Editing Greed (1924 film) (section)

===Reconstruction===
Attempts to reconstruct the uncut version of ''Greed'' without use of the lost footage first began in 1958. At the Brussels International Exposition, the ''Cinémathèque royale de Belgique'' named ''Greed'' as one of the twelve greatest films ever made and simultaneously published von Stroheim's original, uncut script for ''Greed'', which came directly from von Stroheim's personal copy preserved by his widow Denise Vernac.{{sfnm|1a1=Finler|1y=1972|1p=6|2a1=Weinberg|2y=1972|2p=15}} This publication led to three separate books that all used von Stroheim's script in order to reconstruct the original version of the film and compare it to the released version: a French book edited by Jacques-G. Perret in 1968 and two versions edited by Joel Finler and [[Herman G. Weinberg]], both in 1972. Weinberg's book utilized 400 individual stills and production photos to reconstruct the uncut version of ''Greed'', the first time that images from the uncut version were publicly available.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|pp=25–26}}

In 1999, [[Turner Entertainment]] decided to recreate, as closely as possible, the original version by combining the existing footage with over 650 still photographs of the lost scenes (many of which had been used in Weinberg's book),<ref name="www.jonathanrosenbaum.net">{{cite news|url=http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/1999/11/fables-of-the-reconstruction-the-4-hour-greed/ |title=Fables of the Reconstruction: The 4-Hour GREED |last=Rosenbaum |first=Jonathan |newspaper=The Chicago Reader |date=November 26, 1999 |access-date=April 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134947/http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/1999/11/fables-of-the-reconstruction-the-4-hour-greed/ |archive-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref> in accordance with an original continuity outline written by von Stroheim. All materials were provided by the [[Margaret Herrick Library]].<ref name="www.jonathanrosenbaum.net"/> This restoration runs almost four hours. It was produced by [[film preservation]]ist [[Rick Schmidlin]] and edited by Glenn Morgan.<ref name="variety.com">{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/greed-2-1117752082/# |title=Review: 'Greed' |last=McCarthy |first=Todd |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=September 7, 1999 |access-date=April 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407142335/http://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/greed-2-1117752082/ |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/78137 |title=Greed |last=Steffen |first=James |access-date=September 9, 2012 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407102832/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?isPreview=&id=495623%7C78137&name=Greed |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> Schmidlin restored many characters and sub-plots from the original version. A new musical score was composed by [[Robert Israel (composer)|Robert Israel]]. The reconstruction cost $100,000 to produce. Schmidlin called the finished product "a reconstruction of Von Stroheim's lost narrative."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19991205/2999339/restored-greed-comes-to-turner-classic-movies |title=Restored 'Greed' Comes To Turner Classic Movies |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=December 5, 1999 |access-date=March 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407062526/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19991205&slug=2999339 |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> It premiered at the 1999 [[Telluride Film Festival]] and was later screened at the [[Venice Film Festival]] and the [[Pordenone Silent Film Festival]] before being aired on [[Turner Classic Movies]] on December 5, 1999.<ref>{{cite web | last=Mills | first=Michael | year=1999 |url=http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/4456/greed99rev.htm|title=Resurrection on Polk Street|website=~Greed~ Von Stroheim's Silent Movie Classic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000411092459/http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/4456/greed99rev.htm|archive-date=April 11, 2000|access-date=September 22, 2016|via=[[GeoCities]]}}</ref> Film critic [[Todd McCarthy]] called the restored version of ''Greed'' a triumph.<ref name="variety.com"/> [[Roger Ebert]] called ''Greed'' a masterpiece and said that the restored Schmidlin cut illustrates the "prudish sensibilities [that] went into MGM's chop job."<ref name="ebert"/> Rosenbaum praised the project, but claimed it could only be considered a "study version".<ref name="www.jonathanrosenbaum.net"/> The reconstruction won a special citation from the [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1999|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lafca.net/years/1999.html |title=25th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards |website=The Los Angeles Film Critics Association |access-date=June 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006022440/http://www.lafca.net/years/1999.html |archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref>