In the world of cinema, few things excite hardcore fans more than the fabled "lost cut"—a version of a film that exists in the shadows, whispered about on forums and buried in studio archives. For fans of Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 masterpiece Snowpiercer , that holy grail has a name: The Workprint .
And for the rest of us? We keep pressing our ears against the digital rails, listening for the sound of that engine. Have you ever seen a legendary workprint or lost cut of a film? Share your stories in the comments. snowpiercer workprint
Whether the full workprint will ever see an official release is doubtful. Bong has moved on, and the theatrical cut (plus the excellent TV series adaptation) is widely considered definitive. In the world of cinema, few things excite
Long before the Oscar-winning director of Parasite became a household name, Snowpiercer was a battlefield. The film—a brutal, allegorical sci-fi thriller set on a perpetually moving train carrying the last remnants of humanity—was caught in a notorious tug-of-war between Bong and The Weinstein Company. Harvey Weinstein, infamous for his meddling, wanted to trim 20 minutes and add title cards to make the film more palatable to American audiences. Bong refused. We keep pressing our ears against the digital
But out there, in the digital ether, some claim they have seen the train go a little further. They have heard the unfinished score. They have seen the polar bear—and the dome.