The Diary of Anne Frank was originally released as a 180 minute epic film in 1959 and was nominated for several Academy Awards that year, winning three. It is based on the true story of Holocaust victim Anne Frank and her family as they went into hiding in an annex apartment in Amsterdam with another family. As with many films of that time, while the film was originally three hours long, the studio recut the film for a general release version. These shorter versions meant more showings per day in a theater, less shipping costs as there was now less film to ship, and were considered standard workflow for films of this length. While most people today are familiar with the longer version, the truth is it wasn't brought back to people until a home video release in the 1990s. For forty years, most people were presented with the shorter general release version.
I was able to get my hands on a VHS from 1984 put out by CBS/FOX which was the general release version of the film. This was the last time the general release version would be released on home video. While IMDB.com states that the shorter version is 156 minutes, it is actually closer to 150 minutes. I also had the 2004 DVD and was able to use this as a comparison.
It was common when a studio cut up a film for general release to remove larger chunks of scenes and not spend a great deal of time or money on it while trying to maintain the flow of the film. What made
The Diary of Anne Frank different was that the method of cutting the film down was done so much more meticulously and in an artistic way. Shots that were once silent stares now have dialogue from the previous shot overlayed in order to move the scene quicker. If someone is staring at the camera for four seconds, it is now cut down to one or two seconds. Unnecessary pauses are removed. In many ways, it almost plays better as a shorter film-- it is tighter and flows faster.
As I was doing this comparison, an odd thing happened though. I was noticing some differences from the 2004 DVD to my 1989 laserdisc and the 2009 DVD/Blu-ray release. The differences are also outlined below as well. All timecodes are based on the 2004 DVD. Screenshots come from the 2004 DVD and are included for educational purposes-- no copyright infringement is intended.
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00:00:00-00:00:14
20th Century Fox logo is silent on longer version but has sound on the shorter version. NOTE: On the laserdisc of this film, the 20th Century Fox logo played over the last few notes of the overture and then faded into the titles. This seems more realistic as to how the film was intended to be run as opposed to this DVD release where the logo is run silently, but I welcome people's input on how they've seen it on a film print.
00:04:47-00:05:15
After the shot of Miep and Mr Kraler seeing Mr. Frank in the attic, Mr. Frank picks up a glove and starts crying before walking forward. In the shorter version, it cuts this and begins with Mr. Frank walking forward. The audio cue is different between the two versions. The longer version has clock chimes that come in during this extended part and continue where the shorter version picks up whereas the shorter version continues the music cue from the omitted shot and then starts the chimes later. This music cue in the shorter version continues over the next shot of Krasler walking up the steps and confronting Mr. Frank, which had no music in the longer version because it had finished previously due to the longer shot.
00:06:17-00:06:39
After Mr. Frank says "My good friends....." and Kraler says "It is so good to see you" the shorter version cuts to Meep saying "You must stay with us" whereas the longer version has Kraler explaining how he had heard nothing and Mr. Frank explaining that he has come alone. Meep says "You must come home with us and rest now." The line "You must stay with us" was overdubbed into the shorter version on the same shot, whereas the longer version shows her saying the line from a different angle, showing more dialogue. Mr Frank declines the offer before she says "Mr. Frank, this is your home." The shorter version then cuts back to this original shot for the line "Amsterdam is your home."
After Kraler tells the families they have 13 minutes to get settled and that he and Miep will bring them food and news daily, there are a few more seconds of footage in the longer version as he says "Come Miep, we must go".
00:12:43-00:12:50
Mrs. Van Daan asks Mr. Frank what Kraler meant by they only had 13 minutes and Mr. Frank explains this is until the work men come.
00:14:19-00:14:59
After Mr. Frank explains where the Van Daans will be staying, Anne asks where she will be staying and her father points it out to her. She then goes to explore it while Mrs. Van Daan and Mr. Frank discuss where he and Mrs. Frank will be staying and debate it. Mr. Frank also insists his wife rest. She asks if Anne should rest too but Anne insists she's fine before saying she's going to help her father, who is leading Mr. Van Daan to his room.
00:15:03-00:15:15
The conversation in the footage cut from the general release version about room assignments is overlayed as audio as Anne explores the attic and Miep and Peter unpack together. The footage of Anne in the attic is longer as she looks around the room and out the window.
