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If you see Gladiator II in theaters this weekend, don’t fall too in love with it: As is typically the case with Ridley Scott films, we will have another version to look forward to when the sequel hits digital. The filmmaker certainly loves to tinker with his movies, and he’s released post-theatrical “director’s cuts” for almost all of them.
Scott’s films often have an expansive scope (and an accompanying hefty price tag), meaning he has to compromise his vision to whittle it down to a reasonable runtime for theatrical audiences, but he’s is far from the only filmmaker to fiddle with a movie months or even decades after the original release—the rise of the home video market has made director’s cuts almost de rigueur for filmmakers with clout (and the studios probably don’t mind having something else to sell).
But while these enhancements often improve a film for the better, plenty more have accomplished the opposite. Here are six times it worked, and five times it’d have been better to leave things well enough alone.
Best: Heaven’s Gate (1980)
According to the documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (streaming on Prime Video), Michael Cimino’s controversial epic, inspired by the Johnson County War, introduced the concept of the director’s cut. Most film buffs know its troubled production, plagued by rumors of Cimino’s exacting behavior on-set, earned it enough bad press that it was probably doomed even before United Artists, looking to do whatever it could to recoup on its investment, released a truncated cut of what it had judged to be an uncommercial vanity project. Thanks to scathing reviews, Heaven’s Gate bombed at the box office, ultimately bankrupting the studio.
Several years later, pay television station Z Channel broadcast a 219-minute version of Heaven’s Gate, leading some critics to reassess the much-maligned film. Cimino then released his definitive 216-minute director’s cut in 2012. While the final product is still overlong and certainly a little self-indulgent, its visual style and measured pacing definitely plays better with more room to breathe. Heaven’s Gate is breathtakingly beautiful, even when the story turns dark and violent, and it is certainly undeserving of its initial toxic reputation (not that you can easily judge, as the theatrical cut is unavailable online). Stream or rent the director’s cut on Prime Video, and catch it free with ads on Tubi and Pluto TV.
Best: Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
If Heaven’s Gate introduced the concept of the director’s cut, Ridley Scott popularized it. Eleven of his films, including Blade Runner (of which there are four versions!) and Gladiator, boast extra scenes, mainly for the better (there is one exception below). And no Scott film benefits more from retooling than his Crusades epic Kingdom of Heaven. After poor test screenings, Scott succumbed to studio pressure to cut down his costly film, and critics and audiences were not pleased with the final product. When it came time to release it on DVD, Scott added nearly an hour of extra footage to what is called the “Extended Roadshow Cut,” making the battle sequences bloodier and giving the characters more depth. The revised Kingdom of Heaven is a triumph of style and substance rarely see in the modern Hollywood era. The theatrical cut on Prime Video, but you’re better off with a digital rental of the Roadshow version.
Worst: Mallrats (1995)
Kevin Smith has often publicly criticized his sophomore feature, so I don’t feel bad about saying that the extended cut of his slacker comedy is even worse than the theatrical version. In this nearly two-hour cut of Mallrats, the lovelorn best buds T.S. and Brody come off as even more whiny and unsympathetic than in the clunk but well-paced 95-minute version, with a bizarre assassination subplot thrown in for discernible reason. Given Smith isn’t a fan of his own film, there really is no reason for this “bizarro” version of the movie to exist. The theatrical cut is available for digital rental, but to watch the director’s cut, you’ll need to pick up the 10th Anniversary DVD.
Best: The Abyss (1989)
The most underrated film in James Cameron’s filmography was actually released in theaters unfinished in 1989. Visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic couldn’t complete some sequences before the release date, so Cameron had to cut a crucial scene involving an underwater alien race unleashing a human-eliminating tidal wave across the planet. After the success of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 20th Century Fox offered Cameron’s production company a financing deal that included a provision allocating half a million dollars to complete the effects work on The Abyss. The new, vastly improved, nearly three-hour-long version of the film debuted in theaters in 1993 and was recently upgraded to 4K in 2023. Steam the theatrical version on Hulu and rent the director’s cut from Prime Video.
