Key Insights
- Thanksgiving classic: Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a beloved film directed by John Hughes.
- Special features: The recent 4K release includes 75 minutes of deleted scenes from the film.
- Script revisions: John Hughes constantly rewrote the script, leading to a nearly four-hour assembly cut.
- Character depth: Deleted scenes reveal Neil’s wife’s misunderstanding about his travel companion, enhancing emotional impact.
It’s Thanksgiving time, and one of the most beloved Thanksgiving movies comes from none other than 80s comedy maestro John Hughes, with the turkey holiday classic, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. The buddy comedy is a classic tale of a journey to be home in time for Thanksgiving dinner, but with travel being so tumultuous around this time, our star, Steve Martin, finds himself stalled and dragging along an unwelcomed companion with John Candy in one of his most famous roles.
About two years ago, the movie was re-released in 4K with a whole flurry of special features. One of the coolest, exclusive features for this release is the unveiling of never-before-seen deleted scenes revealing extended performances from the comedy duo. Deleted scenes aren’t anything new for classic releases. However, this set features a full 75 minutes of deleted and extended scenes that were uncovered from John Hughes’ estate from his own personal archives.
Why was so much cut? Well, here’s the thing – Planes, Trains & Automobiles, despite turning out to be a classic, was plagued with rewrites. Writer/director John Hughes was never fully satisfied with the script and was constantly churning out new pages on the set. He wrote so much new material that his assembly cut of the movie was nearly four hours long. While he never intended to release the film at even close to that length, he cut the movie to the bone for its eventual release, when it ran a lean and mean ninety-two minutes.
Hughes had the final cut and was happy with the theatrical version, but the movie did have a hole or two. Ever notice at the end how Neil’s wife is nearly in tears when he gets home? A deleted subplot available on the 4K release reveals that she thought Neil’s travelling companion was a woman and that he was having an affair, making her relief at the end more palpable. Some of these deleted scenes did show up on the TV version of the film. Still, it’s amazing that Hughes Estate released so much of the deleted material, which is a masterclass in demonstrating how even good material sometimes needs to be trimmed to establish pace.
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