That was awesome! steve I want to hear about the extended version. What was different about it? Do they explain her absence? Do they say "why" she never returns or is found? Does she show up at the end...? Is it all tied up in a nice little bow? If so, I'm glad we didn't watch it. I prefer not knowing. It's much more realistic.
The palpable pain of not knowing what became of Elena is what makes this release SO good in my opinion. Honestly - I only saw the re-release once (or maybe twice). So I'll tell you what I remember: Toto finds out what happened to her. I think she even married his pudgy friend from childhood or something. Anyway, they have this "what could have been" conversation and then they have sex in a car like a couple of teenagers. It turns out Alfredo told her to keep her distance or something. Anyway - you can read about it on wikipedia. Knowing what happens to Elena makes for a more tragic, less magic film. I loved the mystique of not knowing. Love lost, you know? In the original - you just love Alfredo completely. In the extended cut you just kinda think he's a manipulative prick. That's what I remember. I might re-watch the newer version to see if I feel differently now.