00:15:21
The shot of Peter playing with his pocket knife is a little longer.
There is extra dialogue as Anne says that she and her friend Sanna are always called "Anna and Sanna, the skinny bananas" even though the footage is only slightly different. Also, when Anne confronts Peter about removing his star and saying he can't do that, he replies "That's right" in the longer version. This audio is trimmed down and laid over the footage differently in the shorter version.
Mrs. Van Daan annoyingly tells her husband to help her as she unpacks. Anne and Peter discuss his burning his star of David and why she couldn't do it.
00:19:49-00:20:26
The shots of all of the tenants waiting out the day are each one second longer.
00:21:44-00:22:49
There are some more shots of the family waiting out the day and of the factory below. When Anne talks about reading A Tale of Two Cities all in one day, she quotes it before it is the same as the shorter version, where she says it was the saddest book she'd ever read.
00:24:48-00:24:55
The shot of Margot and Peter handling the cat is slightly longer
Anne's line "With all the boys in the world, why did I have to get locked up with him" comes earlier in the shorter version, when Margo and Peter are seeing studying together, whereas the longer version has it start while Anne is writing in her diary, and finish in a fade-in to a shot not in the shorter version of the family listening to war explosions while they sit together, and discuss how they are waiting for Miep to arrive. The music cue from this line continues and fades out in the shorter version for continuity purposes due to its new location in the film.
00:44:23-00:44:29
Before Peter changes the radio station, Mr. Frank requests him to do so. Mrs. Van Daan reacting to the line BBC news with the line "Good....." is shown over this extended footage instead of the footage of Peter changing the station, as she does in the shorter version.
The Hitler speech is shown over more footage before cutting to the cat.
There is another shot of the family and a shot facing the door and the prowler's shadow.
Peter listens at the door as the prowler walks around.
00:46:00-00:46:25
Footage of prowler slowly walking toward annex and family waiting in the dark is longer.
The prowler tries to open a cabinet
00:47:02-00:47:17
More footage of prowler opening the cabinet successfully and Anne putting her ear to the floor.
00:48:01-00:48:23
The opening of the safe is longer.
00:48:32-00:48:45
The shot of the cat walking around in annex is longer. Margot struggles to not cough while Peter and Mr. Frank look on at her.
Anne listens as the prowler spills papers on the floor
00:49:29-00:49:42
The prowler leaves as the clock chimes.
00:50:30-00:50:38
More footage as Miep and Mr. Kraler enter after the robbery, both of them, and the family.
00:50:53-00:51:01
Miep and Mr. Kraler walk around the hallway surveying the damage for a longer period of time. In the shorter version, the audio cue of the sirens from the missing footage continues for continuity purposes.
Extended dialogue of Mr. Kraler and Miep discussing the burglary with the families. He says "They went through everything." and Miep discusses him finding the safe. Mrs. Van Daan and Mr. Van Daan advocate getting rid of the radio and Anne's diary in case they are found. Anne protests and her father says that it wouldn't make a difference if they found it or not. The line about the safe is truncated in the shorter version and placed over the shot of Margot and Anne standing together where the missing dialogue of her protesting is.
00:53:39-00:53:54
Mr. Dussell is introduced sitting on a bench, assisted by Miep and Mr. Kraler before coming to the annex (where the shorter version picks up).
00:54:26-00:54:27
Mr Dussell looks around a little longer before going upstairs.
00:55:23
An extra second of non-dialogue before Mrs. Frank welcomes Mr. Dussell.
More dialogue about the conditions of Amsterdam. Mr. Dussell informs the families that the soldiers are searching houses block by block.
01:00:27-01:01:53
Extra footage of the families preparing for bed. Mrs. Van Daan says goodnight to Peter and hits him for gawking at Margot and not responding to her. Margot and Peter continue to exchange looks.
01:05:28
A second of non-dialogue of the Nazis walking toward the corpse they just shot.
01:05:47-01:05:51
Anne says "Save me!" one more time before her mother comes in and tells her it's all right.
01:06:31-01:06:43
Extended footage as Mrs. Frank consoles Anne and asks her questions about her dream. The line is shortened and featured over everyone outside the room in the shorter version so you can't see Mrs. Frank's lips.
01:07:26-01:07:31
A longer pause after Anne asks Mrs. Frank to go away and send her father instead.
