# Best/Worst director's cuts, deleted scenes, alternate endings, etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858 "2006-01-13T19:21:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/21 "2006-01-14T14:20:29Z")
I didn’t care much for most of the cut scenes from _This Is Spinal Tap_. They seemed to be extremely dry and drawn out. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/22 "2006-01-14T14:33:46Z")
My unpopular opinion: The "Extended Edition"s of the Lord of the Rings movies are bad, bad, bad. I have presently in mind specifically: The Galadriel gift-giving sequecne–poorly edited, difficult to follow. The “Hey Aragorn, I made some stew, do you like it?” scene–way out of character for Aragorn, corny, unnecessary. “The Mouth”–great idea, would have been glad to see it as a deleted extra as a “what could have been,” but as inserted back into the movie, poorly edited, containing much that is gratuitous. Things like the above three scenes really screw up the experience of watching the movie. I prefer the theatrical version. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/23 "2006-01-14T15:12:59Z")
I also was disappointed by the _Blade Runner_ recut. I thought the voice-over helped the story, the unicorn dream doesn’t add anything especially insightful, and the so-called “happy” ending _doesn’t_ feel tacked on (it’s perfectly foreshadowed by Rachel’s’ earlier line: “What if I want away, went North?”). Cutting the ending and simply having Rachel and Deckard get into the elevator leaves the film without an ending at all. The “happiness” some might object to is the idea that Rachel doesn’t have a limited four-year lifespan. I don’t understand why she _would_. The Nexus-6 replicants were designed to kick after four years because it was anticipated that they might start to form their own (possibly unpredictable) emotional responses. Rachel, by having memory implants copied from from a human presumably selected for her emotional stability (in addition to being the CEO’s niece), has no such potential problem and no need for the four-year failsafe. Granted, it’s _explained_ in a clumsy manner (“Oh, by the way, Tyrell said she’s okay”) but that suggests to me a flaw in the original script. Speaking of which, the director’s cut _didn’t_ address the “missing replicant” issue, where six fugitives somehow become five, one of whom is dead before the movie starts. The _Aliens_ extended version is megacool, and it helps explain why Newt is so adept at running the air vents (i.e. all the kids do it, and Newt’s small size gives her an advantage). Plus I liked the Robosentries. I can certainly understand the cuts made to _Terminator 2_. The extra footage is interesting, but none of it is especially critical to the plot. Arnold describes himself as a learning computer, so it’s okay to leave it at that and not go through the whole “flip the DIP switch” scene. Likewise, Joe Morton’s scene with his wife enthusiastically explaining what the new CPU design will do, when the audience already knows that it’ll torch the planet. Interesting, but not strictly necessary. The T-1000’s glitches are also interesting, but I find they tend to distract from the seriousness of the final reel. It was a pity to cut Michael Biehn’s scenes, since I like him, but it’s probably better to depict Sarah Connor as violently determined, rather than actually delusional. The ending in which John is a Senator, though… burn it. ---
**Author:** ![Corporate\_Hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/65b543/32.png) [@Corporate\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corporate_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/24 "2006-01-14T17:12:33Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > I can certainly understand the cuts made to _Terminator 2_. The extra footage is interesting, but none of it is especially critical to the plot. Arnold describes himself as a learning computer, so it’s okay to leave it at that and not go through the whole “flip the DIP switch” scene. Likewise, Joe Morton’s scene with his wife enthusiastically explaining what the new CPU design will do, when the audience already knows that it’ll torch the planet. Interesting, but not strictly necessary. The T-1000’s glitches are also interesting, but I find they tend to distract from the seriousness of the final reel. Don’t forget the scene with Arnold trying to smile! That one cracks me up. I agree about the T2 deleted scenes though: interesting and entertaining for a fan, but cut for good reasons. Since it hasn’t come up yet I’d like to mention the extended or “international” version of **Léon: The Professional** as the version I prefer. The extra 24 minutes sure give the film a different feel. