LOST - Hardly any other series of the 2000s caused as much of a stir as the masterpiece by lead author Damon Lindelof. However, it took luck, passion, a certain amount of perseverance and a lot of convincing, since Disney was initially anything but taken with the concept of the mysterious island adventure.

Most of this work, of course, consisted of producing a pilot film to prove that the concept was more than just an idea and would also work as a movie.

However, due to turbulent events behind the scenes, writer Lindelof and director JJ Abrams didn't have much time in January 2004 to get this venture done in time for the fall program announcement.

Against all odds and various problems, they and their entire team managed to complete a rough cut in just 17 weeks, which is already remarkably close to the final cut.

After reviewing this version, Disney/ABC nevertheless decided to include LOST in its own programming, despite many concerns - but demanded that the film, which had actually been conceived and produced as a coherent series, be split into two individual episodes so that it could be broadcast at weekly intervals. This demand ultimately led to the rearrangement of some scenes to ensure a more exciting opening to the second episode.

While there are relatively few differences between the two versions in terms of content, the differences lie primarily in the audiovisual area, as this would simply have required more time, which is also noticeable in the partially unfinished effects.

Composer Michael Giacchino was also not yet able to lend a hand and only wrote and recorded his soundtrack later. In order to be able to create a suitable mood in the pilot film, one fell back instead on already existing music, which was borrowed from films like Blade Runner, Aliens, The Thing, The Fog, The Thin Red Line, Road to Perdition and Psycho.

This circumstance also ensured that this "Original Cut" was never officially released for licensing reasons, although this was actually intended for the bonus material of the DVD release.

Comparison between the Original Cut and the Final Cut from the US Blu-ray.

Runtime: 83:02 min. (without credits) / 42:20 min. (Part 1 with credits), 40:24 min. (Part 2 with credits)

Cut and Extended Scenes

Minute 04:54
Claire says she's in labor, to which Jack says that's not ideal.
+1 sec.

Minute 05:33
When Jack calls Hurley over, Hurley says that the plane crashed - Jack replies that he knows this.
+2 sec.

Minute 20:44
When the monster first appears and knocks down trees, Claire asks the other survivors if they saw this too. In the original, Hurley responds with "Yeah... unfortunately." In the final cut, he only responds with "Yeah..."
+4 sec

Minute 21:28
During the first flashback, Jack looks out the window. In the original cut, the scene (without finished effects) begins directly with Jack, while in the final cut the camera first offers a view of the wing and only then slowly pans to Jack
-7 sec

Minute 21:54
Jack flirts a bit with the stewardess, who gives him two small bottles of Vodka. She justifies this by saying that Jack was so nice when he swapped his first class ticket with an old woman. Jack replies to her that he wasn't so nice at all - the old woman was only 600 years old and claimed never to have flown before.
+14 sec

Minute 48:44
In the original cut, Charlie consumes some heroin through his nose, while in the final cut this can only be heard.
+3 sec

Minute 58:31
Michael is trying to make some contact with Walt when he reads a comic in Spanish. Walt says he doesn't speak Spanish, to which Michael says "Esta ese libro bueno, pequeño hombre?". Walt reacts confused and Michael says he was just joking.
+8 sec

Minute 66:25
Locke and Walt are having a conversation about Backgammon. Locke makes Walt guess how old the game is, to which Walt guesses 100 years.
+5 sec

Re-cut Scenes

Minute 6:26
Jack tries to revive Rose - but notices that Hurley and Claire are about to be killed by the falling wing. In the Original Cut, Jack initially stays with Rose until she is breathing again, even though the danger to Hurley and Claire is already present.

In the Final Cut, Jack helps Rose until she is breathing again - only then does he realize that the wing is about to fall.

Minute 41:56
In the Original Cut, 5 scenes follow.

1: Shannon is lying in the sun talking to the pregnant Claire a bit about her baby.

2: Jin goes foraging for food accompanied by Sun, with Michael appearing as he is looking for his son.

3: Walt wanders through the jungle and finds handcuffs.

4: Jack, Kate and Charlie are on their way back from the cockpit.

5: The flashback of Charlie

For the final cut, scenes 4 and 5 were moved forward (followed by scenes 1 through 3) to now open Part 2 with the focus on Charlie and this action sequence.

Minute 59:20
Charlie ingests heroin again in a continuous scene and gets high. In the final cut, the ingestion of heroin is cut short and intercut with another scene where Jack asks Hurley for help. This scene is located elsewhere in the original cut.

Audiovisual Adjustments

Minute 07:00
The wing crashes to the ground and explodes - in the Original Cut, the camera is still; in the Final Cut, the image has been digitally blurred a bit.

Minute 09:24
Emilie de Ravin (Claire) is titled as a guest star. She was promoted to the main cast only after the original cut was completed.

Minute 12:26
JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof are titled as writers. It is not until the final cut that Jeffrey Lieber is mentioned, who wrote an early script version but never worked with Abrams and Lindelof.

Minute 20:05
The monster on the island makes its presence known for the first time - but in the original cut, it only makes animal sounds. For the final cut, the network insisted on a change because they didn't want viewers to think that there might be dinosaurs on the island.

Minute 62:39
In the original cut, the camera is in a position during the climb that makes it look like the group is climbing from left to right. In the following scene, however, the characters move from right to left in the close-up. For the final cut, therefore, the distance shot was mirrored to create a uniform impression.

Minute 69:40
When Sawyer shoots the attacking polar bear, it is seen in mid-air for a split second. For the final cut, the bear was replaced with a CGI model because the puppet was made fun of on the internet.