which was released in theaters. Its 20 minutes longer than the theatrical cut, but it contains over 40 minutes of new and altered footage. Clive oversaw the reconstruction and edit himself, personally ensuring that, at long last, he was able to tell the story he always wanted to tell, but until now, had never been given the chance. Once the scenes were reordered, and the original film footage restored, the entire film received a brand new sound mix and color pass. It is, in every way, a different movie. It contains more story, more monsters, and there's even a musical number. Ultimately, what we've delivered is a love story 25 years in the making' "
DVD & BLU-RAY COMBO SPECIAL EDITION SET
* New "Director's Cut" presentation of the film which contains over 40 minutes of new and altered footage
* Introduction by writer/director Clive Barker and restoration producer Mark Alan Miller
* Audio Commentary by writer/director Clive Barker and restoration producer Mark Alan Miller
* Tribes of the Moon: The Making of Nightbreed featuring interviews with Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, Doug Bradley and more... (72 minutes)
* Making Monsters - interviews with makeup effects artists Bob Keen, Martin Mercer and Paul Jones (42 minutes)
* Fire! Fights! Stunts! 2nd Unit Shooting - an interview with Andy Armstrong (20 minutes)
* Original Theatrical Trailer
1:78 Widescreen/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/Dolby Digital 5.1/English Subtitles
LIMITED EDITION 3-DISC BLU-RAY SET (10,000 Numbered Pieces)
DISC 1: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT
* New "Director's Cut" presentation of the film which contains over 40 minutes of new and altered footage
* Introduction by writer/director Clive Barker and restoration producer Mark Alan Miller
* Audio Commentary by writer/director Clive Barker and restoration producer Mark Alan Miller
* Tribes of the Moon: The Making of Nightbreed featuring interviews with Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, Doug Bradley and more... (72 minutes)
* Making Monsters - interviews with makeup effects artists Bob Keen, Martin Mercer and Paul Jones (42 minutes)
* Fire! Fights! Stunts! 2nd Unit Shooting - an interview with Andy Armstrong (20 minutes)
* Original Theatrical Trailer
1:78 Widescreen/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/Dolby Digital 5.1
DISC 2: BONUS DISC
* Deleted and Alternate Scenes (approx. 20 minutes)
* Monster Prosthetics Master Class
* Cutting Compromise - an interview with editor Mark Goldblatt
* The Painted Landscape: The Concept Art of Ralph McQuarrie
* Matte Painting Tests
* Makeup Tests
* Stop Motion Lost Footage
* Extended Torture Scene
* Rehearsal of Boone's dream
* Extensive Still Galleries - Early Sketches, Deleted Scene, Posters and Pre-Production art, On the Set, The Cast and Crew
DISC 3: THE THEATRICAL CUT
* New transfer from the inter-positive
1:78 Widescreen/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/English Subtitles
**NOTE: Those who order the Limited Edition and Special Edition sets directly from us at www.ScreamfactoryDVD.com will also receive an exclusive 18"x24" poster of the newly designed artworks (available while supplies last) plus a 2-week early ship on 10/14."
Scream Factory Press Release
3 September 2014
Daniel Noah (SpectreFest) "I had a really great meeting with Mark Miller who works for Clive, both dealing with the development of his literary properties and his films, and as we were talking he mentioned that the director's cut of Nightbreed was coming and I asked if it had a premiere, and that led to the incredible news that Clive would be coming out, because he doesn't do many appearances. Because it's such a special event for Clive, and Nightbreed has been such a passion project and getting it right has been an obsession for him - this is a big event in his life and we wanted the event to feel special and have a grandiosity about it, and it came out that Clive has these notebooks that he keeps by his bed, and throughout his entire life, he uses them as dream journals; he wakes up in the middle of the night and makes a record of his dreams in pictures, not words, so he has notebook upon notebook of images that com right out of his unconscious. Some of them have been the seedlings for some of his most iconic works. We're working with Clive to put together an exhibition of pages from his notebooks that will be on display. It's a very intimate process, it's an incredible privilege and we're extremely honored."
