Previously Unreleased Footage from the First Draft of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” [Video]

Bruce Springsteen’s "Dancing in the Dark" video (with a then-unknown Courtney Cox) is arguably one of the most iconic videos to come out of the '80s. But it almost didn't happen.

The first director Bruce worked with on the video had a much more literal interpretation. That was:  Bruce singing and dancing in the dark.  He's mostly alone…although the late saxophonist Clarence Clemons saunters in at the end.

It's a pretty dull concept, but you don't have to take my word for it. Previously unreleased footage from these initial shoots has hit the Internet.

You can check it out, here:

Here's the version you remember from MTV which features Courtney Cox:

Eventually, The Boss canned that director and hired Brian De Palma, the man behind the movies "Carrie", "Scarface" and "Carlito's Way". Together they created the version we know today.

The focus was changed to Bruce performing onstage in front of cheering fans. It's totally different from the first shoot, except Bruce kept some of his "dance moves."

Fortunately, he dumped the cheesiest ones: the pirouette at the 2:50 mark, basically everything he does from 5:13 on, especially the "hey baby" move at the 7:52 mark. It was a GREAT IDEA for De Palma to put a mic in his hand.