Summary

Director ’s stinger give filmmakers a chance to revisit and add to their films , but sometimes going back really hurts the film , relieve oneself an deficient cut . The good director ’s cut often come when a movie was accept aside from a director by a studio apartment , as is the case withZack Snyder ’s Justice Leagueor Ridley Scott’sBlade Runner . These cuts permit the conductor ’s true visual modality to shine through where the theatricals do n’t . Other times music director ’s cuts feel unnecessary .

movie maker will often return to a film class later , to add improved effect , or vary small element that bugged them for years , and while these changes can meliorate a movie , they can also get in the style of what was once a great film . In an attack to update their film , many directors end up dating them even more with less cut . These are films where the theatrical versions stay true to the manager ’s intent and function better than the later cuts .

From Superman II to The Godfather III , these iconic director ’s cuts significantly altered the master ’s visual sensation and enhanced their viewing experience .

An image of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Superman, and Daredevil

8The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

Directed By Peter Jackson

When director Peter Jackson releasedthe hold out editions of hisLord of the RingsTrilogy , they were run across with praise , as they course expanded on the story and world of the films . The extended editions are n’t necessary to enjoy theLord of the Rings , but they do add a circle to the films , and for some fans , they are the only way to watch them . So whenThe Hobbittrilogy come around , Jackson was expected to again have newfangled cuts for the home dismission . However , these cuts were n’t as beloved .

UnlikeLord of the Rings , The Hobbitfilms were already criticized for being overlong and drawn out . The news report of one film was stretched to three , and the films would have benefited from being shorter , not longer . The Battle of the Five Armiessuffers the most from its extended edition , as it only adds senseless subplots and overproduced action mechanism , something the flick already had far too much of . Pacing is the key trouble withThe Hobbitfilms , and a re - cut could help the picture , but Jackson ’s extended versions only add together scene that should have stayed on the cutting room floor .

7The Warriors

Directed By Walter Hill

Cast

Walter Hill ’s fantastic thriller about rival gangs is an endlessly rewatchable film and one whose gait and spirit are central to the motion-picture show ’s succeeder . The 2005 director ’s cut keeps the same canonical anatomical structure as the original but includes funny - book - style transitions between vista , a strange determination given thatThe Warriorsis based on a novel , not a comic . The effect await crummy and cohere out among the residuum of the pic , making the moving-picture show experience more corny than it is . woefully , the director ’s cold shoulder is now the more widely usable adaptation .

6Apocalypse Now

Directed By Francis Ford Coppola

There arefour dissimilar cut ofApocalypse Now , as director Francis Ford Coppola keeps monkey around and alter his warfare masterpiece . No cut of the film is painful or ruin the narrative , but after all of Coppola ’s edits and addition , the theatrical cut is still the good reading of the moving-picture show . Without the extra fat of the Redux and Final Cut , the theatrical baseball swing is a cinematic experience like no other , and the reason the film has become an American classic .

5E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Directed By Steven Spielberg

In 2002 , Steven Spielberg re - release his blockbuster household filmE.T.with a stunning remaster and brand - new scenes . With the promotion of CGI , Spielberg updated some of the exotic effects . Some scenes that were delete from the original film , due to piteous effect , were put back in the pic with a computer - animated E.T. The gun of the police ship’s officer were also polemically supplant with walkie - talking picture to make the flick more crime syndicate - friendly .

Years later , Spielberg would say he regretted these change , in fussy the remotion of the guns , asE.T.is a product of its fourth dimension , and films should n’t be vary or sanitise for modern audience . The original cut ofE.T.holds up fantastically well , and these changes were both unnecessary and morally questionable . The 2002 re - sacking is now more dated than the original as the CGI extraterrestrial suffer out more than any hardheaded effect in the photographic film . Thankfully , the theatrical deletion is the more available reading these days .

4Miami Vice

Directed By Michael Mann

Met with terrible reviews upon its release , Michael Mann’sMiami Vicehas grown a dedicated following since it add up out . However , the theater director ’s cut has not . In an endeavour to address some of the criticisms of the movie , Mann released a different cut with a new gap and altered pacing . These changes do n’t make the movie more accessible and only lessen the artistic risk of exposure Mann take with his original track . Longer , blander , and without the memorable orifice of the theatrical cut , the director ’s cut ofMiami Viceis lesser in almost every way .

3The Exorcist

Directed By William Friedkin

The Exorcistis one of the most acclaimed horror movies of all time , and still terrify to this twenty-four hours . The music director ’s cutting , however , was not as much . Dubbed " The Version You ’ve Never Seen",the 2000 cut restored several deleted scene , as well as include more inserts of the devil ’s face throughout the movie . While some aspect are interesting addition , most of the Modern repugnance elements , include the iconic wanderer - walk down the stairs , are more laughable than scarey , and this cut does less with more . gratefully , both adaptation are widely available , so audiences can take how they want to experience this chef-d’oeuvre .

In 2000 , The Exorcist experience an drawn-out conductor ’s cut , at the time called The Version You ’ve Never Seen , and here ’s what it vary .

2Donnie Darko

Directed By Richard Kelly

Moody , intellectual , and darkly suspect , Richard Kelly’sDonnie Darkois a film with very few answers , but in a dear way . It is a film that can be discussed for hour upon ending , as long as it ’s not Kelly ’s long and less realized deletion . In the director ’s cut , what once was equivocal becomes confusing , as Kelly adds far too much to his sci - fi moving-picture show . This cut is controversial among the motion-picture show ’s fan as some declare it an improvement , but for first - time looker , it ’s well to amaze to the theatrical cut , as that provides a much more fulfilling and consummate experience .

1Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Directed By George Lucas

Infamously , George Lucas made interminable pinch to the originalStar Warsfilms , adding CGI core , delete scenes , and ADR lines of dialogue that tally nothing to the films . These changes range from pointless to confounding to downright harmful to the moving picture . Many of these changes are loathe byStar Warsfans , and while many of the complaints go too far , the ire is understandable . The films have been noticeably altered , and it feels like someone has gratified over a swell work of art .

As an artist , Lucas has the right to vary his mind and append element to his films , but the literal problem is there is no way to watch the unaltered cuts in HD . The originalStar Warsis one of the most important movies of all meter , and it is just not original for the public to see in its original form , and that is damaging to take history . The special editions are an interesting case study in how creative person and engineering evolve , even if they make the films worse , but the theatrical cuts should always be approachable .

In a dusty landscape Finn stares out into the distance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

George Lucas holding a film camera

Cast Placeholder Image

Headshot Of James Remar In The premiere of

Marlon Brando

Headshot Of Martin Sheen In The PaleyFest LA

Headshot Of Robert Duvall In The 40th Anniversary and World Premiere of Apocalypse

Headshot Of Drew Barrymore

Headshot Of Henry Thomas

Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell in Miami Vice.

Headshot Of Colin Farrell In The Los Angeles Press Day For Apple TV+’s ‘Sugar’

Headshot Of Jamie Foxx In The European premiere of ‘Creed III’

Headshot Of Naomie Harris

A possessed Regan MacNeil glares at the camera in The Exorcist

Headshot Of Ellen Burstyn

Headshot Of Jake Gyllenhaal

Headshot of Holmes Osborne

Headshot OF Maggie Gyllenhaal

Headshot Of Daveigh Chase

Headshot Of Mark Hamill In The Premiere of Disney’s Star Wars

Headshot Of Harrison Ford In The 29th Annual Critics' Choice Awards

Headshot Of Carrie Fisher