Interview: Daniel Noah on SpectreFest and Clive Barker
By The Horror Honeys, Moviepilot, 4 September 2014 (note: full text online at http://moviepilot.com)
Screenings for the Director's Cut of Nightbreed...***NIGHTBREED: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT Update!!*** "We have big (and extensive) news to report today regarding a film that we announced almost over a year ago in July. In collaboration with Morgan Creek Productions and Clive Barker's Seraphim, Inc., the long-awaited NIGHTBREED: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT is scheduled for a release of October 28th and will be available in two retail versions: A 5,000 Unit Limited-Edition 3-Disc Blu-ray set and a Special Edition DVD & Blu-ray Combo.
"In 1990, the film was released theatrically nationwide. However, the movie studio edited the film extensively and several scenes were excised or rearranged - much to Director Clive Barker's disappointment. Since then, a fan-driven movement was created (www.OccupyMidian.com) to see the full version of the film restored and re-released. Now, after 25 years, fans and horror enthusiasts can finally experience NIGHTBREED like never before! Scream Factory, in conjunction with Warner Bros., was able to find the long-thought-missing original film elements and combed through over 600 boxes to locate not only the lost scenes but a treasure trove of never-before-seen footage as well. With nearly an hour of lost footage meticulously restored, the result is not only a more faithful adaptation of Clive Barker's book Cabal, but also what he originally intended NIGHTBREED to be.
"Official statement from Clive Barker: 'This is film history and beyond my wildest dreams of realization. When Scream Factory told me that they found the NIGHTBREED film footage I was gob-smacked! This is the ultimate validation of choices made by myself and Mark Miller all the way back in 2008. As we embarked down the road of attempting to track down the lost footage, we looked at each other and said, 'Maybe one day they'll find it.' It's my pleasure to announce that the day has come. Speaking personally, I didn't allow myself to believe that it would. Even if we did find some footage (which we did in 2009 in the form of heavily degraded VHS tapes) and even if we did find a company willing to release the film (which we did in 2013 with Scream Factory, God bless them) the prospect of finding the actual lost film materials was remoter than I'd wanted to admit out loud. If the footage could not be found by those who had worked closest on it the same year it had been released, then what were the odds we'd be able to find anything 20 years on? But Scream Factory, in their commendable determination, kept up the search and thanks to them total reconstruction has been made a possibility. There's never been a reconstruction that's had as little chance of succeeding and yet has succeeded on as many fronts as this film has. It's unprecedented. To now have a movie that we can put together in the way that I fully intended it to be seen when I first set out to make this film in 1989 is extraordinary. The project has moved inexorably to this conclusion. Fate and the hard work of individuals such as Mark Miller, Russell Cherrington, Phil and Sarah Stokes, Occupy Midian, Morgan Creek, and ultimately, Scream Factory have made this a possibility and I could not be happier.' "
Scream Factory Press Release
1 July 2014
Cliff MacMillan (Scream Factory) :
"We did a brand-new transfer [of the theatrical cut], about a month ago, from the inter-positive that Warner Bros. had, because the only other HD transfer that Warner had was an interlaced transfer and there was no way we were going to use that for this release, so yeah we did a brand-new transfer so the theatrical cut is from the new transfer and then the Director's Cut will be using that new HD transfer and then, when we transferred the missing footage we transferred it from the original camera negative so actually that footage may look a bit better than the actual movie does, because, you know, an inter-positive is a generation down from the negative...