A longer pause after Mrs. Frank insists Mr. Frank go to Anne before cutting to Mrs. Van Daan's closeup.
01:07:57-01:08:04
Instead of cutting to Anne back in bed, the camera has more footage of Mrs. Frank slowly sitting down, disappointed.
01:08:27-01:08:41
Mrs. Frank insisting that Margot didn't shut her out at Anne's age is done on the same take as the previous shot. Anne's father gives her a hot drink to calm her. The line is featured over the next shot of non-dialogue in the shorter version, where Mr. Frank takes a deep breath and begins to talk to Anne in the longer version.
01:08:57-01:09:11
Anne calls herself a terrible coward and talks about her growing pains before where it cuts in the shorter version to her sitting up and telling her father how much she loves him .
01:10:28-01:11:00
Anne talks about how she thinks about all the wrong things she's done every day.
01:24:10
One extra second of non-dialogue before Anne asks Peter a second time to open his present.
Peter grabs a sheet to prank Mr. Dussell into thinking he's hiding a cat under a sheet and there is a more pleading from Anne as she tries to get everyone to sing the Chanukah song and her father stops her.
The family sits for a second longer before hearing the door rattle in the next shot.
01:28:12
A quick shot of Peter before cutting to Anne as the family sits quietly as the door rattles.
01:28:30-01:28:36
The pan shot of the door focuses onto the lock a little longer and shows it turning.
01:31:44-01:31:49
After Mrs. Van Daan says it was the green police who were in the attic, Mr. Van Daan says it could be the gestapo and Mr. Frank says it could be another thief.
01:31:21-01:32:27
Mr. Dussell is seen getting up from his chair where the shorter version cuts to him already up.
01:32:47-01:33:00
Mr. Van Daan walks quietly to the door after telling his wife to keep still and Anne follows.
01:33:09-01:33:12
Peter is seen putting the cat down before opening the cabinet.
01:35:15-01:35:25
Peter tries to shake Anne awake and Mr. Frank slowly begins to put down his hammer.
01:36:16-01:36:27
Mr. Frank and Mr. Dussell look at the door a little longer and there is more footage of the gestapo coming up the steps.
01:37:34-01:37-38
The gestapo officer looks around a little longer before starting to walk through the room.
NOTE: At the end of Act 1 of the film, the 2004 DVD of the longer version does not include an intermission title card, the original 2 minutes of music leading into intermission at the theater, or an entr'acte before the beginning of Act 2. The laserdisc does have these. The 2009 DVD and Blu-Ray have the intermission card but no entr'acte.
01:44:18-01:44:40
There is a longer exterior shot to open the second act. The placement of the church bell sound cue has been changed to compensate in the shorter version.
01:53:00-01:53:02
A longer pause after Mr. Frank interrupts Peter from making a threat to Mr. Dussell before Mr. Van Daan comes down the stairs..
01:56:29-01:56:41
Mr. Frank and Mr. Kraler speak a little longer before he leaves the annex after informing the family about the worker blackmailing him. Mr Van Daan looks up at the annex after exiting. The camera cuts back to Mr. Frank looking at the staircase as Mr. Dussell complains about Peter's cat. In the short version, this line is delivered over the initial shot of Mr. Frank escorting Mr. Kraler from the annex.
02:02:00
An extra second of footage as Anne is getting ready for her date with Peter.
02:06:12
A second of pause before Mrs. Van Daan tells Peter she doesn't want him staying up until all hours talking to Anne.
02:06:34-02:06:37
After Mrs. Frank tells Anne to listen for the chimes, Peter closes the door behind Anne as she sits down, whereas the shorter version starts with her sitting.
During their date, Anne asks Peter if he knows what he wants to do after the war and tells him she wants to be a writer. He says he'd like to join the Dutch forces.
02:09:52-02:10:51
Anne tells Peter when he gets out of the annex, he'll never think of her again. He tells her that is crazy. They talk about him not having any friends, and how she considers herself his friend.
02:11:58-02:12:05
After Anne asks if the kisses she got counted, Peter agrees and they sit quietly for a few more seconds.
02:12:12-02:12:42
Anne says Margot wouldn't kiss a man unless she's engaged to him and her mother never touched a man before her father.
02:20:56-02:21:03
Extra footage as Mr. Van Daan sneaks down the stairs into the kitchen to steal food.
