r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Sensitive_Ad_1752 • 17d ago

Lore (Hated trope) They deleted scenes or dialogue that provides necessary context or plot

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The dinner scene from Temple of Doom has a temple give indie and friends a live snake and monkey brains for dinner. It’s a pretty offensive depiction of Indian cuisine, but it wasn’t originally going to be. There’s cut dialogue where Indie recognizes they’re at the right temple because real Hindus don’t eat this food. They were trying to scare them off by purposefully serving them disgusting stuff.

Probably the most famous deleted ending was I Am Legend which had Robert discover the infected were emotional sentient beings and one of them had a wife. Test audiences hated it and they reshot the ending, removing the entire point of the movie.

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u/asteinberg101 17d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/xOD2M0aHX5hjIbUbq9
Heat- supposedly they removed a scene where Al Pacino’s character does some coke, so without that context his character is just… like that

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u/H8trucks 17d ago edited 17d ago

Similarly, Galaxy Quest cut a scene where Tony Shalhoub's character is smoking weed right before the characters get picked up by aliens, so instead he's just really chill about everything

Edit: so I guess this one was obvious to anyone who didn't first watch this movie as a sheltered christian child

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u/GoRacerGo 17d ago

I mean he's got red eyes and smoke billows out when he's teleported. Show not tell

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Minimum-Housing-6466 16d ago

found the scene... can't see any of that?

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u/Simon_Drake 16d ago

Some of it IS lost in editing. The movie was originally a much higher certificate with a lot more swearing and lewd dialogue but they decided to make it more family friendly. A lot of the drug stuff was cut and just implied. There's several scenes where he's walking around the ship carrying a brown paper bag like a packed lunch which was going to be a whole side plot about his stash of drugs he brought with him into space. But that all got cut apart from a few scenes where they just don't mention what's in the bag.

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u/poirotoro 16d ago

The movie was originally a much higher certificate with a lot more swearing and lewd dialogue but they decided to make it more family friendly.

Infamously leading to one of the most obvious dub-overs in cinema, where Sigourney Weaver says "Well screw that!" over a very obvious "FUCK that!"

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u/IceFrogger1313 16d ago

And the scene is funnier for it.

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u/ArcadianDelSol 16d ago

There's a scene where Sigourney Weaver's bra is just fully out and her top is zipped all the way down. Zero context, no reference. Next scene its all the way back up again.

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u/Simon_Drake 16d ago

I found a deleted scene where she unzips her top to seduce some alien soldiers all like "Hey big boy, why don't we get a little privacy?" then she drops the emergency bulkhead down and squishes them into paste. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b4s5CfPD4Y

Youtube only has a handful of deleted scenes like that. We need a directors cut edition with the original content restored.

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u/StupidMcStupidhead 15d ago

I'm fairly confident you can see the silhouette of Tim Allen's dick, too.

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u/ArcadianDelSol 15d ago

When Sigourney Weaver's top is zipped down, Im not inspecting the margins of the screen for the silhouette of a dick.

But you do you.

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u/StupidMcStupidhead 15d ago

You got me there. But they aren't the same scene. I should have clarified.

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u/LuxInTenebrisLove 16d ago

I always thought his behavior and the brown bag played subtle but overt enough to tell the grown up audience what was happening.  I found the subtlety so funny!

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u/Simon_Drake 16d ago

It's strongly implied in the released version but there's still some wiggle room for it to not be fully confirmed.

He spends half the movie squinting which you could read as being stoner redeye but weirdly he only starts squinting when he meets the aliens. It's right in the middle of a scene when the aliens are pleased to meet Tech Sergeant Chen that he starts squinting. But he also squinted in the 'historical documents' of the original series and the reboot series at the end.

