American Beauty (lost alternate ending of drama film; existence unconfirmed; 1999): Difference between revisions

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[[File:220px-American Beauty poster.jpg|thumb|215px|''American Beauty'' advertisement poster.]]
{{InfoboxLost
'''''American Beauty''''' is a critically acclaimed drama released in 1999. It was directed by Sam Mendes and starred Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning, and Thora Birch. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2000 and Spacey won Best Actor for his performance. As this article is about the ending for the film, '''be warned, spoilers are ahead'''.
|title=<center>American Beauty (alternate ending)</center>
|image=220px-American Beauty poster.jpg  
|imagecaption=''American Beauty'' advertisement poster.
|status=<span style="color:grey;">'''Existence Unconfirmed'''</span>
}}
'''''American Beauty''''' is a critically acclaimed drama film released in 1999. It was directed by Sam Mendes and starred Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning, and Thora Birch. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2000 and Spacey won Best Actor for his performance.


Everyone who has seen the movie is familiar with its ending: Lester Burnham gets shot, we see the reactions of various characters, and it is made very clear that Col. Fitz is the one who killed him. This was not Sam Mendes' original intention. Mendes wrote various scripts, working with different ideas for the ending. The script, which can easily be found online, does not make it clear that Fitz is the murderer. Instead, the film drags on for an additional 30 minutes, showing Col. Fitz's son, Ricky, and Lester's daughter, Jane, being arrested and put on trial for Lester's murder. Ricky's constant videophillia is used against him as evidence. One stage of the ending shows the two found guilty, the other finds them innocent. Mendes decided to leave the ending out, as he felt it would have ruined the film.
==Plot==
The film's plot focuses on American middle-class Everyman Lester Burnham struggling with a mid-life crisis. He blackmails his boss to be fired from his job as a magazine executive and later takes a job at a fast-food outlet, which doesn't improve his already troubled relationships with his wife Carolyn and teenage daughter Jane.  


Another missing scene involves a more drawn out opening. The opening video is a bit longer, Lester's narration is more detailed, and a bit more character development is established.
Lester also has new next-door neighbours: retired U.S. Marine Colonel Frank Fitts, his wife Barbara and their teenage son Ricky, an aspiring filmmaker with whom Jane later falls in love. Col. Fitts is deeply homophobic and soon begins harassing neighbouring couple Jim Olmeyer and Jim Berkley.


It is currently unknown how much, or if any, of the intended ending was filmed. While Mendes is yet to comment on the subject, many members of the film's crew remember filming at least some footage for these endings. Some claim that the ending was finished and was removed at the last minute by Mendes. The footage, if it exists, was left out of the extras section of the DVD release. Mendes probably won't release any of the footage anytime soon, as he is personally ashamed of the film's original ending.
Increasingly bored and restless, Lester attends a high school basketball game with Jane and becomes infatuated with his daughter's cheerleader friend Angela Hayes. After Col. Fitts sees Lester and Ricky together through Lester's garage window and later finds his son's video of a nude Lester lifting weights, he comes to the conclusion that his son is gay and plans on killing Lester, whom he assumes is responsible.
 
==Alleged Alternative Ending==
In the released cut's ending, Lester Burnham is shot to death by Colonel Fitts. In an alternate ending, Lester's daughter Jane and Colonel Fitts' son Ricky are arrested and put on trial for Lester's murder. The prosecutors use Ricky's videos against him as evidence. One version of this ending resulted in the two being found guilty, while the other showed them both found innocent.<ref>http://www.cracked.com/article_20199_6-deleted-backstories-that-totally-change-classic-movies.html</ref> However, the arrest & trial scenes were eventually cut entirely due to concerns that they would detract from the film overall.
 
Alan Ball, one of the film's screenwriters, told Amazon.com: ''"We actually shot it, and when it got into editing it was just too cynical and too awful."''<ref>http://mentalfloss.com/article/69306/12-spectacular-facts-about-american-beauty</ref> An interview about this deleted ending with Ball can be found [http://www.spiritualteachers.org/alan_ball.htm here].
 
As no footage has been found or released, and Mendes hasn't commented on the subject, it cannot be confirmed how much of the intended ending was filmed, or if it was how close it came to completion. However, many other members of the film's crew besides Ball have recalled shooting at least some part of it.
 
==References==
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Existence unconfirmed]]
[[Category:Existence unconfirmed]]

Revision as of 18:23, 25 March 2022

220px-American Beauty poster.jpg

American Beauty advertisement poster.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

American Beauty is a critically acclaimed drama film released in 1999. It was directed by Sam Mendes and starred Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning, and Thora Birch. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2000 and Spacey won Best Actor for his performance.

Plot

The film's plot focuses on American middle-class Everyman Lester Burnham struggling with a mid-life crisis. He blackmails his boss to be fired from his job as a magazine executive and later takes a job at a fast-food outlet, which doesn't improve his already troubled relationships with his wife Carolyn and teenage daughter Jane.

Lester also has new next-door neighbours: retired U.S. Marine Colonel Frank Fitts, his wife Barbara and their teenage son Ricky, an aspiring filmmaker with whom Jane later falls in love. Col. Fitts is deeply homophobic and soon begins harassing neighbouring couple Jim Olmeyer and Jim Berkley.

Increasingly bored and restless, Lester attends a high school basketball game with Jane and becomes infatuated with his daughter's cheerleader friend Angela Hayes. After Col. Fitts sees Lester and Ricky together through Lester's garage window and later finds his son's video of a nude Lester lifting weights, he comes to the conclusion that his son is gay and plans on killing Lester, whom he assumes is responsible.

Alleged Alternative Ending

In the released cut's ending, Lester Burnham is shot to death by Colonel Fitts. In an alternate ending, Lester's daughter Jane and Colonel Fitts' son Ricky are arrested and put on trial for Lester's murder. The prosecutors use Ricky's videos against him as evidence. One version of this ending resulted in the two being found guilty, while the other showed them both found innocent.[1] However, the arrest & trial scenes were eventually cut entirely due to concerns that they would detract from the film overall.

Alan Ball, one of the film's screenwriters, told Amazon.com: "We actually shot it, and when it got into editing it was just too cynical and too awful."[2] An interview about this deleted ending with Ball can be found here.

As no footage has been found or released, and Mendes hasn't commented on the subject, it cannot be confirmed how much of the intended ending was filmed, or if it was how close it came to completion. However, many other members of the film's crew besides Ball have recalled shooting at least some part of it.

References