# Director's Cuts, Long Versions - are any truly Better Movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072 "2015-08-27T15:14:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/21 "2015-08-27T18:02:34Z")
Any movie that has been edited so as to take out any of the character bits in favor of action - so _Daredevil_ is a great example. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/22 "2015-08-27T18:04:21Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Also in Aliens extended, there was a small scene in the very beginning where Ripley is told her daughter grew old and died while she was in hypersleep. It adds a lot of weight to her decision-making involving Newt. Isn’t there also the scene where Ripley talks to Hicks and reveals her first name? > [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > The Hobbit? I’m betting not so much. I think it is actually better. Apparently PJ left in all the stupid stuff and cut out some items that furthered the plot. This increases the ratio of good-stuff/stupid-stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/23 "2015-08-27T18:08:22Z")
The director’s cut of **Dark City** that removes the opening narration ( scene starts with the protagonist in the tub ) vastly improves on the theatrical version with just that one minor change. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/24 "2015-08-27T18:32:49Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Also in Aliens extended, there was a small scene in the very beginning where Ripley is told her daughter grew old and died while she was in hypersleep. It adds a lot of weight to her decision-making involving Newt. I’d forgotten about this, but you’re right. In any case, none of these scenes are _critical_ to the plot and while they enhance the story, they also slow it down. There’s a relevant commentary track on the DVD of 1999’s _The Mummy_ in which writer-director Stephen Sommers and editor Bob Ducsay discuss the making of the film and one of them, Sommers probably, describes how they tried to keep meticulous track of the various MacGuffin props, i.e. the special keys that opened the magic books, which character has them at any given moment, etc. but when it comes time to edit the film and have to start cutting in order to keep up the pacing, plot holes get created. Similarly, there’s one brief chatty scene between Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz that they _wanted_ to cut, but it features the incidental appearance of a white cat. That same cat is used later to fend off the ailurophobic villain and without the earlier introduction, the cat’s sudden appearance seems arbitrary and contrived. In a similar vein for _Aliens_, we need the scene where Ripley demonstrates to Apone and Hicks that she knows how to use the power-loader. If the loader just appears for the final showdown with the Queen, it’s distractingly out of nowhere. Chekov’s gun, Chekov’s cat, Chekov’s exoskeleton forklift suit… can’t escape 'em. If I’d had a chance to shoot pickups on _Aliens_, I’d rework the scene (partly paraphrased below from memory) where all of them are talking about the Xenos: Ripley: We have to try to figure out what we’re dealing with. What’s laying these eggs? Hudson: It’s a queen, like an ant-hive. Vasquez: Bees live in hives, stupid. Hudson: Whatever, she’s the mama. She’s bad-ass, I mean _big!_ [holds finger and thumb about an inch apart] I’d cut that way down, make it just a brief chat between Ripley and Bishop, probably worked into the scene where he is studying the facehuggers, Ripley tells him to destroy them after his work and he says that Burke specifically told him not to. The longer version with half-a-dozen characters is too clunky and expositional. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/25 "2015-08-27T18:55:46Z")
Richard Donner’s extended cut of _Superman_. I have both the theatrical cut and director’s cut for comparison. The extended cut has extra scenes with Marlon Brando (Jor-El) and the little scene with Clark racing a train and being noticed by a young Lois Lane and her parents (Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill). Donner’s cut of _Superman II_. It eliminated the scene with the bomb in the Eiffel tower in favor of Lois testing her theory of Superman really being Clark Kent. Later in Niagara Falls, instead of Lois finding out Superman was Clark by accident, she tricked him into revealing himself. And more importantly, all the footage of Jor-El and Clark in the Fortress of Solitude was restored and had a bigger emotional impact than the scenes with Susannah York (Lara). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/26 "2015-08-27T18:58:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Richard Donner’s extended cut of _Superman_. I have both the theatrical cut and director’s cut for comparison. The extended cut has extra scenes with Marlon Brando (Jor-El) and the little scene with Clark racing a train and being noticed by a young Lois Lane and her parents (Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill). > > Donner’s cut of _Superman II_. It eliminated the scene with the bomb in the Eiffel tower in favor of Lois testing her theory of Superman really being Clark Kent. Later in Niagara Falls, instead of Lois finding out Superman was Clark by accident, she tricked him into revealing himself. And more importantly, all the footage of Jor-El and Clark in the Fortress of Solitude was restored and had a bigger emotional impact than the scenes with Susannah York (Lara). Already brought up Superman II in post 10 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/27 "2015-08-27T19:11:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Already brought up Superman II in post 10 Yes, but so briefly that I missed it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/28 "2015-08-27T19:15:48Z")
i make an assumption that the ‘Directors Cut’ is the film they generally wanted to have @ final edit- then the ‘release’ is modified from that based on ratings (to get a pg) or some other influence. There have been many “cut scenes” as extras that are obviously good cuts. Extended versions I assume are similr to directors cuts - just more of it - perhaps this time the edits were strictly to get it under a running time etc. Better/worse? really hard to say. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/29 "2015-08-27T19:21:55Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Me, three. I thought the longer versions of all three LOTR movies improved the experience. I can’t agree with\*\* Two Towers\*\* on that one. I can’t recall much if anything of value added. I’m kinda iffy on **Return of the King** , too. Fellowship, I’ll agree. I just watched\*\* The Warriors\*\* for the first time, and only realized afterwards that it was a directors cut. I’d be interested to know what scenes were added, because even the extended version was under 100 minutes, and each scene felt fairly necessary to the plot. I always forget which version of **Bladerunner** is which. The one with narration is director’s cut, right? I think I’ve only ever seen it without the narration. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/30 "2015-08-27T19:37:23Z")