"When we originally contacted Warner Bros. they gave us a list of what they had and it was all the materials that they had here in Burbank and I just kinda pleaded with them - I said, 'Can you please look in deep storage?' and so they said, 'OK, we'll get back to you,' and they came back to me in a few weeks with this massive list of film elements... So I went through the list and found and checked off those boxes that were listed as 'trims' from the film, so we had absolutely no idea what that could be; it could be, you know, scenes that are in the theatrical version that got trimmed at some point or other, so we didn't know. So they shipped the stuff from the Mid-West all the way out here and, yeah, I mean it was over 600 boxes and each box had just a little film reel so we had to string all of those together so that we could run them through the equipment and... the first day we were sitting there and we ran the first reel and here's the stop-motion footage of this creature, this woman - she looks like a panther - riding this creature and it was like, 'Oh my God, we found it.' This was just the beginning - and the more and more we started looking at the reels we started finding - I mean, we found footage that isn't in either version of the film - we found more footage that's been shot... There's a bedroom scene between Peloquin and, Shuna? There's like, yeah, it's amazing... We found that footage, we found just tons of footage. And some of it won't have audio, but we're doing the best we can to find audio, and I think in places where we don't have audio we may use the original script to bring up subtitles so at least you know what the people are saying."
Cliff MacMillan of Scream Factory
By Ryan Danhauser and José Leitão, Clive Barker Podcast, 3 July 2014 (note - full audio at clivebarkercast.com/)
Mark Miller : "We're going to call it the Director's Cut because, while the fans have been incredibly supportive and are one hundred percent the reason we got so much attention and a distributor, there are still murmurs that [the Cabal Cut] is overly long, there's some repetitive footage, it still needs a proper sound mix, there are a lot of flaws with it, you know, I mean it's essentially a fan-made workprint. We did it in-house and it's by no means a professional thing. And so when Shout Factory start the restoration and give it a proper mix and digitize it and restore it and Clive goes in and watches it and gives his notes, you know, and suggests the trims and puts everything in order and we have the ultimate thing, that's going to be the Director's Cut because Clive's had his hands in it, you know, it's an official, professional release and we want people to know that it is something different and it is something that's just going to be Clive's ultimate vision... We haven't given up the search [for more footage] - we're still looking! So stay tuned... anything is possible!"
Mark Miller
By Brad, Picking Brains Podcast, Episode 70, 6 March 2014 (note - full audio at picking-brains.com/)
Clive :
"Last night, seeing the response to the Cabal cut of NIGHTBREED, and having a chance to talk with the six hundred people, many in amazing costumes, who came to the screening, I felt relieved of a great weight of anxiety. It's been a long time since I've made a public appearance that was as important to me as last night. Though I'm not yet wholly well, the fact that I could sit in front of an audience and chat as was my style back in the day, gave me a welcome boost of confidence. I came away from last night's event profoundly grateful to all those fans of the original NIGHTBREED who had the vision to see the healthy movie that lay in the wreckage of the wounded version, and who had the faith to believe that somehow it might be possible to re-ignite the creative fire that had motivated so many artists to attempt to make my dream of a monster epic a reality in the first place. We've still got a lot of work to do in order to polish the once-lost pieces of the film so that the whole experience flows together. But we'll do it. Next time I watch NIGHTBREED on a big screen it will be at a screening of the movie I once made, only to see it torn into many pieces and left to perish. But some stories, it seems, refuse to surrender to decay and neglect. They bide their time, waiting for the dawning of a different day.
"To everybody who made last night such a happy reunion (and to the many who were there with us in spirit), proud monsters all, I send my love and thanks. No creator was more blessed .Thank you."
Facebook Posts
By Clive Barker, 27 October 2013
Cliff MacMillan (Aquisitions / DVD producer, Scream Factory) :
"We haven't even started yet. I mean, we are going to do a new hi-def transfer of the original film and we'll do what can be done with the rough footage to try and make it less jarring but there's no film, the film has gone. I mean, that's the thing the fans don't understand most of the time, is that studios never kept the daily footage, the raw footage; they just threw it away... We felt the Cabal Cut was such a fan-favourite that it was worth going and acquiring it and we're going to do everything that we can to make it look and sound fantastic.
"I don't think we're going to be able to [include the regular cut], unfortunately... Yeah, it is [a rights issue]."
Scream Factory - The Sequel!
By Rob Galluzzo, Elric Kane and Rebekah McKendry, Killer POV, Episode 32, [4] October 2013 (note - full audio at www.geeknation.com)
Clive :
"I want to officially announce that the Cabal Cut of Nightbreed is going on to DVD.
