Fans can now watch an extended version of the Super Mario Bros. movie, featuring 20 minutes of previously deleted scenes.
Reported by Eurogamer, the extended version was developed from an old VHS tape. Starting in 2019, a group of dedicated individuals, who call themselves the official Super Mario Bros: The Movie Archive team, have been restoring the tape. The completed work, running for a total of 125 minutes, is now available on the Internet Archive.
The team provided an in-depth description of their project on the Internet Archive's page. They detailed the content of the 20 additional minutes, writing, "Previously-unseen deleted scenes include the Mario Bros running afoul of the (probably Mafia-connected) Scapelli plumbing company, Koopa murdering a technician by de-evolving him into slime, and Iggy and Spike rapping about the overthrow of King Koopa at the Boom Boom Bar. (Along with some dancing women who were censored for the theatrical cut.) There's more of Lena, Daniella and the Brooklyn Girls."
Super Mario Bros. was originally released in 1993, featuring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi. Mario and Luigi, working as plumbers in Brooklyn, NY, discover an alternate universe called Dinohattan while dealing with a rival mafia-operated construction company. The film received a mixed response from critics and did not generate enough box office revenue to encourage a sequel.
In the decades since its release, the film has earned a cult following. Earlier this year, fans remade a trailer for CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 using footage from the Super Mario Bros. movie.
Directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, Super Mario Bros. stars Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Samantha Mathis, Fisher Stevens and Fiona Shaw.
Source: Internet Archive, via Eurogamer