Director's cut

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A Director's cut is a specially edited version of a movie that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit of the movie. It is often released some time after the original release of the film, where the original release was released in a version different from the director's approved edit. 'Cut' is synonymous with 'edit' in this context.

With most studio films the director does not have final cut. The studio can insist on changes to make the film more likely to succeed at the box office. This sometimes means happier endings or less ambiguity. Most common, however, is that studios ask that the film be shortened. The most common form of director's cut is thus to have extra scenes added making films often considerably longer.

Contents

1 Inception
2 Criticism
3 Extended cut
4 Notable examples
5 Video game director's cuts
6 See also

Inception

The director's cut was first introduced in the early 1980s alongside the rise of the home video industry. Video releases of director's cuts were originally created for the small but dedicated cult fan market. Two of the first films to be re-released as a director's cut were Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate & Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Many feel that the director's cut version is the better film.

Criticism

When it was discovered that the market for alternate versions of films was substantial, the studios themselves began to promote "director's cuts" for a wide array of films, even some where the director already had final cut of the theatrical release. These were usually assembled with the addition of deleted scenes, often adding as much as a half-hour to the length of the film without regard to pacing and storytelling. Such "commercial" director's cuts are seldom considered superior to the original film and in many cases, fans feel the films are diminished by the director's own ego or the studios' desire for revenue.

Because of this, director's cut is often considered a mixed bag. With an equal share of supporters and detractors. Roger Ebert approves the use of the label in unsuccessful films that had been tampered with by studio executives, such as Sergio Leone's original cut on Once Upon A Time In America, which was infamously ruined by studio interference for the American release. However, Ebert considers adding such material to a successful film a waste and stated that carpenters do not keep their shavings after the construction of the work. Even Ridley Scott, the director of Blade Runner, stated on the DVD commentary of Alien that the original theatrical release was his director's cut, and this version was released as a marketing ploy by studios.

Extended cut

A related concept is that of an extended or special edition. An example is Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. While Jackson considers the theatrical releases of those films to be his final "director's cut," the extended cuts were made so that fans of the material could see nearly all of the scenes shot for the script to better develop more of J.R.R. Tolkien's world, but which were cut for theatrical running time or other reasons. Opinion remains divided on which cut is superior, as supporters hail the Extended Edition as the superior cut; while detractors believe they were left out for a reason. Another example is Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now Redux, which, like the original film, polarized the audience, with some fans considering the original version to be the definitive cut.

Special editions such as George Lucas's Star Wars films, and Steven Spielberg's E.T., in which special effects are redone in addition to a new edit, also have caused controversy.

Notable examples

James Cameron's longer cuts of The Abyss, Aliens, and
Luc Besson's "Version Intégrale" cut of Léon.
Richard Donner's version of Superman II.
Roland Emmerich's longer cut of StarGate.
George A. Romero's slightly shortened director's cut of Dawn of the Dead.
Robert Wise's "Director's Edition" of .
Nicholas Meyer's special editions of ' and '.
Ridley Scott's shortened versions of Alien and Blade Runner, and extended versions of Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven.
Kevin Reynolds's extended 175-minute network broadcast cut of Waterworld.
Paul Verhoeven's director's cut of RoboCop.
Russell Mulcahy's longer director's cuts of Highlander and .
Joel Coen's shortened 96-minute director's cut of Blood Simple.
George Lucas's extended cut of THX 1138.
Peter Jackson's director's cut of The Frighteners.
Miloš Forman's director's cut of Amadeus.
Terry Gilliam's extended cut of Brazil.

Video game director's cuts