"I have no details as yet of the timing of this release, or of the status of extras on the DVD. The company that will be releasing Nightbreed is Scream Factory.
"What I can tell you is that we at Seraphim have been invited to work with Scream Factory to make this release the best possible event. It's been a long journey to bring Nightbreed to this moment, and I want to make sure that the release is the best document of the movie and its adventures. I will obviously be updating you through facebook on all the developments as they come through to me from Scream Factory, but as it stands I think the Tribes of the Moon should rejoice. This is a triumph for all of your voices, your support and your love. Clive."
Facebook Posts
By Clive Barker, 19 July 2013
Clive also plans to attend a screening of the Cabal Cut of Nightbreed at Beyond Fest 26 October 2013 - tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets from 17 August 2013 for the screening together with an interview with Clive.Mark Miller : "It's been a process, well, the film came out in '89 so over twenty-five years in the making and, you know, it was five years ago that I sent Clive a text message that said, 'Hey, I heard there might be some missing footage' and we found it, we put it together, it's been touring the world, it's been incredible. And the deal just closed moments ago, literally. These guys are going to be giving it the restoration treatment, it's going to be unbelievable."
Scream Factory Panel
By Sean Clark (moderating), Comic-Con International, San Diego, 19 July 2013
Cliff MacMillan (Aquisitions / DVD producer, Scream Factory) :
"This is a sort of Holy Grail, at least it is for me and I think for Mark as well. We are going to release Clive Barker's Nightbreed the Cabal Cut...
"It'll probably take a while to put out because we do need to restore all the footage that was, that really only exists in one format at the moment. So we're going to have to completely restore it, try to get it to look as close as it can to... We're going to do it."
Scream Factory Panel
By Sean Clark (moderating), Comic-Con International, San Diego, 19 July 2013
Jeff Nelson (Marketing director, Scream Factory) : "We're over the moon, I mean, to get a title like this, again, a Holy Grail title like this, it just kinda blows our mind."
Scream Factory Panel
By Sean Clark (moderating), Comic-Con International, San Diego, 19 July 2013
Mark Miller : "It is with great pleasure that I can say we've come to the end of unpaved road that was the director's cut of Nightbreed. On Friday, July 19th, I received an email from Morgan Creek informing me that they had struck a deal with Shout Factory and that the Cabal Cut was, at long last, to receive an official dvd release. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a reality. Phil and Sarah Stokes. Morgan Creek. Russell Cherrington. Occupy Midian. Rue Morgue. There were so many people that were instrumental in this undertaking that it's impossible to list them all. But you know who you are. You signed petitions. You stood in lines at screenings. You made your voices known. Our journey is nowhere near a close; we're only just getting started. Keep watching."
Reaction from Mark Miller
By Mark Miller, email to Revelations, 23 July 2013
Mark Miller : "Let me say, this is an incredible time for Seraphim Films. We have worked closely with Morgan Creek on bringing the Cabal Cut to the world, and upon hearing the news that a deal had been struck with Shout Factory, we were overjoyed. The fruits of our labors have finally paid off. We eagerly await the next chapter in this saga. Our sincerest thanks to everyone who helped make this a reality."
Exclusive Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut Interview
By Jonathan James, Daily Dead.com, 22 July 2013
Russell Cherrington : "All I want to say to everyone is thank you for everybody's support. We could not have done this without the thousands of fans of Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut that got behind the film. It is people like you that made this happen and the reason Morgan Creek has given Nightbreed a second life via Scream Factory."
Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut coming to Blu-ray
By April Snellings, Ron McKenzie, Rue Morgue.com, 22 July 2013
Michael Plumides :
"When I heard [Eben McGarr and Joe Moe] needed help getting permission from Morgan Creek to screen Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut at Mad Monster Party but to little avail, I stepped in and contacted now President, David Robinson and told him, 'We need to support this. I think it's got some legs.'
"It took me one phone call to do what they were trying to get done for months.