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/25 "2006-01-14T17:24:23Z")
> [@Miss Mapp](#): > > … > > The movie I came in here to mention–although I was sure someone else would have got to it first–was _Fellowship of the Ring_. While there are some nice additions in the extended versions other two LOTR films, I think the additions to the extended _Fellowship_ make all the difference to the movie. Just a few seconds, a shot or a new bit of dialog here and there, explicates how the Ring betrayed Isildur, establishes the Shire and the hobbits’ world, makes sense of the previously choppy visit to Lothlorien and even more choppy conversation between Frodo and Gandalf in the cart at the beginning, and makes Boromir almost a tragic hero desperate to save his city rather than just a big lunk who’s fallen under the Ring’s power. Those changes raised this from a movie I kind of enjoyed to one of my favorites. It’s been awhile since I saw the theatrical release of _FOTR_ (I own the EE). Do Bilbo and Frodo even have a scene together before Rivendell? If not I think this is a weird omission. I generally prefer the EE but I don’t like the whole ‘Concerning Hobbits’ bit. The theatrical release (which omits it) I thought started smoother. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/26 "2006-01-14T17:30:11Z")
The extra endings of **28 Days Later** fascinated me for a couple of different reasons. The main ones being the realization that the movie could’ve been a LOT more grim, but also the commentaries on all the endings on why they decided to use or not use them. Finally, the… What did they call it? ‘Super different’ ending or something? The one that changes the entire second half of the movie? Amazing to watch and listen to, and I kinda wonder what it would’ve been like to see (it was all in storyboard form with the director and DP (I think) reading the dialogue). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/27 "2006-01-14T17:39:07Z")
A lot of movies have an alternate ending that’s _obviously_ the ending the story requires, but you get the feeling they changed it after a test screening or something. _The Tailor of Panama_ is like that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/28 "2006-01-14T17:47:29Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I have always had a big issue with the Directors cut of **Blade Runner**. Ridley Scott always harped about how truly awful and horrifying it was to have the disgusting, revolting, utterly meritless voice-over by the title character. The problem is that he’s wrong. I LIKED the narration. It gave the movie a retro-noir feel that really complemented the dirty, grimy atmosphere of the flick. Deckard was a blank, featureless character at best. With the voice-over, you at least got to hear some of his views and get a little depth out of him. Count me in as one who liked the narration, too; it gives a noirish, Chandler-esque feel to the film, and the deadpan delivery is perfect. After all, Deckard is supposed to be jaded and tired. See _Double Indemnity_, _Out Of The Past_, _Farewell, My Lovely_ (the Mitchum version), et cetera for examples of. I also detest the implication that Deckard is a replicant; not only is it contradicted by many scenes in the film (Deckard is clearly neither as quick-witted or as strong and agile as the replicants, nor is he as inately driven) but it undermines what I consider to be the main theme of the film, to wit that both the replicants and the humans that created them want the same answers out of life, (“Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got?”), and that it is no more justifiable to enslave or terminate replicants than it would be humans. I do dislike the happy ending of the theatrical cut, though; the bleak, open-ended ending of the so-called Director’s Cut is preferable. Gilliam’s full-up Criterion Collection cut of _Brazil_ (which is mostly just the European theatrical cut as opposed the anemic American cinematic release or the utterly butchered Sid Shinberg “Love Conquers All” version) is the best of all. [post=6735446]Here[/post]'s an old post that describes the different versions. I really like the alternate ending of _Ronin_, too, and agree with Frankenheimer (as he explains in his excellent commentary track) that it presents a better appreciation for the consequences and ambiguities of working underground. But I guess test audiences preferred the theatrical ending. I despise what Coppola did to _The Godfather_ films with his chronological retooling of them; the cuts between father and son in _Part II_ emphasized the differences between them and made Michael seem more tragic in his fallibilty. Putting the scenes in order destroyed that sense and brought nothing to the films. I guess he should have left _Apocalypse Now_ alone, too, although a few of the added scenes are interesting in their own right (the Bunnies escaping by helicopter and the patrol later finding them crashed.) It goes without saying that Lucas should have left the original _Star Wars_ trilogy alone; warts and all, it was not improved by the additions, and oddly enough he failed to clean up many of the worst SFX like the obvious matting in dogfights. