Note: this was originally going to be a one-off but I got so deep in the weeds on the three movies below that the post got too long. I’m going to save the rest for a later post.

The home video age is the era in which multiple different cuts of movies became an increasingly common phenomena. First comes the version that plays in theaters, later comes a disc release promoted as the Director’s Cut or the Extended Cut or the Special Edition. Sometimes there are multiple such releases, each one promising some new thing that was missing from the last release. It’s a means of separating you from your money. Don’t ask me how many times I bought Evil Dead on DVD.

Is it always just a cash grab? Probably. But that doesn’t mean alternate cuts are bad. Often directors are under constraints that require them to deliver a certain runtime or a certain rating. When they are allowed to put together their preferred edit of the film, it is often an improvement. But it can be just an indulgence. How many times did George Lucas redo the first three Star Wars movies? Did we need all that extra CGI crap?

On the other hand, sometimes the studio takes the movie away from the director and recuts it. The director’s vision is usually superior to some hack studio edit. Often though, the difference between a theatrical cut and a director’s cut is inconsequential. How do you know when it’s worth ponying up the cash to buy a new special edition? Google is your friend here, also IMDb, Reddit, or any movie buff forum or Facebook group that focuses on movies.

I thought it might be worth discussing alternate cuts that are worth seeking out. There are a few I can think of that completely change the tenor of the movie, turning a flawed movie into a good one or a good movie into a great one.

Alien³ (1992)

Alien³ was a troubled production from the jump. The studio tried to get Ridley Scott back as director but he was too busy. Science fiction writer William Gibson was hired to write a screenplay, Renny Harlin was hired to direct, but that version never materialized as a film (Gibson’s screenplay was later adapted into a comic book and an audiobook). After Gibson’s departure, Eric Red was hired to write a script. Then David Twohy. Then Vincent Ward was hired to direct based on his pitch that Ripley’s escape pod crashes on a monastery-like wooden planet with Luddite monks. Enough of Ward’s version survived to get him a ‘story by’ credit in the final film. But the studio didn’t like it, considering it too “artsy-fartsy”. Writer David Hughes cites Ward’s script in his book, The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made.

Eventually they found their director — David Fincher. It was his feature directing debut. He had a miserable time, with production problems and studio interference, and has completely disowned the film. He never speaks of it in interviews, until a year ago when he finally broke radio silence in an Empire magazine interview. He didn’t say much, just a few comments on the iconic Alien³ poster image. Fincher is conspicuously absent from the Alien Anthology documentaries. He refused to do a director’s cut for the 2003 Alien Quadrilogy box set, which includes director’s cuts for the other three films in the set (the Blu-ray only Alien Anthology set includes all the film versions from the 2003 Alien Quadrilogy set). Fox went ahead with an “Assembly Cut” based on Fincher’s editing room notes. The assembly cut runs 31 minutes longer than the theatrical cut.

I remember seeing Alien³ in the theater. It felt like a studio hatchet job. Like all the character development had been chopped out to meet some arbitrary running time. I always suspected there was a good movie in there somewhere. The assembly cut is a definite improvement. There are a lot more character bits but also the action bits make more sense. It’s been a while since I watched the theatrical version but I remember thinking the action sequences were really choppy and hard to follow. Alien³ is streaming on Hulu in the US, but it’s the theatrical cut. The assembly cut is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Blade Runner (1982)

There are seven different versions of Blade Runner that have been publicly screened. The original theatrical cut differs slightly from the original video release (on VHS and laserdisc) which was based on the international cut. The international cut has some extended scenes, notably Tyrell’s death scene. The workprint edition was screened for test audiences in Denver and Dallas prior to the theatrical release. The movie was recut based on the negative feedback from those screenings. The workprint was rediscovered and screened in LA and San Francisco in 1990 and 1991, where it received positive feedback, leading to a partial restoration from materials available. But it’s rough in some places and Ridley Scott has disavowed this version. The first digital release was the so-called director’s cut released on DVD in 1992. So-called because Scott was not directly involved. That version removes Deckard’s voiceover, adds the unicorn scene, and removes the ‘happy ending’ in which Rachel and Deckard drive off into the sunset. Finally, there is the 25th anniversary edition that Scott was directly involved with. This version is called the Final Cut. It had a brief run in theaters before being released on DVD and Blu-ray. The final cut was remastered and looks considerably brighter, revealing elements that were lost in the murk of earlier cuts. This is the definitive version according to Ridley Scott. The 2007 Limited Edition Voight-Kampff box set includes 5 versions: the theatrical cut, the international cut, the director’s cut, the workprint, and the final cut. I would say the final cut is probably the best version but I know people who like the voiceover narration, which is only available in the theatrical cut.

Dust Devil (1992)

Dust Devil is another one of those movies that I found on cable in the dead of night. It looked interesting so I watched it and I was left disappointed. There was no denying that the director had style but the story was skeletal. Too much was left unexplained. The characters were barely developed.

You won’t be surprised to learn that the director, Richard Stanley, initially delivered a 120 minute film. He was asked to shorten it so he cut it down to 110 minutes. The studio then cut the 110 minute version down to 95 minutes. Then they screened it in front of a test audience who were confused by all the missing plot tissue. So they cut out another 8 minutes.

But wait, it doesn’t end there. Miramax got involved. Long before we found out that Harvey Weinstein is a sexual predator, he was known as ‘Harvey Scissorhands’ for his penchant for chopping up the films of every indie filmmaker who mistakenly cut a deal with Miramax. Miramax cut Dust Devil down to 85 minutes. The version that was eventually released in US theaters was an 87 minute re-dubbed version with a new voiceover. Many different versions played in different locales and Richard Stanley had no control over those edits. You can read the whole sordid story on the Wikipedia page for the movie.

When I heard there was a director’s cut of Dust Devil coming out on DVD, I jumped on it. The Limited Collector’s Edition DVD includes both the 108 minute director’s cut and the 115 minute work print. The director’s cut is so much better than the skin and bones version Miramax released in theaters. There’s a whole secondary plot involving Sgt. Ben Mukurub (Zakes Mokae) that doesn’t even make it into the theatrical version. The vibe from the director’s cut is less slasher horror and more mystical folklore. The DVD seems to be out of print and it’s not streaming free in the US. I’m not sure which version, but it is available to rent or buy (digital version) on AppleTV and Amazon.

Stay tuned for Alternate Cuts, Part 2.