"I asked if [Drafthouse Films] might be interested in distribution for the Cabal Cut... Although they were fans, to do what we needed to do wasn't really their wheelhouse. So, on the eve we were supposed to close, they suggested we go to Shout!Factory, introducing me to Cliff MacMillan, who I in turn introduced to Morgan Creek - we got the deal done minutes before the announcement."
Exclusive: Michael Plumides Talks Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut Heading to Home Video
By Scott Hallam, Dread Central.com, 22 July 2013
Cliff MacMillan (Scream Factory) : "It's going to take us some time to do some restoration work and really do a lot of extra features on it but it's going to be our big title for next year, I think."
Interview - San Diego Comic Con 2013
By Rob Galluzzo, FEARnet.com, 26 August 2013
Mark Miller : "We're trying to get some fests this year. We're probably going to see some theatrical stuff and it looks like we're going to get a DVD release, if not the end of this year then early next year."
Jimmy Star Show
By Jimmy Star, Ron Russell, Jimmy Star Show, 22 May 2013
Screenings for the composite Cabal Cut of Nightbreed continue in 2013...
Clive :
"The movie [originally] failed so dismally and the reception was so vicious, I was just dragged down by the waste of it. If I've come across as distancing myself from it, it's because I felt that I had not succeeded. I felt I'd let everybody down, including myself. There were a lot of people who'd really given their love and pushed harder than they needed to on my behalf, and we had nothing to show for it...
"What we're looking at [now] is a monstrous jigsaw, but the fact we've been able to reassemble the pieces in the right order now testifies to the fact that my version was actually shot. After all this time, I'm suddenly very optimistic!"
The Strange Case of Clive Barker's Nightbreed
By Owen Williams, Empire Magazine, No.279, September 2012 (Note - interview took place 12 July 2012)
Several more screenings of the composite Cabal Cut of Nightbreed have been announced - the full updated list is below:Clive : "My friends, Clive here,writing to share some wonderful news. Following the two Sold Out screenings of Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut on Sunday, Morgan Creek has given us permission to show the cut around the world and to raise money to prepare the cut for a release on Blu Ray. This could not, would not have happened without your voices. We have all been heard. The Morgan Creek team have my thanks and my respect. Very seldom does anyone in the movie business pay attention as they have, understanding perhaps that the message of the movie as I shot it is one that dramatizes a different ending to the age-old story of how a war between Humankind and something Other draws to a close. The real Nightbreed will be available for everyone to see. I hope its message of redemption and forgiveness move you."
Twitter Posts
By Clive Barker, 12 June 2012
And further screenings of the composite Cabal Cut of Nightbreed:
Clive :
"Hello all. Clive here. Just wanted to let you know of the wonderful movement to find a home for the director's cut of my film Nightbreed.
It's called Occupy Midian. Clever title courtesy of the lovely Anne Bobby who plays Lori in the movie. You can find it here [on twitter] and on Facebook.
"Go forth...and 'Breed..."
Twitter Posts
By Clive Barker, 11 April 2012
Russell Cherrington :
"For the last few years, Mark Miller has been working at getting Morgan Creek interested in a re-release of Nightbreed. He wanted them to allow a director's cut to be put together from the original footage. Nothing happened, and Morgan Creek told Mark that they could not locate any materials. Phil and Sarah from www.clivebarker.info then got involved with Mark, and between them, an original workprint was found on VHS. This was transferred to DVD and shown in 2010 at a HorrorHound event.
"I asked to see the workprint in June 2011, and decided at that point to work with the original script to create a composite cut of Nightbreed. It became clear to me that what I was working on was The Cabal Cut of the film. In late 2011, another workprint was found, again on VHS. I got a DVD copy of this from Mark, and with Seraphim Films' blessing, I worked the material from all three sources into the Cabal Cut.
"Once that was assembled, I asked Doug Bradley to redub his voice into the new version so that Lylesberg would no longer be German. Here's a youtube clip of Doug in the studio..."
Sign The Nightbreed Director's Cut Petition!