Worst: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg needed a few more months to complete his sci-fi follow-up to Jaws. However, because of financial trouble, Columbia Pictures asked if they could release the film sooner to help the studio stay afloat. Spielberg reluctantly agreed, but later requested permission to make a director’s cut after the film’s blockbuster theatrical success. But the new ending included a peek inside an alien mothership, and while some critics appreciated the change, Spielberg later regretted it, feeling it took away from the mystique. The filmmaker ultimately redeemed himself by releasing another cut in 1998, removing the mothership scenes. All versions are available for digital rental.
Best: Almost Famous/Untitled (2000)
Cameron Crowe drew inspiration from his remarkable adolescence working as a journalist for Rolling Stone to craft this rock ‘n’ roll road trip picture, ultimately earning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Sadly, he could fit only so many fun and captivating vignettes about the fictional band Stillwater into the two-hour movie. He later added 39 minutes to a version he calls Untitled (referred to as “The Bootleg Cut” on most streaming services). Think of it like a deluxe version of your favorite album, with extended performances from the band and tales from the road that give the characters additional depth. (My favorite addition is a scene featuring Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass as a stoned D.J. who falls asleep during a radio interview with the band.) The theatrical cut is available on MGM+ and both versions are available for digital rental.
Worst: Watchmen (2009)
If Ridley Scott popularized the concept of the director’s cut, then Zack Snyder made it infamous (see his bloated versions of his Justice League and Rebel Moon films, or don’t). He started the process when, perhaps in an effort to appease Alan Moore, the notoriously fickle writer of Watchmen’s source material, Snyder introduced an “Ultimate Cut” of the subversive superhero film that incorporated elements from an animated adaptation of The Tales of the Black Freighter, the comic within the comic, alongside yet more (unnecessary) scenes. Snyder seemingly failed to realize that comics and films are different mediums, and this bloated version of Watchmen is a real bore. The theatrical cut is streaming on Max and the longer cut is available for digital rental.
Best: Until the End of the World (1991)
After Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire became international hits, director Wim Wenders put all his creative capital into making an epic about a globe-trotting couple on the run from pursuers who want to steal a device they possess that records dreams, all while a nuclear satellite is about to crash land on the Earth. Wenders’ initial cut was 20 hours, but he promised Warner Bros., who helped finance the film, a version with a more reasonable length. The two-and-a-half-hour theatrical cut flopped, but the soundtrack, featuring songs by Talking Heads, Nick Cave, and Elvis Costello, was a minor hit. Thankfully, Wenders and his editor secretly made a five-hour cut and began showing it around, building buzz. It’s much improved, but consuming a nearly 300-minute film in a single sitting is arduous. I recommend watching it in its two distinct acts, with an intermission at the two-hour, eleven-minute mark. You can rent the director’s cut on Prime Video or stream it on The Criterion Channel.
Worst: Napoleon (2023)
As noted, most of Ridley Scott’s director’s cuts change them for the better. While his version of the biopic on the French emperor’s conquests slightly improves the movie (while extending it to more than three and a half hours), primarily by giving Vanessa Kirby’s Josephine more screen time, it’s not enough to warrant a recommendation, I guess unless you want to hear about the despot getting a case of hemorrhoids. Stream the director’s cut on Apple TV+.
Best: Dark City (1998)
How disappointed would you be if a film’s entire concept was explained to you in its opening minutes? That is what happens in the theatrical cut of Alex Proyas’ blend of film noir and science fiction, making his follow-up to The Crow feel overly predictable. Thankfully, Proyas’ version eliminates the spoiler-filled opening narration and adds additional footage, allowing his visually captivating story to unfold as he intended. The theatrical cut is available on Plex and Kanopy. Both versions are available for digital rental.
Worst: Donnie Darko (2001)
Initially a bomb in theaters, Donnie Darko became a cult classic thanks to strong performance on DVD and cable, so a rerelease seemed like a no-brainer. But director Richard Kelly’s additions over-explain its dense sci-fi mythology, turning what had been a beguiling head trip into something far less compelling. Instead of bringing more viewers to his time travel masterpiece, all Kelly did was dumb down a truly brilliant debut. The theatrical cut is available on Hulu, AMC+, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel. The director’s cut is available on Peacock and via digital rental.
