Crocodile Dundee | New 'Encore Cut' removes footage from original film
by Simon Brew | January 27, 2025
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A 4K remastered 'Encore Cut' of Crocodile Dundee is being released this year -- but one or two moments have been edited out. More here.
In 2020, the most complained about movie to the British Board of Film Classification here in the UK was the re-issue of 1980's Flash Gordon. 91 people wrote to the board, protesting a simple note that was added to the start of the picture, letting people know the film contained "discriminatory stereotypes". Not a frame of footage of the film was touched, it's just 91 people felt advising people of something in the film was worthy of complaint.
I always thought the re-release of Flash Gordon was handled well. I'm not quite sure a planned re-release of Crocodile Dundee is going to go quite the same way.
The original movie was release in America in 1986, where it became a genuine sleeper hit, and the biggest film of the year. It made an international star of Paul Hogan, and spawned a couple of sequels too.
What's often overlooked though is that the cut of the film released outside of Australia was different to the one that originally debuted. Australian moviegoers got a slightly different, longer Crocodile Dundee. And now, they're getting a 4K remaster of the film in cinemas in 2025.
It's also a recut version of the movie, now known as the 'Encore Cut' of the film. However, rather than just opening up the movie with a warning about material that doesn't look too good through a modern lens, it's being reported that two and a half minutes has been snipped out of the film.
As per QNews, there is opening text, but also, material where Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee and meets a crossdresser has been edited out. It was never the best of jokes, and always a bit jarring, but I do wonder where it leads to start retroactively editing films to fit a modern lens. I'm not in the slightest defending the joke, and never liked it. But this is a very difficult road.
Production company Rimfire Films issued a statement ahead of the Encore Cut's debut noting that "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".
There's another joke on a similar theme later on in the movie that's said to have been excised, that's basically Mick Dundee groping someone.
Hogan has signed off on the changes to the film. Inevitably, someone has wheeled out the -- sigh -- word 'woke' and asked him about it (just wait until the Mail and Telegraph get hold of this story. I shudder).
Hogan's response is that people pointed out to him that "this guy is a folk hero around the world. He shouldn't be groping people. And I thought yeah that's right, he shouldn't be, so take it out. I mean, he did it in all innocence, in naivety, but it's better without it".
The plan is for Crocodile Dundee: The Encore Cut to debut in Australian cinemas on 8th May, complete with 4K remaster. There's also a documentary about the making of the film, with newly rediscovered materials telling the behind the scenes story of the movie. You can read a little bit more about that here.
No word yet on a British release for the Crocodile Dundee. Also, it should be noted that the original cut is still out there too, and isn't being deleted. It'd be interesting if we could see the actual original Australian cut too, before it was chopped for a US audience.
There's too many issues with the image. For example, why does the brown coat have buttons when it looks like a poncho?