The Keep film by Michael Mann

Written by Kit Rae (and friends) in 2005. Last update February 2020

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ALTERNATE ENDINGS - As mentioned, the ending of the released film was not the ending Mann intended. Before the film was finished he stated in a Film Comment interview by Harlan Kennedy that the film would be "uplifting in the end", and when referring to the film as a fable and a fairy tale, as opposed to myth, that fairy tales always had an optimistic ending. This makes sense if you watch the original ending (one of them, anyway) shown in some television broadcast versions, which is a lovely and haunting finale. According to special effects workshop supervision Bob Keen, Mann shot the ending at least 10 times, having the crew rebuild the keep set over and over each time. The original draft of the script had no happy ending, but ended more like the released version of the film.

In the televised ending I saw in the mid 1990's there is no freeze frame on Eva. Instead she walks back into the keep, beckoned by Glaeken's voice calling to her, presumably in her mind. Glaeken and Molasar are shown falling through a black void, with Galeken beginning to smoke and catch on fire. Molasar disappears into blackness. As this is happening, Eva is shown making a long journey down into the cavern below the keep as an enigmatic version of Walking in the Air is performed by Tangerine Dream. There she finds Glaeken's dead and smoking body on the slate stone ground beside a pool of water, with a blue light barrier separating him from the air above. With a touch, Eva revives Glaeken. In a scene earlier in the film, Glaeken had no reflection in a mirror, but he now sees his own reflection in the pool of water. He has seemingly transformed from a supernatural being into a mortal man, who can now 'touch as only mortal men can do', freeing him to live a mortal life with Eva. The press kit for the film also mentions another scene shot in Spain, confirmed by actress Alberta Watson in an interview, that would have been "the final sequence of the picture, featuring Glaeken, Eva, and Kuzar" leaving Romania on a boat together (Cuza is spelled Kuzar in the press press Kit).

The press photos and press kit for The Keep mention and include photos (shown below) of Eva kneeling over Glaeken's body in the cavern. One of the cavern photos was even given to Starfix magazine for their cover story on The Keep in 1983, so clearly the original ending was still in the film at the time the marketing materials were distributed. There are also photos of a shirtless Glaeken laying on the ground in Molasar's cavern with the blue laser over him, possibly from another version of the alternate ending that was filmed.

Shots of the optimistic ending of The Keep filmed at Shepperton Studios, removed at Paramount Pictures insistence, but shown in press release photos, magazines, and some television broadcasts. According to Actor Jürgen Prochnow, Michael Mann had an interest in restoring this scene to the film back in 2008.

The light barrier effect was created with a green/blue argon laser and a diffraction grating to fan the beam. Lasers, now commonplace, were still very rare and expensive in 1982.

The exact same blue fanned laser effect was used in the egg chamber scene of Ridley Scott's film Alien in 1979, also filmed at Shepperton Studios. It was borrowed from rock band The Who, who used in their concerts.

Two different photos showing a shirtless Glaeken lying on the ground with Eva in the background. Note the same the same blue laser is used as in the original ending by the underground lake, indicating this scene may occur in the cavern beneath the Keep. This is most likely a scene from one of the other alternate endings that was filmed, or possibly a photo created strictly for PR purposes.

It may seem strange that Paramount cut the original ending out of the failed theatrical release but edited it back into the film for the television markets, but to me, that is a clear indication that they realized altering Mann's ending was a mistake. There are also reports of three other alternate endings that have been edited back into the various television broadcasts, although I have no memory of seeing any of these. In one ending Glaeken kills Molasar, then carries his body back into the cavern under the keep. In another Glaeken and Molasar fall through a black void shooting energy beams at each other, until Glaeken barely destroys Molasar (this sounds like the unfinished ending). Eva then goes down inside the keep cavern and revives Glaeken by the pool of water, as in the common televised ending I saw. Steven Feldman relates on his Molasar's Homepage that The Keep author F. Paul Wilson told him he saw a version on ABC television in 1998 where Eva goes back into the depths of the keep and brings Glaeken out, which also sounds like the common televised ending.

There are several scenes in the film trailers shown in 1983 that are not in the finished film, something actually quite common for film trailers. These hint at longer scenes, including dialogue scenes between Glaeken and Eva, and some scenes and camera angles that were never used. There were two different trailers shown in theaters. One announced the film's original release date as June 3rd 1983, and promoted a 70mm release with 6 track Dolby stereo. A second, slightly different trailer that came later, dropped the 70mm and Dolby 6 track promotion. Both used the same Tangerine Dream music. I have also seen a version of the second trailer with no music at all.

The first trailer used an early version of the film title that was not used in the final film or marketing materials. It adversised the original June 3rd release date and promoted the film would be released in 70mm with dolby six track surround. Neither format was actually used for the release.

