Michael Mann's The Keep (1983) Original Cut+Soundtrack

In 1983 Michael Mann (who at the time was not a very big deal). Was hot off the successes of Thief, and decided to make a movie based on the F. Paul Wilson novel The Keep which starred Scott Glen and Ian Mckellen. The movie features Nazis invading a ancient Romanian castle and unleashing a powerful evil monster named Molasar. The film was, treated to mediocre to terrible ratings, and has never even had a proper DVD or Blu-Ray release. One of the reasons why this film was so bad was because of the edits that had been made in post production. Mann had originally created a 210 minute cut, which was eventually cut down to a standard 90 minute film. Since then, the film has developed a small cult following (with a documentary being made on indiegogo about how the film was made), but no release has ever seen the light of day. Even when Netflix released it on their service a few years back, all that was available was a laserdisc transfer to work with (I watched the copy myself, the reds bled meaning it must've been analog). According to Wikipedia this copy is still on Netflix in the UK and Ireland. As for the director's cut pieces have emerged through TV airings, which did show fully extended portions and even an alternate ending (but never the full 210 minute treatment). Below is a video of 7 additional minutes of the ending.



Yet still, a full remaster, or a full cut, or even a release of the edited cut is elusive. But the story gets even more complicated. Allegedly while producing the film, legendary soundtrack producers Tangerine Dream (who had worked on Thief with Mann) were enlisted and did do a full score of the Keep for the film. Allegedly, Mann hated it and instead decided to use pieces they had already done from Logos. Tangerine Dream was apparently totally pissed at this, and were very angry at the final product (Some believe that this is why even the 90 minute cut isn't on DVD, because there'd be a lawsuit). Tangerine Dream did eventually release their full score (which you can listen to here)



So now we arise at a question. Was there ever a point where this soundtrack was intersped in the film? Was it in the 210 minute cut? And if it wasn't, what other Tangerine Dream songs were used instead in the larger cut. There are many things to look for here:

1. A High quality of the 90 minute cut
2. The Footage from the 210 minute cut
3. The possible idea of the original Soundtrack being combined with the film in the 210 minute cut
4. The possible idea of Mann's removal of the original soundtrack and other Tangerine Dream songs being used in the 210 minute cut

It's a mystery that's haunted my dad (who was a fan when it opened) and I for years. Thought I'd share with you guys if you were interested.