The Little Shop Of Horrors' bleak original ending was finally restored for the movie's Blu-ray release. While far from the first movie to receive a revised cut, one of the most famous examples of a Director's Cut is Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. While the film received a lukewarm critical and commercial reception during its original release, it slowly gathered a cult fanbase thanks to its great performances, rich themes and fantastic visuals. Scott was forced to include an ill-fitting happy ending and a bored voice over from Harrison Ford to appease producers for its theatrical release, but the eventual 1992 Director's Cut removed these elements, and for many is the vastly superior version.

That's just one example out of many, with Little Shop Of Horrors 1986 being a particularly famous case. It's an adaptation of the Roger Corman b-movie of the same name, which is famous for featuring a very early role for Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient and for being shot entirely in two days. The movie was then adapted into a hit Off-Broadway musical, which featured catchy numbers from Alan Menken. The musical took the basic concept and turned it into a pitch dark satire, and director Frank Oz later adapted the musical in 1986.

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The story sees Rick Moranis' meek florist Seymour discovering a talking plant that turns his store into a success, but it needs human blood to survive. Seymour is also in love with co-worker Audrey (Ellen Greene), and even names the plant Audrey II in her honor. The movie also features Steve Martin and Bill Murray and is now considered a belove cult movie in its own right. While Little Shop Of Horrors is funny and campy, there's an underlying darkness to it too, and the original cut carried over the musical's downbeat finale. The theatrical version now features a re-shot ending where Audrey II is defeated and Seymour and Audrey live happily ever after in the suburbs.

This wasn't the original intent at all, with the first cut of Little Shop Of Horrors' featuring an almighty downer of a finale. In this version, Audrey and Seymour are both eaten by Audrey II, and the final scenes see the plant become a global craze as people rush to buy Audrey II plants. They then grow huge and take over the world, with the ending featuring apocalyptic shots of the plants conquering cities. Despite being a spectacular - and expensive - finale, test audiences hated it, and Oz was forced to shoot a happier ending where Seymour and Audrey live.

Word of the first ending became legend, however, and a 1998 Little Shop Of Horrors' DVD featured unfinished, black and white footage of this ending that was swiftly recalled when the producer rebelled against its poor quality. The Little Shop Of Horrors Director's Cut Blu-Ray arrived in 2012 and finally featured Oz's original, intended version. While some fans still prefer giving Seymour and Audrey a happy ending, this new cut feels like the movie it was always intended to be and the effects are still incredibly charming in the new finale.

For those who enjoyed the theatrical version, the Blu-Ray Director's Cut is a must, if only to compare the two. A Little Shop Of Horrors remake is also on the cards, with Taron Egerton, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans circling the lead roles.

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