I know this might take you by surprise, by Francis Ford Coppola is taking a beloved film from his past and re-editing it, adding new material, and giving it a 4K restoration. I know, I know, this is crazy and something he’s never done before, but he’s doing it for “The Outsiders.” (You should be picking up the sarcasm, by the way.)
Today, it was announced that Francis Ford Coppola is once again mining his filmography for a fan-favorite film that he can take one more crack at and restore for new audiences. He recently did this with “Apocalypse Now,” “The Godfather Part III,” and “The Cotton Club,” and so he’s not stopping anytime soon, as “The Outsiders” is next on his list. The new version, dubbed “The Outsiders: The Complete Novel,” isn’t just a re-edit, but it also includes some new goodies that the filmmaker wanted to insert into the feature in hopes of turning in a film that is closer to the source material.
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“‘The Outsiders The Complete Novel’ came about after meeting students over the years who repeatedly asked me why certain scenes from S.E. Hinton’s wonderful book were missing from the theatrical version,” explained Coppola. “These questions reminded about my inspiration for the film—in 1980, a contingent of 12- to 14-year-old students wrote and asked me to make it. I listened to those young fans back then, and I continue to listen to young people now and believe in their opinions, so this complete film version of the novel is for them.”
According to STUDIOCANAL, Warner Bros., and American Zoetrope, the new version of “The Outsiders” includes new music and “several” new scenes that are reconstructed from the original negatives and given the 4K treatment. As Coppola explained, this is all an attempt to make a film that is a bit more faithful to the original novel by S.E. Hinton.
“The Outsiders: The Complete Novel” arrives on November 8. You can watch the new trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
THE OUTSIDERS takes place in ’60s Oklahoma, centring on two rival teen gangs: The ‘Greasers’, a class term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town, and the ‘Socs’, short for Socials, who are the ‘West-side rich kids’. Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell), a tender-hearted and kind teenager’s life is changed forever one night when a scuffle with his friend Johnny (Ralph Macchio) inadvertently leads to the death of a rival gang member, and the boys are forced to go into hiding to avoid arrest. Soon Ponyboy and Johnny, along with Dallas (Matt Dillon) and their other Greaser buddies, must contend with the consequences of their violent lives. While some Greasers try to achieve redemption, others meet tragic ends.