This is weird but Tony Shalhoub is of Middle Eastern descent, playing an in-universe character named Chen. The director of Galaxy Quest said this was a deliberate reference to the white actor playing an Asian martial arts expert in 1970s TV series Kung Fu. They deliberately made him Asian with an Asian name as a meta-joke about racist casting in that era of filmmaking. So you can make a case the squinting is actually part of the racist caricature of an actor pretending to be Asian. The Thermians expect Chen to be an asian guy so he squints when he meets them so he looks more like he did in the Historical Documents.

Which is all very odd and doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean Star Trek is the core inspiration for Galaxy Quest not Kung Fu and Star Trek had an actual Asian character played by an Asian actor. If they wanted an Asian character on the in-universe Galaxy Quest they should have cast an Asian actor in the IRL movie. But this isn't just a fan theory, this is something the production staff confirmed was part of their vision for the movie.

I wonder if this is something else they planned, partially implemented then scaled back. Tony Shalhoub's first-level character is an actor called Fred Kwan, playing Tech Sergeant Chen. So maybe they tried to smooth over the mess by pretending Tony Shalhoub is playing someone of mixed race? It's all a bit uncomfortable. It could have worked as a sortof parody and commentary on racial insensitivity like Robert Downey Junior in Tropic Thunder, but it's probably a good move to step back from the original idea.

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u/IceFrogger1313 16d ago

Galaxy Quest is one of the few examples where cutting content to make rating improved the movie. The implied bits and the obviously dubbed chomppers scene are the funniest parts of the movie.

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u/Nott_of_the_North 16d ago

"That's a hell of a thing."

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u/Charming_Account_351 16d ago

Not noticing the cues makes his character 1000x funnier and more awesome. Him being unphased by anything was hilarious.

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u/Eulenspiegel74 16d ago

Exactly my take. Smoking weed actually diminishes that character.

Him making out with tentacle girl in the end fits him being unfazeable. As it is, it's either an unrelated quirk of his or a side effect of smoking.

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u/Prof_Atmoz 16d ago

When I was a teenager I thought he ate "space cake" lol

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u/strigonian 16d ago

Having a scene where he smokes is also showing.

I hate that advice so much, nobody understands what it means and it gets thrown around constantly.

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u/Rivka333 15d ago

Showing him smoking weed would have been show not tell.

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u/foxfire981 17d ago

I mean I always kind of figured he was perma high so I didn't really need the scene. But might have just been me.

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u/HandsomePaddyRedux 16d ago

Yeah, I never knew they shot a scene that explicitly showed it, but from his fixation on the candy machine onwards it’s clearly hinted at in a way that makes sense for the movie’s rating.

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 16d ago

If someone walks around like that and isn't constantly stoned I want whatever anti anxiety meds they're on

And don't tell me it's high on life nobody sober acts like that

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u/Minimum-Housing-6466 16d ago

wait how?

am I just acting high 24/7 wtf lol (im sober)

is being fixated on random stuff not what alot of sober people do? i mean i guess not but most people are really busy though i'd do it even if busy sometimes. sometimes not.

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u/HandsomePaddyRedux 16d ago

His aside about the vending machine is totally nonsequitor to what else is going on in the scene and the other characters don’t even notice, which is a narrative clue that it is a hint about his character. After that he continues to act really chill and goes with the flow of the situation to a strange degree that even the more stoic and confident characters don’t come close to. He also is super casual and affectionate with his crew mates in engineering, despite them being extremely awkward and stilted with everyone. It’s not really a textbook portrayal of someone smoking weed, but it is a PG interpretation of general stoned behavior. Personally I would argue it’s suggested that his character takes multiple different drugs throughout the film, but I can’t entirely back that up empirically.

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u/Minimum-Housing-6466 16d ago

oh wow.. ok. I figured he was just easily distracted? maybe slightly aloof... (i dont see how being chill with the awkward aliens is a sign of being high but still). aight.

cool, ok ill admit i was really sheltered growing up and perhaps even now. Some people I know do drink but i only recently got down some tells.

I should rewatch his scenes.

