Sign in to follow this  
Dark Reality

What's your favorite Directors Cut?

Recommended Posts

Before every other film was butchered for the theater to get an R or PG-13 rating and released on DVD as an "Uncut" or "Unrated" edition with added footage, you would see movies come out a couple or more years after the movie came out on DVD, or previously, VHS, with additional footage to extend the movie. This was a lot more rare, and only done with really good (or at least popular) films.

 

The first directors cut I remember hearing about was for Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The directors cut was, for the first year or two, only available on Laserdisc, possibly to help save the dying format. It became available on VHS as well, but by this time, DVD was new, and most fans would rather have the theatrical version on DVD than the director's cut on VHS. The director's cut eventually made it to DVD, only to be owned months later by an "extended edition" with one new scene and a new ending.

 

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is one of my favorite movies of all time, and the directors cut just made it better. All it really adds is more information on the Sherrif, but despite being long overdue, it's worth having.

 

I didn't like "The Professional" when it came out in 1994. It really seemed to be missing something, and I found out that it was. 24 minutes had been taken out of the middle of the film, as several scenes (which were coincidentally all together) were thought to be offensive to American audiences. A few years back, the full version was released in the US. I saw it, and loved it... it's now a welcome addition to my collection. The elements of a 12-year-old girl having a crush on an older man (and in one scene, trying to seduce him) were a bit disturbing, but it was done tastefully, and it helped to make the film work out better.

 

The one directors cut I didn't like was for my favorite movie, Donnie Darko. They messed with the soundtrack, added some CG effects, and added a couple scenes that didn't really add anything. I think the director's cut is more approachable, easier to watch than the original, but having seen the original over a dozen times and coming to understand it, I've also come to appreciate it, and I found that the directors cut subtracted from that.

 

(For all movies, I linked to the latest version of the movie on DVD... except for Donnie Darko where I also linked to the original.)

 

So, which ones hit and missed with you?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't really own very many movies in both their theatrical version and a director's/extended version. The ones I do have are Blade Runner and Independence Day although ID4 was a special edition that came with both the original theatrical version as well as an extended version. I prefer the director's cut of Blade Runner and the extended version of ID4 (more Okun LOL).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I love the Director's Cut of "Alien³". I had never been much into that movie, until I saw the Director's Cut. It all suddenly made a LOT more sense. :angry: They cut out and changed so many scenes, it's unbelievable. :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The best Director's Cut I've seen is Star Trek: TMP. The Director's Cut is very different and so much better than the theater version. It was like watching a brand new movie!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I can't really decide on A favorite put the top three would have to be star trek 2 and aliens as the movies makes so much more since with the extra shots. Also I have to agree with kor. Star trek the motion picture is so much better except the changed red alert siren.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I actually have the directors cuts of Independence Day and Blade Runner. I have never seen Blade Runner all the way through, though I intend to, as my girlfriend hasn't seen it. I love Total Recall, which she saw for the first time with me last week or the week before, and liked it... and they're both based on stories by... Phillip P. Richard, is that it? The same guy has a new movie coming out, "A Scanner Darkly", but this one is animated... looks quite good.

 

ID4:DC had more Okun (Brent Spiner)? I remember a few added shots, but I don't recall any new Okun scenes. Maybe one was simply extended, a few new lines added, and I didn't notice. I loved ID4, saw it twice in the theaters, bought the VHS the day it came out (yep, got the holographic cover and the matted lithograph of the ship above NYC), but I left the VHS in California.

 

I don't own multiple versions of any movie but Donnie Darko. And that's because I prefer the theatrical edition. I'm considering giving away the directors cut, but I'll probably keep it out of respect. It's easily the best movie I've ever seen, and though I have a preference, it's cool having two versions of it. If I were to get a directors cut of a movie I already have, I'd give away the original - this happened with Lord of the Rings 1 (my girlfriend's sister got that) and Robin Hood - I actually haven't got the DC yet, but when I moved, I left the original. I didn't mention it above, but the original Robin Hood was two-sided; you had to flip the disc halfway through (around the bathing scene). A member on my board said that the DC has the movie all on one disc.

 

I've seen the directors cut of Aliens... I want that. I don't remember the original much. Of all the Aliens movies, the second one is the only one which interested me, and I liked seeing the longer cut.

 

I forgot to mention them, but the best directors cuts may be of the Lord of the Rings movies. I don't consider their extended edition releases done to capitalize off DVD sales; rather, the movies were intended to be that long, but they had to cut them for the theaters. Really, I don't think they should have, and just had the movies have an intermission. Hey, it worked for Schindler's List!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would say mine would have to be....

 

Apocalypse Now Redux.. director's cut :(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had the Apocalypse Now Redux, but it was one that I had left in California when I moved. I had never seen the original, saw the Redux and it was just OK. War movies are really hit-and-miss with me, so it's not that it was a bad movie or anything, just not my thing. :(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

1.The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy Special Extended DVD edition

 

2.THE TRANSFORMERS:THE MOVIE (unedited version)

 

3.The HitchHiker's Guide To The Galaxy (the 6 part 1981 mini-series unedited)

 

4.Lords OF Dogtown (Unrated extended cut)

 

:blink: :dontgetit::yawn: B)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this