Extras on the Special Edition DVD

Having watched these I am grateful Friedkin preserved The film in the form he did.

*** SPOILERS ***

At the studio's insistence he shot an alternative ending in which Chase survived. It is so fatuous that I can only assume he deliberately messed up so that his favored ending would be the only option.

The other deleted scene portrays Vukovich's ex-wife brushing him off. Friedkin says he regrets having deleted it, but I think he is only being tactful to the actress (sorry, I cannot remember her name - Sworkin?) as it deprived her of her only credited scene. It is banal and adds nothing of depth to the movie.

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On another topic, I could have done without the opening sequence. It is a stereotypical "hero cop" action sequence unrelated to the rest of the movie. The character of the Islamic terrorist is such a caricature it is as if the scene was added after 9/11 to earn brownie points with the American public.

His earlier film "Sorcerer" (1977) also has a long opening sequence (in fact three of them) showing the back-stories of the main characters and I do not think that works either.