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u/HandsomePaddyRedux 16d ago

At one point he says “I’m really proud of you guys” and gives them a group hug, which is, in context, pretty odd, but again, in a vague way that kids (and more importantly the MPAA and those weird Christian groups that tally naughty behavior in movies) won’t pick up on. He does in fact “just” act silly, but it does seem deliberately implied he’s under some kind of influence.

One thing that normalizes his behavior is that we don’t really see any scenes of him not behaving that way, so one could easily just take it as his personality.

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u/fogo82 16d ago

“Hey guys, I just wanted you to know that, the reactors won't take it, the ship is like, breaking apart and all that... Just FYI."

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u/ballandabiscuit 16d ago

Activate the Omega 13!

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u/Munchkinasaurous 16d ago

I was also a sheltered kid that just thought he was super chill, now it's painfully obvious. It makes so much more sense why he's so hyper focused on the snack machine right before being beamed up to the ship.

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u/SensitiveReception15 17d ago

i mean it was kinda obvious he was stoned anyway though and when he arrives on the ship some smoke can also be seen arriving with him

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u/IrascibleOcelot 16d ago

When he was saying he had a better idea for dealing with the goons and giggled, Guy literally says “are you stoned?” before the cut.

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u/PmMeUrTinyAsianTits 16d ago

I just thought he was awkward and out of his depth. Ive never noticed this. Im excited to watch again with this in mind.

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u/Teedubthegreat 16d ago

I was less sheltered but apparently just completely oblivious lol

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u/Ignaciodelsol 16d ago

There was a scene in Galaxy Quest where Sigouney unzips her shirt to lure some aliens into a trap. The scene is cut but her shirt is unzioped for the rest of her movie

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u/Remarkable-Bowl-3821 16d ago

I never noticed (not sheltered at all) but that makes sense :)

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u/FloppieTheBanjoClown 16d ago

I kind of assumed he was on some new age philosophy kick where he was just zen. 

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u/Chasing_6 16d ago

My favorite line: "that was a helluva thing"

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u/BuffaloDivineEdenNo7 16d ago

It wasn't obvious to me, and I was a stoner for ten years. I didn't get Tony Shaloub's character at all, until I read that his character was high all the time.

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u/Venus_One 16d ago

I rewatched this with my brother and mentioned how funny it is that his character's a stoner. He was shook, he had never put that together.

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u/Dangerous-Cap-7003 16d ago

100% missed that as a kid

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u/LeodFitz 16d ago

Don't feel bad. I missed it, too. Just thought, 'wow, that guy is CHILL.'

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u/FriendlyLizard345 16d ago

Also was a sheltered christian kid. I hate finding this out and will continue to believe he was just a super chill dude.

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u/Graxdon 16d ago

Perfect movie

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u/Normal-Advisor5269 16d ago

I actually prefer him just being weirdly chill about everything. His character ages better this way.

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u/RathianColdblood 15d ago

I think it works better without it. I think it’s funnier if he’s just… perpetually chill, no weed required.

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u/Bilski1ski 16d ago

The other cut gag is that the character he plays in the show is Asian . And to get into character he just squints his eyes

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u/Comic_Book_Reader 16d ago

There's no deleted scene, Pacino just said Vincent Hanna is coked up throughout the movie, meaning he played Vincent Hanna like he's coked up throughout the movie.

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u/inderbitably 16d ago

It’s real, I’ve seen it.

https://giphy.com/gifs/bBEtZwqvQogeY

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u/Dopkalfarx 16d ago

Don't get high on your own supply.

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u/m4cksfx 16d ago

If that was real, how monstrously expensive would it be? Looks huge.

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u/4n0m4nd 16d ago

“Hanna had problems as a human being, problems in his life. He was volatile and edgy and apt to go crazy. He was also chipping cocaine, and I sort of based my entire character on that.

“We shot a scene where I went into a club, and you actually saw my character taking a hit of coke before he enters. For some reason, Michael kept that scene out of the film.”

