The copyright of the original (and best) Crocodile Dundee Australian release is privately owned by a group made up of the original investors in the film, which apparently includes John Cornell, Paul Hogans manager.
I’ve been trying to source a copy (for personal use), in any format for many years, but it just doesn’t seem to exist in the public domain.
For those unfamiliar with what this issue is about, Crocodile Dundee was the highest grossing film in Australian cinematic history, yet the original Australian release is unavailable.
When Crocodile Dundee was first released Australian audiences were rolling around in the aisles but unfortunately that same subtle humour went straight over international or more specifically US audiences heads, so a 6 minute shorter, anaemic, overdubbed, neutered, more politically correct ‘international’ version in which the humour was spelt out, was created.
The International version is approximately 6 minutes shorter than the original and from an Australian perspective, much of the sheer brilliance of the film was lost… it literally cut the heart out of the Aussie original.
The really sad part is that those that have never had the opportunity to watch the original, will have no idea what I’m talking about…
Paul Hogan was an absolute genius, the original Crocodile Dundee movie demonstrated his talent for tapping into the Australian psyche and showcased his amazing wit and brilliant sense of humour.
Granted, because Paul Hogan had put so much into the original, there was enough left to ensure that as a stand alone film, the International version was excellent.
I don’t begrudge the original versions copyright owners the right to benefit fiscally from Crocodile Dundee, but I’m hoping they will decide to release the original Aussie version on DVD in my lifetime.
As the international version has been flooding the market for years, the original Australian version would walk off the shelves as most Aussies would want to know what the difference was between them and in so doing, experience and spread the real Paul Hogan/Crocodile Dundee magic.
In these times of uncertainty it would be great way to revive our sense of humour.
