THE KEEP (1983) ending from TV Version

The extended ending from the network TV version of Michael Mann's cursed sophomore slump, using widescreen HD footage from a scan of an original 35mm theatrical print for any material not exclusive to the TV version.

[neilloughran]

Incredible... 40 years ago I watched this film and became a Tangerine Dream fan.. this music at the end killed me... I know it's based on the Snowman theme but still it's so emotive....

[MrEvad]

The rightful end to this fantastic and legendary movie. There will never be any release of this film that is complete without it. ❤

[s.mas.w]

The talented cast in this film deserved 3.5 hours. I can’t think of an 80’s film that had a more talented ensemble!

[trenkamp]

It's great to see a forgotten film get some love. For you The Keep fans here are a couple of small corrections:

1) The 3 hour cut was an assembly. Most 2 hour films have a 3 hour assembly cut as it usually includes almost everything shot for the film. The shooting script was for a 2 hour film and they shot all of it, meaning there was a 2 hour cut of The Keep at one point. Most of the cuts are dialog trims. Scenes cut include the villagers having dinner the first night, Glaeken finding Eva snooping in his room before they make love, the villagers killing each other and threatening to rape Eva, alternate endings including Glaeken and Molasar fighting atop of the keep and them falling through a black void beneath the keep, Eva discovering Glaeken alive beneath the keep and Glaeken, Eva and Dr. Cuza escaping Romania aboard Carlos's ship. The script and stills of these scenes can be found online.

2) Mann cut the film down to 96 minutes himself. He was not fired nor was the film taken away from him. However, after he went extremely over budget and schedule Paramount essentially told him to finish it with what he had as they were not going to spend more money on it. Certain scenes and effects could not be finished without spending more money so they were dropped from the film.

3) Gene Siskel's critique of the dialog is not about the TD score but about the fact that the dialog was not mixed properly at all. In 1983 most movie theater speakers were garbage by today's standards and it's almost impossible to understand poorly mixed dialog in one of these theaters. (This is why Lucas created the THX theater sound program that same year)

4) In his DVD commentary for the film Paul Wilson thought the first 30 minutes were a great adaptation of the book. Around the time when Kaempfer arrives is when he feels that the film starts falling apart.

5) The widescreen laserdisc was released after the VHS, making it the most recent home video release at the time of this recording. However, since then there has been an officially licensed DVD of the film released in Australia. Apparently, it's a transfer of the widescreen LD. There was a HD transfer of the film made (probably for the cancelled DVD release) that streams from time to time on Neflix, Amazon or Criterion. A copy of this HD file can be found online if you know where to look.

6) Mann does not own the rights to the film. It is owned by Paramount. Around 2004 Paramount announced a DVD release of The Keep and enlisted Mann to create special features. None of the deleted material could be found and the project was cancelled.

[grahamherbert]

The Keep has always fascinated me. I must have watched it fifty times over the last twenty years. I can't think of any modern movie that deserves to be 'Directors Cut' re-visited more than it. Looking forward to the WW2 Fairytale project.

[sskoog]

I am a big fan of this film, despite all its flaws, and of Michael Mann in general. I had not previously noticed or appreciated how much Ridley Scott's Legend seems to have borrowed from it, visually + stylistically, two years later (in 1985). The two are remarkably similar.

As has already been pointed out by others, Mann re-used much of this composition for his Last of the Mohicans adaptation nine years later -- the fall, musical score, and reunion are familiar.

[wildfire]

The studio cut this down from a 3.5hr film to a 1.5hr film...we still ended up with a film i love but what the hell did we miss by them doing it

[MegaTurkeylips]

I read the book and if you can wrap your head around David Lynches' Dune with the interesting changes you can also love this movie. I certainly do.

[lakeisharobinson]

She went back for her man! 😊 I absolutely love this scene & wish it was included in the original movie! Eva❤Glaeken 4 Ever!!

[anthonydrpic]

A really great cast, and I think a very well done film.Love the last 10 minutes and a haunting music score.So Good

[tonyalba]

One of the few movies that demonstrate the power of the ancient tech use of the sceptor on taking down powerful ancients. Still waiting for a fill that demonstrates the true use of the fasces weapon. And well done movie for what was available at the time.

[MegaTurkeylips]

I saw this ONE TIME on a local channel in Hawaii late at night. I couldn't believe my eyes! Sucks that they thought it was just cheaper to kill him off.

[momsaidicould]

Thank you for sharing. Read the book and was delighted to see his return in the Repairman Jack series.

[Nacho-Mamma]

I saw this in the theater back in 1983, and thought it was good then. And, that opinion hasn't changed, except I think it's really a great movie.
Sadly, the movie tanked, and barely made half the cost of making it. But, that's really not the fault of the movie. The movie tanked because people would rather believe a movie critic's bad review rather than going to see for yourself. And that's a shame.

[sskoog]

I suspect most commenters already know this:

The F. Paul Wilson book presents both "Glaeken" and "Rasalom/Molasar" as prehistoric proto-vampires -- ancient champions of "Light" and "Darkness, " but not exactly so good-or-evil, who predate the vampire myths and sort of inspired those myths through the centuries.

Glaeken wields a great magical sword -- not a weird staff -- forged by ancient elven beings, with which he is supposed to kill Rasalom. But, over the centuries, Glaeken starts to question himself: can he defeat Rasalom, if they meet for their final battle, will he win, and, even if he wins, maybe his immortal life will be over, and he's not sure he wants to be done. So, instead, Glaeken removes the sword's hilt (the funny cross), and uses it to imprison Molasar/Rasalom in the fortress, a sort of half-compromise standoff for both beings.

The book ends with Molasar still being imprisoned in the castle, but starting to break free. He (Molasar) disintegrates every stone wall/floor EXCEPT for the walls bearing the sword-hilt images, and Glaeken + Molasar are left standing on the high circular tower, precariously balancing on its outer circular wall. Molasar lunges at Glaeken, and Glaeken impales Molasar through the back/chest with his great sword, destroying him. Glaeken falls hundreds of feet to the ground.

This deleted-scene ending reveals several bits from the book. Glaeken falls (though not quite as book-presented); he awakens as a mortal; and he can see his own reflection in the water. Mann deleted bits from the cut-down film where Glaeken turns mirrors around to face the wall, because he casts no reflection in them, and of course the same is true for Molasar.

[johnericellison]

Thank you, Savage Cinema for making this missing footage available for the lot of us to review for ourselves. If I would have purchased this, I would have been disappointed. As is - meh - I'm glad they cut it. I bought the new 4K rescan on BluRay. I am looking forward to THAT. I am certain someone can make a better film version of this, my favorite novel.

[Mirage_Mach]

Thank you so very much for posting this ending! I sincerely hope Paramount decides to come to their senses allow Michael Mann to release his director's cut someday.

[gnustep]

I have always preferred the think of it ending this way. They deserved a happy ending.

[Rambogner]

The bridge is still just about there at the quarry in Wales where this was filmed

[joycekoch]

Glaeken was a Watcher. Eve ended up having his kid and predictably he grew up to be a giant but they
kept that hidden as he became a professional basketball player.