Presumably the unused shot above is from the unfinished ending of the film. Sunlight falls on Galeken when he and Molasar are on the roof of the keep.

Alternate, unused angles of Molasar and Glaeken in the keep.

Unused dialogue scenes between Glaeken and Eva

This scene appears in the finished film, athough framed and cropped slightly differently. The animated light effect over Glaeken's staff from the trailer was not used.

THE KEEP HOME VIDEO RELEASES - Many people have incorrectly stated that Michael Mann disowns the film and has blocked future releases of this butchered version, or that Tangerine Dream blocked the release. These rumors are mostly made-up internet speculation. Paramount owns the rights to the film, not Mann or Tangerine Dream. Neither could not stop Paramount if they wanted to release the movie in a modern HD format. It was Paramount that licensed ViaVision to release the film on DVD in 2020.

With regards to Mann 'disowning' the film, I think those rumors stem from a statement author F. Paul Wilson made on his Repairman Jack website in 2004, but he only came to the 'disowning' conclusion because Mann leaves The Keep out of his filmography in interviews. Mann has actually stated, as quoted in this article, that it was a joy to work on The Keep. Even with its content flaws, he still likes the film, as he has stated in interviews.

"It was joy to make make that film. I got to work with John Box, who was the production designer, who won three academy awards - for Oliver, A Man for All Seasons…Lawrence of Arabia - and he was just a great guy and the sets were spectacular, built at Shepperton...We were never really quite able to figure out how he (Wally Veevers) planned to combine all of these components that he shot, because it wasn't anything usual like green screen or blue screen. It was black velvet and all kinds of strange stuff to make smoke go backwards." - Director Michael Mann in 2016, from Bilge Ebiri's career retrospective iterview

"I must confess that I think the production design and the form of that film were in better shape than the content, and despite its weaknesses, I still like the film for those aspects" - Director Michael Mann in 2009, from The Art of Film: John Box and Production Design (Wallflower)

To date, the film has only been released on four home video formats - the original video cassette tape releases (VHS and Betamax formats) Laser Disk releases of the theatrical cut of the film by Paramount Pictures (both beginning in December 1984), and an official DVD release by ViaVision in 2020. There has never been an official Blu Ray or high definition release in any form.

The common alternate ending to The Keep shown in some television broadcasts in the 1990s

There have been many television broadcasts of The Keep with some of the deleted footage restored, including the original, much longer, and more uplifting ending, which also includes a fantastic extended version of Tangerine Dream’s arrangement of Walking In The Air. The film has also been shown on some video-on-demand services, like Netlfix and Amazon Prime, reportedly with some scenes cut and others altered. The cropped pan-and-scan standard resolution transfer I streamed from Amazon Prime was identical to the theatrical version. The video quality seemed better than the Laser Disk version, which would seem to indicate a new transfer of the film was in fact made.

An official release of the film in any high definition form seems doubtful at this point., and the official DVD release took forever to happen. In 2004 Paramount announced a DVD release coming November 30th. Author F. Paul Wilson suggested to Paramount that they include Tangerine Dream's isolated soundtrack on the DVD. That release was cancelled, then in 2005 there were more rumors that Paramount wanted to do a release with Michael Mann's participation. A rep for Paramount stated that they were waiting on Michael Mann's schedule to free up because they wanted him involved with the film transfer and the DVD extras with deleted scenes. In 2008 Actor Jürgen Prochnow, who likes the film, confirmed in that Michael Mann had indeed planned on re-editing the film, restoring his original cut, including the fifth act. Then there was new - all rumor - that it was discovered that the original negatives of the cut footage were missing and that Mann was no longer interested. That was later confiemd by Mann.

Ads for the first official DVD release of The Keep in 2020 from Via Vision

Rumors of a DVD/Blu Ray release began again in 2010, then there were rumors in 2012 that Paramount had already made an HD transfer of the theatrical film for Blu Ray, but it never happened. Based on some official comments at the time, there was some type legal or contractual issue with the music rights and the film rights holders that is holding up a future high def release of the theatrical version of The Keep in legal limbo. Virgin records owns the copyright to the recording of Tangerine Dream's Logos Live album, which was the source that much of the music used in the film was taken from, so that may have been one issue. In 2020 an official DVD was finally released from the Australian company ViaVision, under license from Paramount. It is a widescreen release with a 2.0 stereo soundtrack. Unfortunately the picture quality ranges from standard definition in places to fuzzy VHS quaity in others, similar to the streaming version of the movie. I think this is actually the old Laser Disk master of the film at 425 lines of resolution, so it is not quite as clear as the 480 lines of resolution a DVD is capable of. The soundtrack sounds identical to the Laser Disk version, with lots of hiss in places. Still, it is the best version of the film currently available, but only a step above the bootleg VHS or Laser Disk rips of the film.