By John Nicol, Fangoria at www.fangoria.com, 13 April 2012
Mark Miller: "First, I should set the record straight. There was a three hour version but that was what we got when we put the two rough cuts together. And during the editing process we realized that what we were seeing were some of the reshoots. For example, in one of the first versions of the composite, Captain Eigerman died twice. We watched it all the way through and realized that probably shouldn't happen, so we went back and fixed that. Eventually we ended up with the version we have now, which is two hours 35 minutes long. Still a considerably longer film, but it doesn't feel that way at all. Without giving anything away, I can tell you that you can expect to see a lot more of everything - more monsters, more action, more story. And believe it or not, there's even a musical number."
Sinister Seven: Seraphim's Mark Miller on Nightbreed: The Director's Cut
By Ron McKenzie, Rue Morgue.com, 21 March 2012 (note - full text at: http://www.rue-morgue.com/ )
It's been a little over a year since our good friend Mark Miller was told by someone at Morgan Creek that Nightbreed's "missing" footage was in fact safely stored in their vaults, simply needing a reason to dig it out - but that no-one at the company could see a reason to do so.
As soon as we heard that the near-mythical footage had survived, we asked for your help to show how much support exists for a director's cut of the movie.
Over that period - during which we located two VHS workprints containing an hour of cut footage, one of which Morgan Creek authorised for a screening at HorrorHound last March - more than 2,000 people have added their names to the 'Release Nightbreed' petition on this page, as well as spreading the word in magazines, on news sites and blogs and at conventions.
A huge, huge thank you to each and every one of you from Clive and ourselves: your support has been instrumental in moving Morgan Creek from an initial "there's no interest" position on releasing an extended DVD or Bluray to one where they have actually been into the vaults to pull out the footage...
...and that's where the good news turns bad...
We've just had the following conversation with Morgan Creek:
Morgan Creek: "So I have a bit of sad news to relay. After MUCH digging, hunting and trying our best to unearth where (if at all) the missing Nightbreed footage might be, we've come up empty handed. Therefore, that VHS that was screened at the convention is the ONLY footage that exists of a director's cut."
Revelations: "Wow, that's tough news! A year ago we had no idea whether or not the footage still even existed and it was only when we heard the company knew exactly where it was that we and Clive even got up hopes to be able to construct an extended cut of the movie. Sounds like the initial comments to Mark were unduly optimistic?"
Morgan Creek:"Unfortunately yes - we were wrong about this one."
There's not much that can sweeten a blow like this when so many hopes have been so raised...
We've given the news to Clive and will be talking more with him about whether this might be a final death knell for a true extended Nightbreed. In the meantime, again prompted by your visible and vocal support, Morgan Creek have offered us access to all the Nightbreed material they have and have granted us permission to pull this together into a comprehensive illustrated anniversary book about the movie. We'll draw on this as well as on unpublished material in Clive's archive and we've started discussions on whether this package might gain permission to include a release of the workprint too...
At this point, we and Clive and Mark need to again thank everyone who has been moved to support Nightbreed so eloquently. That passion has not been wasted and has motivated a studio to spend time and effort looking to rescue the lost work of filmmakers who shared a heavenly vision of monsters... We've not given up all hope...
We're happy to report that, over the past several months, we've had a number of cordial and constructive conversations with Morgan Creek, the studio that owns the rights to Nightbreed.
Morgan Creek initiated these conversations - prompted by the huge petition and support for an extended Nightbreed DVD release on this very page and by the noise you've generated on horror sites across the internet.
So thank you to everyone who's added their name and their voice so far and for all your passionate and eloquent support of the movie!
However, we're less happy to have to tell you that, after discussing the current home entertainment market in "the horror genre" with Warner Bros., Morgan Creek have decided to take "a pause" before deciding to move forward with the DVD release we're all calling for.
They've adopted a "not now" position, telling us that, in their opinion, the current market will not support the required investment in reassembling the master reels to produce a director's cut of the movie.
Now, it's not a "never" position - which is a real step forward... - but it is a huge disappointment. We are therefore asking for your continued help in showing the size and commitment of Nightbreed's audience.