02:22:59-02:23:30
When Mrs. Frank says she wants Mr. Van Daan to leave for stealing the food, Mr. Frank says her name, surprised and Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan ask her what she means by her statement and she reiterates she wants them to leave. The next portion of dialogue of Mr. Frank telling her she can't mean what she's saying is in both the shorter and longer versions, but is followed by a longer bit of dialogue by Mr. Frank trying to calm her down saying they've lived together for two years and have respected each other's rights. Mr. Frank gets Mr. Van Daan's word that it will never happen again. A closeup of Anne's face during this section is moved from this bit of dialogue, excised in the shorter version, to the trimmed bit of dialogue in the longer version.
02:24:06-02:24:09
A few seconds of silence before Mrs. Van Daan pleads Mrs. Frank to not throw them out.
02:26:52-02:26:54
A shot of Mr. Frank running downstairs to open the door for Mr. Kraler.
02:27:42-02:27:50
After Miep quiets the family for singing too loud, they sing one more line of the song as a whisper.
02:28:00-02:28:01
A shot of the family from the other side looking at Mr. Van Daan crying, before the closeup of him crying.
02:28:25-02:28:56
When Mr. Van Daan cries guiltily about stealing bread from the children, it's over different footage than the shorter version, as one long shot, followed by more dialogue than in the shorter version where Mrs. Van Daan saying everyone's done things they are ashamed of. Anne points out how she used to treat her mother as an example. Mr. Dussell tells everyone to stop it and be happy. There are two closeups of Mr. Van Daan and Mrs. Frank crying during this longer section, which are used in the shorter version over the line of Mr. Van Daan crying guiltily for continuity purposes.
02:29:53-02:31:00
Footage of the families listening to national leaders on the radio. Some of these shots are superimposed with stock footage of the war. We then see Anne painting a hat while Peter holds the paints on his chest. Ann shares that they are in better spirits because of the news of the invasion.
02:31:02
The continuing narration begins a little later in the longer version, as there is more footage of Mr. Kraler walking down the stairs to let the workers in.
02:33:28-02:34:14
Anne's dialogue about everyone being low begins with the shot of her writing while her mother paces in the long version, whereas in the shorter version it begins over the previous panning of the annex doorway. This is because there is slightly more dialogue in the longer version where after Anne says she can shake off everything if she writes, she says "But...." before saying "and that is the great question....will I ever be able to write well?" There is also more footage of the pacing before the adults look at the door because the bell keeps ringing. The bell starts ringing during this narration in the short version but it doesn't start until after Anne's narration in the long version.
02:37:25-02:37:30
The dialogue between Mr. Van Daan and Mrs. Van Daan's fight continues on the shot of them in the main room in the longer version and there is extended footage in the annex as Peter is seen standing before he sits down. The dialogue cuts to Peter sitting in the shorter version and is mixed with the sound effects of the birds, as dialogue from the same fight that was trimmed from the longer version originally appeared.
02:44:23-02:44:26
A longer shot of Peter following Mr. Frank down the steps and of Mr. Van Daan also following.
The shot of Mr. Frank going downstairs to open the door for the SS is longer, continuing with Peter coming out of the door of the annex.
02:45:17
In the longer version, we see Mr. Frank come back into the annex before the shot of him locking it, whereas the shorter version starts with him locking it.
02:46:38-02:50:12
After the SS successfully kick in the door and the camera cuts to the families, the shorter version fades to the end title shot of the sky, whereas the longer version features more narration by Anne explaining they were allowed to bring nothing but a bag and clothing as the camera shows Peter and Anne together and a shot of her diary, followed by a shot of the window as the narration has Anne saying goodbye to her diary. The film ends with Mr. Frank reading the diary as the narration of Anne continues and him saying "No more." Miep says she had tried to go to the country to find food and when she got back the SS were in the building. Mr. Kraler says it was the thief who told the SS the families were in the building. Mr. Frank discusses how he had hope that everything would work out. He tells them everyone else besides him from the annex residents died. Her quote "In spite of everything, people are really good at heart" is heard in Anne's narration as Mr. Frank reads it, followed by him saying "She puts me to shame" in the longer version.
This whole epilogue is cut from the shorter version. Anne's famous quote is heard as the camera fades from the families to the shot of the sky.
NOTE: Laserdisc contains an end card not seen on either DVD releases.
