In this installment of THE VIDEO STORE DAYS, I talk about "Director's Cuts" and my memories of how I discovered them and a bunch of different ones that have come along in my life.
What do think of when you hear the words “Director’s Cut”? Do you think of films that were taken away from the director and recut to fit some mold that the studio has decided the film needs to fit in?
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Do you think of films that were the director’s exact vision but were recut to fit the mold that the Motion Picture Association of America has decided that film should fit in?
You would be right on both accounts as those are the most precise reasons for a film to not be what the director had in mind when they made the film. There are other reasons a film isn’t what the director had in mind, but those reasons cover the majority of “Director’s Cuts”. The two words have been part of the movie curriculum, for the better part of decades but in the early days of THE VIDEO STORE DAYS, the words hardly mattered. There were not a lot of films that had a different “Director’s Cut” version. Most films released on VHS and Laserdisc were theatrical versions but there were a few that got out.
I remember wandering around R & R Video one night. I always went into the sections that contained films that I wasn’t necessarily aloud or even want to rent. I would go into the comedy and drama sections because those were the two places that they would be if they aren’t at the New Release Wall. If my parents couldn’t get the new film they wanted, they would go over to the comedy section to find a film that they haven’t seen, starring their favorite person. There was always a healthy amount comedies in my house. My parents loved these things. One of the reasons I watch some of these things is because my parents did and I want to feel a little bit closer to them.
My parents had gone over to the drama section, which in this video store was right around the corner from the “genres” genre sections like horror and sci-fi. There was a VHS copy of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND sitting on the shelf. I had heard of the film, but all my friends told me it was a dud but I decided to see what they were talking about. I looked at the front cover and it said that it was the “Special Edition” version of the film. I had no idea what that meant. I went and found my mother while holding the video box. I asked her what it meant by “Special Edition”. She told me that this particular edition was actually “Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Cut of the film and that it was different from the regular version. She told me that we had the regular version of the film at the house, so I put the video box back and probably rented a POLICE ACADEMY film.
The odd thing about this is that my mind didn’t really remember the words “Special Edition”. It remembered the hell out of “Director’s Cut”. It stuck out to me. A “Special Edition” could be anything. It could be a new cut of the film, or a special about the film, the kind they used to show on tv. Maybe they would include the special. No, they wouldn’t because they used to release those on VHS and Laserdisc all the time by themselves. It was double the money. People who buy the film on those formats might want to learn more about the film, so they buy the tv special on those formats as well. Why give something away for free when you can charge people for it? It only makes sense.
Anyway, I started looking for films that have those two words, “Director’s Cut”. I didn’t find any at the time. They just weren’t all that popular. I did see those words on a VHS for the film BASIC INSTINCT. I knew all about this version of the film as I had read all about it. There were stories from all over talking about the film and its problems with the MPAA. Director Paul Verhoeven had to recut the film multiple times to get an “R” rating and there were rumors about what was cut. Of course, my friends don’t really have any interest in BASIC INSTINCT despite the fact that they all SHOULD have had an interest because this film is perfect for teenagers, so I was left to myself to discover this film for myself. There were actually two versions of BASIC INSTINCT. There was the theatrical version as well as the “Director's Cut", which was released in 1993 when the film went on sale for us normies. The theatrical version of the film is still really violent and has a crazy amount of sex and nudity but the "Director's Cut" tops it on every level. I have written all about BASIC INSTINCT in a previous edition of THE VIDEO STORE DAYS so you can read more about it there.
After the "Director's Cut" of BASIC INSTINCT was released, I started noticing more and more "Director's Cuts" were being released. Warner Brothers released the 1982 classic BLADE RUNNER on VHS in a new "Director's Cut" version that was closer to what Ridley Scott had in mind when the film was first released theatrically. The thing is: Scott didn't cut the film for any violence or nudity. The studio made him add narration from Harrison Ford because they felt that audiences would have a hard time following the film without it. There were some other changes but that is the big one. Scott hated the narration so his "Director's Cut" doesn't have it.
We also saw a "Director's Cut" version of TRUE ROMANCE from Tony Scott. This 8s an instance where the MPAA demanded cuts to the film's violence (and a bit from one of the sex scenes)in order to get an "R" rating. The theatrical version was really violent and the "Director's Cut" turns it up to eleven. Every single violent scene in the film has been extended and it makes the film better. Watching the theatrical version after seeing the "Director's Cut" is jarring as there are entire beats missing from the action scenes and you notice every one of them too.
Since the advent of DVD, the "Director's Cut" has become more popular. There are some really great ones like WATCHMEN, ARMY OF DARKNESS, DARK CITY, and NIGHTBREED. However, for every one of the ones I just listed, we get THE WARRIORS, DONNIE DARKO, or BAD SANTA. Also, people think that an "Extended Edition" is a "Director's Cut". It isn't. Peter Jackson has only ever released a "Director's Cut" of one of his film and that was THE FRIGHTENERS. THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT films have "Extended Editions" but they are not "Director's Cuts". The theatrical versions are his "Director's Cuts". He does the "Extended Editions" as a way for fans to get more from the films. James Cameron also does not do "Director's Cuts". He does "Extended Editions" for the very same reason Jackson does his.
One more thing before I go: the "Director's Cuts" of the first three LETHAL WEAPON films are not actually "Director's Cuts". When LETHAL WEAPON 4 was being promoted prior to its opening in the summer of 1998, Warner Brothers wanted to release "Extended Editions" of the first three films. They went to Richard Donner and asked him to allow them to be called "Director's Cuts" as part of the promotion. Per the rules of the MPAA, a film can not be called a "Director's Cut" without the director signing off on it. Warner Brothers could have gotten into a lot of trouble had they not gotten permission from Donner to do so. He OKed it and we got the "Director's Cuts" of the first three films. They are not true “Director’s Cuts” as the theatrical versions are Donner’s preferred versions. Just a little history for ya!
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