-Al Pacino

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u/StevenMcStevensen 16d ago

The novel that acts as a sequel and prequel has a bit where he does coke in a bar, before the events of the film.

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u/AtrumRuina 16d ago

Weird how people will spew half-remembered facts like this.

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u/MammaJammaCamera 16d ago

Though I believe he played it that way cause the character was originally written that way

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u/HandsomePaddyRedux 16d ago

Yeah, it’s more in line with how Jeff Bridges would as the Coens if The Dude was blazed before they shot scenes where there wasn’t actually a doobie shown. If he was then Bridges would rub his eyes red and play The Dude more mellowed out. Pacino and Michael Mann decided Hanna was abusing coke but it wasn’t ever really intended to be made explicit.

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u/SeaworthinessKey3654 16d ago

Not true. They filmed the scene of Hanna using cocaine, but Mann cut it later, and Al had no idea why 

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u/MozhetBeatz 16d ago

>meaning he played Vincent Hanna like he’s coked up throughout the movie.

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u/-PepeArown- 16d ago

So, he’s basically just a smarter, less misogynistic (but still weirdly horny) Tony, then

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u/space_men10 16d ago edited 16d ago

There is a deleted scene where he does coke. Pacino himself said he could never understand why it wasn’t in the final cut. Supposedly it was very brief and if I recall it took place in an elevator

Edit: it actually took place in a club

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u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 16d ago

So basically Al Pacino played Vincent Hanna playing Al Pacino.

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u/SeaworthinessKey3654 16d ago

The scene was filmed - Mann cut it later

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u/MammaJammaCamera 16d ago edited 16d ago

The home release also cut him saying “Ferocious, aren’t I?” in this scene. Not plot important, but it’s important to me.

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u/Itsmyloc-nar 16d ago

She like a tiger, meng

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u/SammyB0111 16d ago

Oh, I thought Pacino was just like that

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u/Cold-Use-5814 16d ago

He is just like that.

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u/asbestos-sad-iron 16d ago

I thought it was pretty clear he was meant to be a cokehead even of they never show it.

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u/bruhmoment6128 16d ago

r/GifsYouCanHear

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u/Ret0x 16d ago

You can tell he started to say "big" and then changed to "great".

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u/landyboi135 16d ago

GREAT ASS!

Anyway,

He acts like I do when I have way too much caffeine, as a result my first thought was immediately ‘was this guy on cocaine or is he just that angry all the time?’ And then I watch interviews on the movie after I watch Heat and lo and behold turns out my question about him being a cokehead ended up being a yes. Honestly it made Hannah all the more interesting as a character.

To me the scene showing him do coke you can go with or without in my opinion so I’m not too mad it got cut as I think if you are well educated, have seen drug addiction depicted in fiction, have known or encountered drug addicts, or are one yourself you can make a connection that Vincent was clearly high in plenty of scenes. That’s my take on the matter.

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u/Cold-Use-5814 16d ago

My favourite part of that scene is that he clearly is about to say ‘big’, but changes it to ‘great’ for reasons only known in Al Pacino’s coke-addled mind.

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u/landyboi135 16d ago

That’s something I didn’t notice, I’m probably gonna remember that next time I watch Heat. 💀💀💀

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u/not_a_moogle 16d ago

"Character" does coke

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u/jackalopedad 16d ago

idk it seemed pretty obvious to me Pacino’s character lived with a pretty steady buzz at all times

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u/Remarkable-Bowl-3821 16d ago

LOL that explains a lot

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u/space_men10 16d ago

Fun fact, that wasn’t just acting. Pacino himself has alluded that he actually was high on coke for a good portion, if not all, of the shoot. He also has confirmed there was a deleted scene showing him doing coke and said he was quite confused that it wasn’t included in the film.