Please continue to show your support for an extended release by adding your names to the list below (our e-mail details are below) and by continuing to talk about this campaign in forums and blogs.
We're working with Clive on planning our next series of conversations with Morgan Creek - your support is what caught the studio's attention in the first place, so please let's keep it going. Our thanks in advance!
In the meantime, the studio has approved a one-night-only screening of the work-in-progress VHS workprint (again, news of the discovery of that below...). This will screen at the upcoming HorrorHound convention in Indianapolis on the evening of Saturday, 27 March 2010. The convention details - with an anticipated Nightbreed reunion - are at the HorrorHound convention site.
Again, heartfelt thanks from Clive and ourselves - our quest for a DVD release of the extended Nightbreed as Clive originally intended it continues...
e-mail us by clicking on this link or send us a Tweet to @clivebarkerinfo (find us at our Twitter page here)A second VHS copy of the film has come to light - this time a 159 minute cut - another 14 minutes! Lori's performance of Johnny Get Angry is amongst the "new" footage, as is the "on the next wind..." closing scene with the breed in the barn. Fingers crossed... this feels like we might just be on a bit of a roll here...
We just finished watching a 145 minute version of the film's mid-1989 workprint! That's 44 minutes longer than the theatrical release!! And it's even more significant than that since there are none of the later re-shoots of Decker's murders, so the actual deleted footage is far more than 44 minutes!
Yes, there's (lots) more violence as the Sons of the Free invade Midian, yes there's some deleted stop motion footage, yes, Narcisse gets decapitated, yes Lori stabs herself on a hilltop and Boone bites her... Yes, yes, yes!
Now, this is just a VHS copy so it's not of releasable quality, so... thank you for your continuing messages of support - let's keep working to get a proper DVD release for an extended Nightbreed...
Clive :
"Unbelievable news. When Mark Miller... (apologies.I am shaking with excitement) Mark volunteered to try and find my cut of Nightbreed. I thought there was 25 minutes missing. I was wrong. Phil and Sarah Stokes called. They possess a video copy of my Work Print, 44 minutes longer than the theatrical release.
"Now all we need is somebody to fund the reconstruction of what was always intended to be Celebration of the Shamanic Outsider. When Nightbreed was released the only support came from the gay press. But the movie seems to have found a broader audience. Nightbreed's about outsiders. And if the Inside is grey fat hamburgers and eye candy I'll stay outside with the monsters.
"It's wonderful that people find something of value in Nightbreed, though it reveals my failings both as an artist and as a man. The failure as an artist is tied to the inability to function as a normal member of the species; to pack every sliver of time with significance, like capsules of humanity on craft sent to the stars."
Twitter Posts
By Clive Barker, 10 June 2009
...For almost twenty years, the two most-asked questions of Clive at conventions and signings (and, for the last ten, through this website) have been
when's the third Book of the Art coming out? and
will there be a director's cut of Nightbreed?
The first answer is entirely down to Clive (and the answer's usually, "Definitely, eventually..."). The second, though, may very well prove to be in your hands. Yes, yours.
After many years of replying, "I hope so, but we don't know where the footage is," Clive's answer is now, "Maybe yes, if enough people want to buy it..."
Clive : "I have a friend, Mark Miller, who came to me and said, 'I want to pursue the missing Nightbreed material. I have some time off from my work. I want to do this.' I said, 'Well, there's no money, Mark. There's nothing in it for you except a huge thanks from me and from many, many, many fans if you were to be successful..."
Midnight Writer
By Carnell, Fangoria, Issue 284, June 2009
Mark Miller: "One fan set out in search of the truth, armed only with a few phone numbers and the power of a name...
"On one call I was transferred to a production executive. You already know what I told him, so let me tell you what he told me: He Can Access The Lost Nightbreed Footage At Any Time.
"My jaw dropped. Struggling to remember my already limited vocabulary, I asked what had to happen in order for the footage to see the light of day. He explained to me that someone, namely one of the higher ups, had to have a good reason to pull it out of storage. I, having that good reason, nodded and thanked him. He couldn't have been a nicer guy.
