Theatrical Version or Director's Cut Part 2
I wrote a post 18 month’s ago regarding whether a directors cut of a film is superior by default to the version originally shown in cinemas. Obviously the answer was no and I then went on to give three examples of films where I think the theatrical release is better to lengthier or substantially altered director’s cut that was subsequently made available at a later date. This time round in this post, I would like to do the complete opposite. I shall provide some examples of films that I think are significantly improved by a longer cut or a substantially, restructured edit. Note some of these examples are technically not a “director’s cuts” but a restoration or reconstruction of the director’s original vision. I shall endeavour to highlight what specific material or broader changes make each respective film “better”. As ever, all of these examples are a matter of subjective opinion and my views are presented as such, not “fact”.
The Abyss: Special Edition (1989/1993) Roughly 27 minutes of material is restored by director James cameron to this underwater drama and alien encounter film. The major difference is the expanded political/apocalyptic subplot. The escalating Cold War tensions are made much more explicit and the NTIs threaten humanity with enormous tidal waves before relenting because of Bud's self-sacrifice. There is also more character material. Consequently, the Special Edition gives the aliens’ actions and the film’s anti-war theme a much clearer rationale. The theatrical ending feels considerably more abrupt. The longer cut turns an underwater first-contact adventure into a much more overt cautionary story about humanity's capacity for self-destruction.
Phase IV: Preview Cut (1974) One of the most cerebral science fiction films of the seventies, Phase IV is about the evolution of ants into an intelligent collective. This revised cut is only about five minutes longer than the theatrical, but those minutes matter enormously. It restores Saul Bass's extraordinary surreal concluding montage depicting humanity's transformation under the ants into a servitor race and the emergence of a strange new world. The restored preview version also contains small additional shots and dialogue and dispenses with explanatory narration added to make the theatrical version easier to understand. The theatrical cut has an enigmatic ending. The preview cut has a genuinely visionary, psychedelic and rather disturbing one. It makes a bold statement.
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction (1980) A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II. This is not strictly a director's cut, because Samuel Fuller died before it was assembled. Richard Schickel's 2004 reconstruction restores about 47 minutes of material, including 15 complete sequences and extensions to many others. The Infantry soldiers' journey across North Africa and Europe during WW II becomes much more episodic and detailed, with greater character development. There is more emphasis on the absurdity, brutality and psychological attrition of warfare. The theatrical version is a lean war film where the Reconstruction feels much more like Fuller's intended autobiographical wartime epic.
Touch of Evil (1958/1998 reconstruction) A Mexican official and his American wife are targeted in a Texas border town by the organised criminals he is investigating. Again, technically a reconstruction rather than a director's cut. Walter Murch and Rick Schmidlin re-edited the film according to the detailed 58-page memo Orson Welles sent Universal after the studio altered his version. Scenes are reordered, studio changes are removed or modified, Welles's elaborate cross-cutting and sound design are restored and the famous opening tracking shot loses the superimposed credits and conventional title music. It isn't radically longer so much as differently constructed. The 1998 version flows more coherently and feels much more recognisably like a Welles film.
The Shining (1980) Kubrick’s legendary adaptation of a Stephen King novel, about a family that takes a caretaker position at an isolated hotel during winter. This one is unusual because there isn't really a later “director's cut”. Kubrick himself created two theatrical versions. The original American release is around 25 minutes longer than the European version he subsequently prepared. The US cut contains considerably more exposition. Danny being examined by a doctor, more information about Jack's alcoholism and his previous injury of Danny, additional hotel-management scenes, more of Hallorann’s journey back to the Overlook and some extra supernatural material involving Wendy. The American version explains more about the family and Jack's past. The European cut is leaner, faster and more mysterious. Both were personally approved and edited by Kubrick, so neither can really be called the definitive director's cut at the expense of the other. However, the longer cut feels more comprehensive.
I wrote a post 18 month’s ago regarding whether a directors cut of a film is superior by default to the version originally shown in cinemas. Obviously the answer was no and I then went on to give three examples of films where I think the theatrical release is better to lengthier or substantially altered director’s cut that was subsequently made available at a later date. This time round in this post, I would like to do the complete opposite. I shall provide some examples of films that I think are significantly improved by a longer cut or a substantially, restructured edit. Note some of these examples are technically not a “director’s cuts” but a restoration or reconstruction of the director’s original vision. I shall endeavour to highlight what specific material or broader changes make each respective film “better”. As ever, all of these examples are a matter of subjective opinion and my views are presented as such, not “fact”.