RewatchingPlanes , Trains , and Automobiles(1987 ) is an annual Thanksgiving tradition in many home . At a tight 1 hour and 45 minutes , it ’s the perfect picture to put on between the football game and dinner . But there ’s an alternative universe where the tight - pace clowning has a runtime skinny to a James Cameron film . The YouTube channelHats Off Entertainmentexplores that lost version in the TV below .
publish and directed by John Hughes , the original script forPlanes , Trains , and Automobilescomprises 145 pages . That far exceeds the manufacture standard of 90 pages for the genre . Instead of digest the report before production , Hughes shot his lengthy book , resulting in an initial cut that was virtually 3.5 hours long . Titanic(1997 ) clocks in at 3 hour and 14 minutes , for comparing .
The idea of releasing a vacation comedy with such a bloated runtime did n’t vanish with studio administrator , and the film go through multiple edits to get to the variation released in field of operations . The terminal cut was not only coherent but , even more miraculously , it was a collision . The moviemade its budget backseveral sentence over .

Based on its success ( and complaints about the original runtime from Martin)Planes , wagon train , and Automobilesbenefited from its merciless edits . But many fans are rummy about the old version , especially since all that ’s leave of the unused footage is one blue-pencil vista and a few lines from the house trailer .
Before his death in 2009 , Hughes speculate that the original cut was lost for unspoiled , but you’re able to find remnants of it in the pic today if you know where to look . In this video , Hats Off Entertainment points out scenes that have been intemperately edited by comparing them to the 145 - Sir Frederick Handley Page handwriting . Being mindful of jokes , secret plan points , and even character that did n’t make it into the photographic film will change the way you consider it .
After your annualPlanes , Trains , and Automobilesrewatch , keep the Thanksgiving movie marathon goingwith these titles .