"Excited, I pictured myself walking through large dusty warehouses filled from floor to ceiling with ancient reels of arcane footage. I'm sorry to report, that's not what happened.
"Shortly after, one of said higher ups was gracious enough to give me a moment of his time. I was shocked when he told me there wasn't a big enough audience for the film and that the answer to my request must be no.
'Not even worth the cost to upgrade to Blu-ray,' he said.
"Ouch."
Nightbreed
Correspondence from Mark Miller to Phil and Sarah Stokes at Revelations, 26 May 2009
...Mark pressed on, calling different people before finally receiving a definitive studio 'no' to the expense of assembling an extended release.
Mark Miller: "So endeth my search, thus far. But this doesn't mean that all hope is lost. What's important is that we've all learned two very essential pieces of information:
"1. The footage is not lost; it's in waiting.
"2. The only thing standing between us and the director's cut of Nightbreed is - good news - its already loyal audience...
"It ain't cheap to restore and release a movie. Let's show the powers-that-be that it's worth their while, shall we?"
Nightbreed
Correspondence from Mark Miller to Phil and Sarah Stokes at Revelations, 26 May 2009
...If there's a demonstrable audience for an extended Nightbreed then that could well influence a release as a pure commercial decision, but we need to figure out just how large that audience really is. A small but noisy group will not make a difference here - we need to see just how many people would actually put down their hard-earned money for this...
Remember, there isn't a Region 2 DVD release at all and the Region 1 release is a bare bones version missing the 25 minutes of footage that Clive would love to get back into the movie - a song, some violence, some structure... There's also the prospect of a commentary and hours of potential bonus content...
What do you think?
If you're interested in showing the size of audience or demand for an extended version of Nightbreed, please either e-mail us by clicking on this link or send us a Tweet to @philandsarah (find us at our Twitter page here).
Just your name or screen name is fine but please feel free to add your country of residence and / or a sentence or two on why this would be a great idea. We'll collate responses at the bottom of this page and build a picture of support for Nightbreed here!
Spread the word too... The more will definitely be the merrier for all of us...
On behalf of Clive, Mark Miller and ourselves - thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments!
Clive : "It's sort of interesting that movies have their moments where suddenly they come back into focus again, and I hope this can happen for Nightbreed... "
Clive And Kicking
By Mike Watt, The Dark Side, Issue 101, February/March 2003
...To celebrate Mark's journey of discovery, we went back and pulled out a few more never-before-seen snippets from the behind the scenes footage we discovered a couple of years ago. For those who love Nightbreed - click on the picture of Boone and Decker fighting below to see Craig Sheffer and David Cronenberg in action and to witness the destruction of Midian!
Clive : "The movie has, and this is wonderful, you know, a lot of fans. And it's a cult movie and it's a real pleasure to me. Because, in a way, it's closer to my heart than anything else amongst the movies. And I know it's a flawed picture and there's lots of things I would have wanted differently, but it moves people, it gets into people..."
Interview
By Amber Black and Tim Trautmann, Review, 1996
Doug Bradley: "It remains like no other movie I've ever seen. It is extraordinary, and I get asked all the time at conventions, 'Is there a director's cut of Nightbreed?' All I can say is I don't know, but I hope there is because I would like to see it. I saw it recently on television in the USA and it does still stand up, but only because the visuals are so extraordinary and the subject matter is so extraordinary, Unfortunately, no sooner has it stood up than it collapses."
Pin - Points
By Nick Vince, Hellbreed No.3, July 1995
See a little of what might be in an extended version here with our showcase of two deleted sequences - with more exclusive footage, our archive of comment on Nightbreed and tracing the movie from script to screen.
Well, we knew there were a lot of fans out there, but Boy!! As is self-evident from the long, long listing on the next page here
The archived Revelations 'More Nightbreed' petition.
Clive. Mark and ourselves will keep pushing for this with the weight of your support behind us - thank you on behalf of the Tribes of the Moon!