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/29 "2006-01-14T18:12:12Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > IMO, the director’s cut of [Das Boot](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/) transformed a tautly paced, almost unbearably tense thriller into a meandering, loosely edited ramble. > > They added about an hour to the film, but most of the added scenes served only to reinforce the notion that time spent on a submarine was often boring. The problem: the original cut made that point just fine. By adding so much “downtime” to the flick, they instead reinforced the idea that time spent watching this movie is often boring. I much preferred the original, which was one of the most harrowing films I’ve ever seen. (I’m rather claustrophobic, which no doubt intensififed my reaction to it.) _Das Boot_ was originally a mini-series on German television, some 12 hours IIRC. Having never seen it in that version I don’t know what the other ten or so hours had in them, but the ‘director’s cut’ could have been padded way more than it was. I kinda agree that it did slow down the pacing, though. DD ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/30 "2006-01-14T18:14:54Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > It’s been awhile since I saw the theatrical release of _FOTR_ (I own the EE). Do Bilbo and Frodo even have a scene together before Rivendell? If not I think this is a weird omission. Not in the theatrical version, no. The EE has the little added scene during Bilbo’s birthday party where they hide from Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (also unseen in the theatrical version) and Bilbo tries to tell Frodo he’s leaving, but can’t do it. > [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > I generally prefer the EE but I don’t like the whole ‘Concerning Hobbits’ bit. The theatrical release (which omits it) I thought started smoother. Now this is one of the things I immediately loved when I first saw the EE–but then I’m a pervy hobbit fancier, so just about any scenes that give me more hobbits make me happy. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/31 "2006-01-14T18:16:17Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Count me in as one who liked the narration, too; it gives a noirish, Chandler-esque feel to the film, and the deadpan delivery is perfect. After all, Deckard is supposed to be jaded and tired. Well, there’s “jaded and tired” and then there’s “reading the script like it was a cereal box”. A little less narration would have been better. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/32 "2006-01-14T18:32:57Z")
I couldn’t really put my finger on why I disliked _Star Trek Nemesis_ so much until I watched the deleted scenes and an interview with director Stuart Baird. Then I realized that they had decided to remove most of the character scenes because the director wanted the film to be “darker” and “edgier”–just the wrong approach for the Next Generation crew. The result is just another dark, violent, sci-fi action film instead of the fond farewell these characters deserved. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/33 "2006-01-14T18:42:40Z")
> [@Miss Mapp](#): > > Not in the theatrical version, no. The EE has the little added scene during Bilbo’s birthday party where they hide from Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (also unseen in the theatrical version) and Bilbo tries to tell Frodo he’s leaving, but can’t do it. > … Thank you for the confirmation. Memory isn’t what it used to be. It was just strange because several times before Frodo gets to Rivendell they make a big deal about him missing Bilbo, and wanting to follow Bilbo, then they have the big reunion scene at Rivendell, must be half an hour into the movie…which is their first scene together. I think it would have made more sense if there had been a short scene earlier in the film that netted out the relationship between the two of them (which I think the omitted EE scenes do nicely). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/34 "2006-01-14T18:50:00Z")
> [@Fabulous Creature](#): > > Worst deleted scenes have to be practically everything they added to the extended addition of _Return of the King_. I hated the theatrical version, but I rented the extended edition in the frail hope that the pacing, story logic, et cetera might improve in the EE. > . Oddly, I(and most others, including the Guild) think otherwise. In afct, LotR stands out as the best "added deleted scenes’ DVD I have seen, ad PJ has added back the deleted scenes seamlessly. Usually one had to go to “menu” and watch them out of sequence. I prefer the original version of Blade Runner. (PS is Decker really supposed to be a replicant himself in the Directors cut?) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/35 "2006-01-14T19:12:52Z")