Via Vision DVD box artwork from the 2020 DVD release

WILL WE EVER SEE A RESTORED DIRECTORS CUT? - Sadly, no. When critic Bilge Ebiri interviewed Mann for a career retrospective in 2016, he specifically asked if there were plans to release a new cut of The Keep with the lost footage restored, or even release the theatrical version. Mann said "No, not really. I don't…the materials aren't there." That seems to confirm the rumor that the original negatives have been lost lost. Without those, it will be impossible to restore the film. Mann went on to say "That one's (the film) going to stay in its historical niche." That seems to be a clear cut statement by Mann, that as far as he is concerned, The Keep will not be revisted by him.

Assuming the negatives for the theatrical version still exist, there is always hope for a high definition release in the future. With the cult fan base and mystique about this movie, the huge interest in Tangerine Dream's soundtrack, as well as the following Michael Mann, Ian McKellen, and some of the other actors have, it is sure to be successful. A Blu Ray of the theatrical version, hopefully including a deleted scenes and alternate endings section, would be gobbled up by the fans. Until that day, get the official ViaVision DVD, watch for it appearing on streaming services, or find and old copy on VHS or Laser Disk.

Director Michael Mann in 1982

"A director may have a hit film and then one that is less successful, and then another one with even less success. There are no rules and just because The Keep lost money does not mean that people will refuse to work with me. It doesn’t work that way. The week The Keep opened I was already writing the script for Manhunter. The producers had come to me. The Keep suffered from the death of one of the people in charge of the special effects during filming...the one who did the optical effects (Wally Veevers). I had to finish those 260 shots involving effects myself. The Keep was especially badly received in the USA. People didn’t understand it." - Director Michael Mann, translated from Mad Movies #47 1987

The Keep was the only time Michael Mann made a film in this genre. He would go on to create the television shows Miami Vice and Crime Story, and direct such films as Manhunter, The Last of The Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Collateral, Public Enemies, and Ali. Often pegged as a "crime drama" director, Mann's work has actually been quite diverse.

Kit Rae

RELEASE DATES AND ALTERNATE FILM TITLES - The release of the film was spread across 1983-1985 under various film titles and marketing arwork to suit the various regions. Some countries only had a video release. There was very little advertising for the film, and it was only shown on a small number of screens compared to typical big budget films of the time.

USA - The Keep - December 16, 1983 (originally announced as June 3rd 1983)
Belgium - April 1984
France - La Forteresse Noire - May 2, 1984
Ireland - May 4 1984
Sweden - Satans Borg - May 4, 1984
Hong Kong - June 9, 1984
Japan - July 14, 1984
Australia - The Keep - September 1, 1984
West Germany - Die unheimliche Macht - May 1985 (video only)
Finland - Paholaisen Pesä - 1985 (video only)

Below are some other alternate titles from the IMDB database. I don't have release dates for these

Brazil A Fortaleza Infernal
Denmark Satans Borg
Spain El Torreón
Hungary Az Er?d
Italy La Fortezza
Mexico El Fuerte Infernal
Portugal O Guardador Do Mal
Turkey Kan Çanagi

The Keep American one-sheet movie poster, Denmark one-sheet, and France one-sheet

The Keep American display poster (half sheet), Mexican poster, and an Australian daybill poster

West German and Finland CIC videocassette covers from 1985 premier. The Keep had no theatrical release in those countries.

CONTINUE TO PAGE 5 FOR A LIST OF BOOTLEGS AND OFFICIAL RELEASES

The Keep film photos by Graham Attwood, copyright Paramount Pictures. Other photos copyright the respective copyright holders.

CONTRIBUTORS - I wrote this article with LOTS of help and contributions from friends and fellow TD fans, and fans of The Keep. Thanks go to Jim, Ed, Jerome, Arxemand, Geoff. If you would like to contribute any additional info, photos, or know of any other bootlegs or other sources of this music, feel free to email.
SOURCES - The Keep Handbook of Production Information, Fangoria magazine #31 1983, Starburst magazine June 1983, Film Comment magazine December 1983, Fantastic Films magazine March 1984, Fangoria magazine #33 1984, Fangoria magazine #36 1984, l'Ecran Fantastique magazine May 1984, Starfix magazine April 1984, Mad Movies magazine May 1987, Totally Wired magazine April 1986, Tangerine Dream: Remembering the Dream, The Art of Film: John Box and Production Design (Wallflower 2009), The Cinema of Michael Mann: Vice and Vindication (Wallflower 2013), and numerous other MM and TD interviews.

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