In Aliens, I think the brief scene of Ripley before the hearing and the sentry guns add to the film but the bit with Newt and the ride to the derelict ship feels very draggy to me and they were right to cut it. I’m sure the whole bit is just a couple minutes but when I watch it it feels like an extra ten minutes. I can appreciate it for the “lore” but I don’t think it fits well into the flow of the film. The pre-hearing scene however is very brief and the sentry guns are more gun-porn in an action movie so they both work better in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/31 "2015-08-27T19:43:53Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I always forget which version of **Bladerunner** is which. The one with narration is director’s cut, right? I think I’ve only ever seen it without the narration. You’re reversed. The original release had the narration, the First Director’s cut removed it, and added the “unicorn scene” (the one meant to clarify that Deckard is a replicant). Interesting note about the Director’s Cut: In the soundtrack CD, there is a song, _One More Kiss, Dear_, included. It didn’t fit with the style of music in the CD, and I wondered where it was used in the film. You can hear it in the background, outside of Taffy’s, I think, after Deckard retires Zora. It was always buried under the narration. Quite a surprise for me to have it pop up suddenly like that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/32 "2015-08-27T20:02:24Z")
The US release of _Once Upon a Time in America_ is an abortion. The laserdisc version is one of my favorite movies. I hope the full 269 minute version will be released someday. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/33 "2015-08-27T20:17:08Z")
Then there’s the “Renegade Cut” of _Highlander II_, which _almost_ rescues a watchable movie from the studio-defined mess. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/34 "2015-08-27T20:20:54Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You’re reversed. The original release had the narration, the First Director’s cut removed it, and added the “unicorn scene” (the one meant to clarify that Deckard is a replicant). Okay then, thanks. The first Director’s cut is the version I’ve seen, because I can’t recall narration, but very much remember the unicorn. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/35 "2015-08-27T20:21:33Z")
Not that its necessarily a cinematic masterpiece, but _The Blues Brothers_ is one of my all-time favorite movies. The extended cut has a few extra scenes that don’t really move the plot, but are fun to watch, and some extended musical numbers. I enjoyed my first viewing of this version as a sort of novelty, but what I didn’t expect is that now whenever I re-watch the movie, I actually _prefer_ the long version. I mean, we get to see the gas station blow up! What could be better? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/36 "2015-08-27T20:25:34Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > If I’d had a chance to shoot pickups on _Aliens_, I’d rework the scene (partly paraphrased below from memory) where all of them are talking about the Xenos: > > Ripley: We have to try to figure out what we’re dealing with. What’s laying these eggs? > > Hudson: It’s a queen, like an ant-hive. > > Vasquez: Bees live in hives, stupid. > > Hudson: Whatever, she’s the mama. She’s bad-ass, I mean _big!_ [holds finger and thumb about an inch apart] > I’d cut that way down, make it just a brief chat between Ripley and Bishop, probably worked into the scene where he is studying the facehuggers, Ripley tells him to destroy them after his work and he says that Burke specifically told him not to. The longer version with half-a-dozen characters is too clunky and expositional. Fun fact! That part IS a part of the extended cut. The original theatrical release goes pretty much as you describe. “What’s laying these eggs?” “It must be something we haven’t seen yet.” Boom. Done. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/37 "2015-08-27T20:29:31Z")
Huh. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I actually ever saw _Aliens_ in theater. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/38 "2015-08-27T20:59:13Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I just watched\*\* The Warriors\*\* for the first time, and only realized afterwards that it was a directors cut. I’d be interested to know what scenes were added, because even the extended version was under 100 minutes, and each scene felt fairly necessary to the plot. For the most part, the only [changes](http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4270) were some of the transitions between scenes. The DC did a much better job at fully realizing the comic book idea and used that more consistently throughout the movie. I think it helps set the tone properly, given the absurdness of the gangs. It gives the viewer a reminder that what is shown is bit divorced from reality. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/39 "2015-08-27T21:05:30Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Not that its necessarily a cinematic masterpiece, but _The Blues Brothers_ is one of my all-time favorite movies. > The extended cut has a few extra scenes that don’t really move the plot, but are fun to watch, and some extended musical numbers. I enjoyed my first viewing of this version as a sort of novelty, but what I didn’t expect is that now whenever I re-watch the movie, I actually _prefer_ the long version. I mean, we get to see the gas station blow up! What could be better? There are some of those scenes that shouldn’t have been restored. John Landis gives a great interview on the anniversary DVD about the scene where Elwood parks the Bluesmobile near a power transformer, thus “charging” it and supposedly enabling it to do all the incredible things it does later in the movie. Landis’ point: if you want something amazing to happen in your movie, just show it and don’t make a fuss about it. “You don’t need to _explain_ the giant bug and how it got there — just show the giant bug!” That’s great storytelling advice. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072/40 "2015-08-27T21:11:27Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > The extended Fellowship of the Ring was better than the theatrical version. It was Two Towers that gained the most, though. It went from good to the best in the series. > [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Me, three. I thought the longer versions of all three LOTR movies improved the experience. > > The Hobbit? I’m betting not so much. > > The extended version of The Highlander is better, too, if more obscure. You’d be surprised how much better the second Hobbit movie is in the extended version. It feels like a more well-paced edit. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > The director’s cut of **Dark City** that removes the opening narration ( scene starts with the protagonist in the tub ) vastly improves on the theatrical version with just that one minor change. The director’s cut is actually 11 minutes longer, as well. It has quite a few new scenes, all that fit well and expand the plot in good ways. It’s more than just the opening, though that attracts a lot of attention since it should have never been there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directors-cuts-long-versions-are-any-truly-better-movies/729072.md?page=3)