A new version of Crocodile Dundee is been issued, it will be the only version going forward available to purchase, I think it’s going to far now, just out a disclaimer on the thing at the start if you must but stop trying to alter history.
The film now opens with text acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land, which is appropriately respectful given it depicts Indigenous culture in the Territory, even if it might rankle those lobbying to ditch welcome to Country ceremonies.
An early sequence that had Mick admitting he didn’t know his exact age but thinking he is about 40 has gone. While it makes no difference to the story, the thinking might have been that it unnecessarily highlights the age difference between Mick and the younger Sue.
Some scenes in Kakadu seem to be extended, including the corroboree that Mick attends daubed in tribal paint. But the most notable changes come when Mick reaches New York.
After he meets two street workers, their angry pimp used to charge up, asking if Mick wanted to “f---” one of them. That’s been toned down to “screw”.
Gone is the most dubious scene in the film showing Mick grabbing a bar patron in the groin and declaring “that was a guy, a guy dressed up like a sheila” while someone else yells “f*ggot”.
In a statement before the screening, production company Rimfire Films said, “Some years ago, Paramount Pictures and other distributors requested the reference to the crossdresser be edited from the original film, as they found it offensive. We agreed to that request”.
A later sequence when Mick does the same thing to a woman at a party, saying, “I was just making sure”, has also been cut. Other than lingering on that woman smiling at Mick for a moment after she has been groped, both edits have been made without changing the flow of the film.
After the credits, there is now a slide saying, “In loving memory of John Cornell”.
All the other famous moments in the film remain, including the full “that’s a knife” scene that finishes with Mick slashing the jacket of a mugger.
The restoration highlights cinematographer Russell Boyd’s stunning shots of the Territory and reveals a few details – such as Mick reaching for his knife but finding it missing when confronted by the pimp’s offsiders in a dark alley – that were difficult to pick up even on DVD.
As a charming, very Australian comedy, it all still works.