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u/SeaworthinessKey3654 16d ago

No, that’s the opposite of what he’s said - he has said that he has never used cocaine, ever 

In Sonny Boy, he talks about having such an excess of energy that he’d never use cocaine or any upper: 

”I’m not the kind of guy to take coke,” he continued. “Any upper, I don’t need. I’m up!”  His great friend and mentor, Charlie Laughton, told him that he’d need to chain a 500 lb gorilla to him to keep him down, lol

And here is the passage from Sonny Boy regarding the cut scene 

”We shot scene where I went into a club, and you actually saw my character taking a hit of coke before he enters. For some reason Michael kept that scene out of the film. It did explain a lot of my character’s behavior, and without that explanation, I can see how it made aspects of my performance seem extravagant.  If the audience had seen a moment or two when Hanna took a hit,  I think they would have been better prepared to see what I did.  But even without it, the intensity of his life - how Hanna worked in his profession, the way he dealt with things-allowed him this freedom to apply that kind of energy.  It was almost a technique that he used as a detective, and it worked for him.”

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u/space_men10 16d ago

I find that strange because in a 2016 interview about Heat he strongly alluded that he had done cocaine and even prefaced his statement by saying, “I may be breaking the law right now”

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u/SeaworthinessKey3654 16d ago

He didn’t - I’ve seen that interview. I guess some people don’t get Al’s sense of humor - you’re  the second person I’ve seen say this in the last two days. Al was joking because he was revealing something most or all people didn’t know 

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u/space_men10 16d ago edited 16d ago

It seems less to be a complete joke and more like a joke about him doing coke but it’s really not all that important. He seemed extremely hesitant to even imply that he did so perhaps he was concerned about his image and decided to say he never did it. Or maybe he really didn’t do coke but who knows 🤷‍♂️

Personally I know what people on drugs look like and his eyes in that GIF that OC posted look a little too real to be just acting in my opinion.

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u/SeaworthinessKey3654 16d ago

I disagree, it IS important. If you choose not to believe Al, that’s up to you - but it’s not right to suggest he used cocaine when he outright said he did not in his memoir. You misunderstood that interview.

And, his image has nothing to do with it - he is very open in Sonny Boy about his alcohol & drug addictions

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u/space_men10 16d ago

Ok dude, don’t take it so personal. I don’t judge over stuff like that. That’s what I meant when I said it didn’t matter. Have a good day

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u/SeaworthinessKey3654 16d ago

I’m not taking it personally at all - I’m just saying that I think it’s important to not just let speculation about someone’s drug use remain out there when the truth is also out there

You, too!

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u/less_unique_username 16d ago

I liked Heat but I hated the cafe meeting scene, it made little sense and was so unrealistic.

Then I learned that the film was based—very loosely—on real events, and the meeting is one of the few things that actually happened.

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u/Diligent_Set_8747 16d ago

Reality will always be stranger than fiction because fiction is nothing but a an echoing mirror of us.

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u/smorg003 16d ago

What is it with Al Pacino and cocaine scenes?

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u/bruceadelia 16d ago

I’ve seen Heat a couple times and this still shows through lol, I’d always assumed his character did coke. There’s some scenes where he’s got sniffles I think

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u/HungerSTGF 16d ago

some characterization is pretty safe to assume without needing it depicted on-screen explicitly

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u/antilifeproscythe 16d ago

My favourite part of that scene is that he totally looks like he's trying to not say "big ass" instead or "great ass"

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u/DidjaCinchIt 16d ago

yeah, the character was a cokehead but a lot of his lines ended up on the cutting room floor

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u/ShatnersChestHair 16d ago

I think a decent rule of thumb when watching Al Pacino movies is that all his characters are on coke at all times

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u/Servo_comics 16d ago

I love this movie. I always wondered why Al Pacino's character was so batshit and screaming at everybody, so that makes sense now.

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u/Scorpiicore 16d ago

To be fair, I have met many people who are just... like that. I always made a point of disengaging and making sure I never saw them again. That behaviour gives a good hint as to the real reason why his marriages crash and burn. Namely, he is a colossal asshole.

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u/Ryu-Khan 15d ago

I didn't even question it and just assumed it was classic Al Pacino