Allow me to agree with **Stranger** about _Blade Runner_: I’d gladly take the uncertain ending but keep the narrative up to the climactic confrontation. Best o’ both worlds. As to _A.N. Redux_, yes sure, what with Kilgore being such a great part in the original it’s good to get some more of him, but really Coppola did not need to throw in the kitchen sink… after a while it’s just rubbing our faces in how insane can things get. I don’t know where I once read that a piece of creative work (fiction or nonfiction) is finished when there is nothing else you NEED to add and nothing else you can afford to cut and still make your point or create your desired effect – not when there’s nothing else you can think of adding. Creators need to view the limitations of size/running time and of trying to not alienate a large proportion of your target paying audience NOT as cruel shackles on their creative freedom but as challenges to creativity: how can I tell this story _efficiently_ and still create the desired mood? How can I make my point to the people without whooshing it over their heads or pissing them off and turning them against me? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/36 "2006-01-14T19:50:37Z")
I’ve seen almost all the “director’s cuts” mentioned so far; in every case I thought the “Director’s cut” was a substantially inferior version of the movie than the theatrical release. I’ve NEVER seen a “director’s cut” that was better than the released movie. I didn’t even like the “Aliens” recut; much of the added footage was unnecessary setup and simply made it take too long to get to the meat of the film. Adding scenes of the colony before the Marines arrive also took away a lot of the tension and mystery of seeing it for the first time through Ripley/the marines’ eyes. The odd scene could help a movie; the gift-giving scene in “Fellowship of the Ring” helps all three movies just in the sense that the various items and such that get used later don’t just come out of nowhere. Othat than that, the recut version was too long. Especially crappy was the scene added between the moment where they’re suddenly accosted by Galadriel’s soldiers and when they arrive in Lothlorien (the scene of them sitting around and waiting to see what the elves will do with them.) It’s a useless, poorly shot scene. I always liked Quentin Tarantino’s explanation on the “Pulp Fiction” DVD as to why he cut out the deleted scenes; he liked the scenes _individually_, but you didn’t actually need them to tell the story. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/37 "2006-01-14T22:40:47Z")
[similar thread from last month](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=347904&highlight=driven) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/38 "2006-01-15T05:25:48Z")
I liked all the extra scenes in all of the LOTR; i read all the books several times and it was all about seeing the stuff I liked come to life. I liked the narration in Blade Runner too, but like the Director’s ending better. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/39 "2006-01-15T05:38:59Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > IMO, the director’s cut of [Das Boot](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/) transformed a tautly paced, almost unbearably tense thriller into a meandering, loosely edited ramble. I recently sat thru the FIVE HOUR VERSION!! :eek: 😕 I started watching it, flipped to the kickoff of one of the Bowl games, flipped back and forth, then watched the end AFTER THE FOOTBALL GAME WAS DONE! :eek: Around the time they sink near Gibralter, all I could do was think of that comic who gets kicked out of the Chinese Buffet. “You here 4 hour! You GO NOW!” Easily one of my favorite movies, but do we really need a FIVE HOUR VERSION? As far as deleted scenes go, “This is Spinal Tap” would have been better with all of them except the Bruno Kirby stuff. The herpes and hottub stuff was classic! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858/40 "2006-01-15T05:46:59Z")
Having seen Blade Runner multiple times (like most others here) I will comment. On my first viewing, the voice over was helpful and does flesh out the character quite a bit. Decker’s first scene is almost empty without it. The visual spectacle and the storyline make the movie this time. On repeated viewings, the voice-over starts to stick out like sore-thumb. Its clumsy more often than not, isn’t well-voiced, and just sits wrong. I’m glad it was there to explain things the first time, but it really was not needed if you had some familiarity with the plot and the world Scott had developed. So, for repeated viewings, I prefer it to be gone. But I don’t deny its usefullness for the first time viewer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-directors-cuts-deleted-scenes-alternate-endings-etc/339858.md?page=3)