But there was a print of this first cut, considered a masterpiece and even better in many ways than Citizen Kane, that editor Robert Wise sent down to Welles while he was working in Brazil.  That print has since been lost.  However, during two excursions to Brazil, I came up with some interesting and promising leads with the help of late Brazilian filmmaker Rogerio Sganzerla. And before he passed away, I also had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Wise about his editing of Ambersons and the whole fiasco of the test screenings and the recutting that RKO demanded. It’s a fascinating story. And to Wise’s credit, despite the subsequent mutilation by the studio which subsequently ordered the ending reshot without Welles’ permission, the 88-minute version of Ambersons has since become a classic regardless.  But if what if we could find that lost print that showcased Welles’ original, much darker ending?