Director's Cuts vs. Extended Cuts vs. Theatrical Cuts

[Offender_Mullet]

There are a lot of films that have pointless unrated/extended/director's cuts to them (and I'm sure very few have the actual director's input as to what to add/take away), but that's just one way studio's get everyone to double or triple-dip on a release.

Aliens is one that I dislike the most. Not sure if James Cameron had anything to do with it, but the only nice addition was the scene with the 2 sentry guns in the hallway plowing down the aliens. I thought the scenes with the colonists were way out-of-place, as it took away from the suspense/mystery about what happened to them & cheapened the beginning of the film.

Here are my fav "director's cuts" that in my opinion made a genuine difference in the film & made me go from disliking the film, to the opposite.....

Sergio Leone - Once Upon A Time In America

Ridley Scott - Kingdom Of Heaven

Richard Donner - Superman II

Brian Helgeland - Payback

[JamesKurtovich]

The DC is far superior than any cut.. but sometimes the DC and EC are the same (Lord of the Rings).

[Pelican170]

All i know is that the director's cut of Bad Santa is HORRIBLE!! Stay away from that, trust me!

[Astalder]

Theatrical: Tends to be fine but not always if the movie is deemed too long by a studio or too existential (ie Kingdom of Heaven, LOTR, Blade Runner).

Director's: Usually a good thing.

Extended: Usually inconsequential, but not always in the case of movies shaved for time (dramas, ie LOTR).

Unrated: Be careful, especially with comedies.

LOTR may call it an Extended Edition but it is IMO a defining example of a Director's Cut, it was a semantic word game calling it an Extended Edition.

[Old Bones]

Windtalkers on Blu needs the extended cut that is only on dvd

[Belloche]

Originally Posted by LynxFX

Payback director's cut sucked! It is a completely different movie. One of the few times that I thought the Studio was right to step in and take control to get the theatrical cut out.

I thought the Director's cut was a big improvement. To each his own.

[Cadrian]

What is all this crap about Kingdom of Heavens directors cut being better?
I hated it.... I mean she kills the kid and lets ******* take over?
Then there is that akward scene in the end where he fights the ******* in an alley and theres sheets and crap hanging everywhere.

Kingdom of Heaven's Directors Cut sucks....

Payback was the worst.... The directors cut sucked, it made a great movie suck. They didnt bust his toes or anything.... I am glad they refilmed it.

Is the directors cut of Alexander any good? I havent seen it yet.

Also I dont think Max Payne has a directors cut..... The director made the movie to be PG-13, I think fox has got to be the crapest studio when it comes to edits and having to have PG-13 movies.

[XSilentCobraX]

Troy DC was alot better then original.
Kingdom of Heaven DC was great too.


However the chronicles of the Riddick DC, was good movie, but i didnt like they cut alot of the stuff or changed the scenes in any way, original i though was better, even had better audio..

[ckent22]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

The DC is far superior than any cut.. but sometimes the DC and EC are the same (Lord of the Rings).

That's a misinformed statement. Go watch the Extended cut of Mallrats. The theatrical is much better.

[John Dorian]

on a different note, I had seen the movie "Dark Water" on a date. It was just a terrible movie. I did find it funny that the extended DVD was actually SHORTER than the theatrical.

I've always wanted a Harry Potter extended cut.

[ckent22]

Originally Posted by John Dorian

on a different note, I had seen the movie "Dark Water" on a date. It was just a terrible movie. I did find it funny that the extended DVD was actually SHORTER than the theatrical.

I've always wanted a Harry Potter extended cut.

The original Saw is like that. The extended cut is shorter.

[clownface]

Originally Posted by Blu As Hell

Daredevil, the Director's cut is far and above better than the theatrical. Even with Affleck in it.

I agree also I liked Step Brothers director's cut and Hancock director's cut.

[Tempest]

Originally Posted by mikejet

The director's cut of the Descent is just the original UK cut. They edited the ending for US audiences.

Can this version only be had from the UK? I really enjoy this movie and would like to know the origianal ending. So the UK Blu Ray of this movie has a different ending than the US Blu Ray?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by LynxFX

Payback director's cut sucked! It is a completely different movie. One of the few times that I thought the Studio was right to step in and take control to get the theatrical cut out.

What really sucks is that only the director's cut is out on blu, still waiting for the version I saw in theatres.

I didn't like the additional stuff in Dumb & Dumber either. It is probalby because I have the theatrical version memorized.

I absolutely disagree regarding Payback. It greatly improved the movie. The theatrical is just another Lethal Weapon- slapstick, bad jokes, and a poorly-tied together plot. With the Straight Up cut, you get the Director's original vision, which at the time was a bit too dark for movie-goers. These days, it's much more common. This isn't a slappy-go-lucky tale with a happy ending.

Kingdom of Heaven is another that really improves the movie. I also think that Troy does as well. Subplots were re-added that helped to make more sense of what was going on.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Cadrian

What is all this crap about Kingdom of Heavens directors cut being better?
I hated it.... I mean she kills the kid and lets ******* take over?
Then there is that akward scene in the end where he fights the ******* in an alley and theres sheets and crap hanging everywhere.

Kingdom of Heaven's Directors Cut sucks....

Payback was the worst.... The directors cut sucked, it made a great movie suck. They didnt bust his toes or anything.... I am glad they refilmed it.

Is the directors cut of Alexander any good? I havent seen it yet.

Also I dont think Max Payne has a directors cut..... The director made the movie to be PG-13, I think fox has got to be the crapest studio when it comes to edits and having to have PG-13 movies.

Mental note- never read a post by Cadrian about a movie I haven't seen, or take one of his opinions regarding movies to heart.

[Monolithium]

The Lord of the Rings and Kingdom of Heaven.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

There are a lot of films that have pointless unrated/extended/director's cuts to them (and I'm sure very few have the actual director's input as to what to add/take away), but that's just one way studio's get everyone to double or triple-dip on a release.

Aliens is one that I dislike the most. Not sure if James Cameron had anything to do with it, but the only nice addition was the scene with the 2 sentry guns in the hallway plowing down the aliens. I thought the scenes with the colonists were way out-of-place, as it took away from the suspense/mystery about what happened to them & cheapened the beginning of the film.

Here are my fav "director's cuts" that in my opinion made a genuine difference in the film & made me go from disliking the film, to the opposite.....

Sergio Leone - Once Upon A Time In America

Ridley Scott - Kingdom Of Heaven

Richard Donner - Superman II

Brian Helgeland - Payback

good post. i forgot about the superman II directors cut even though i own it. havent seen payback altho ive heard the difference between the theatrical and directors cut is light and day.

[peter008]

i always buy the best edition of a movie because many of those movie have more extras and additional minutes not seen on theatrical edition.

[Blu Holer]

Originally Posted by Old Bones

Windtalkers on Blu needs the extended cut that is only on dvd

That's actually a directors cut and it really tightens up the pacing and augments the story - I thought it was excellent. One of John Woo's best American films. It's a shame it's not on BR. Windtalkers is a way underrated movie all around. Hopefully someday it will get the treatment it deserves.

[AintNoSin]

The Abyss Director's Cut is the only version I care to watch anymore.