Ken W. Hanley 
The struggle between a studio and a director regarding the fate of a film is a tale as old as time, with the former usually winning out by hook or by crook.
Nevertheless, studios will always turn to new ways to milk out their existing IP, whether it be a cinematic misstep or an all-time classic, and one of the most surefire ways of doing so is the famed “director’s cut.” While some cuts are just seconds of reinstated blood and guts or some material edited out to achieve a more commercially successful rating, these 20 examples prove that the director’s cut can sometimes alter a movie’s legacy forever.
1. True Romance
Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett CollectionGoing as far as to change the entire color palette and the third act, even excising major characters, the more hard-boiled and nihilistic Straight Up cut of Payback feels more fitting to the Donald Westlake source material and ultimately became the preferred cut of its cult audience.
4. The Exorcist
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett CollectionArguably, the scariest and most iconic scene in The Exorcist, dubbed “The Spider-Crawl,” emerged during the film’s 2000 director’s cut, which also added additional small touches to the effects and sound design as well as more scenes to flesh out some of the character relationships and a final note that better connects the film to its impressive sequel, The Exorcist III.
5. Aliens
20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett CollectionFew artists make their “director’s cut” worth their weight in gold as James Cameron, whose nearly 17 minutes of extra footage give substantial emotional depth to Ripley, delve into the background of the colony, and expand upon the persistent sense of tension and gut-wrenching dread throughout this definitive version of the film.
6. Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Clay Enos / Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett CollectionNot only is Zack Snyder’s Justice League a better movie than Joss Whedon’s patchwork theatrical cut, but it is almost entirely a different film with an atmosphere more in line with the previous DCEU films, shocking alternate character fates, and a coda pointing to a much more interesting future for the Justice League.
7. The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett CollectionFrancis Ford Coppola’s 2020 cut of The Godfather, Part III feels like the same story through fresher and more vibrant eyes, eliminating a lot of the pacing issues that plagued the original cut and provides Michael Corleone with an even more devastating conclusion to his journey across the Godfather saga.
8. The Counselor
Twentieth Century Fox / Courtesy Everett CollectionWhile The Counselor‘s theatrical cut is somewhat of a cinematic fiasco, the director’s cut is an entirely different beast, fleshing out the characters and adding a nastier and sleazier undertone to the already misanthropic film; if anything, it feels more akin to the grim novels of screenwriter Cormac McCarthy.
9. Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago
United Artists / Courtesy Everett CollectionWhile Rocky vs. Drago hits many of the same beats as the original cut, Sylvester Stallone returns to the edit bay to craft something that feels way closer to the original Rocky, filling it with quieter character moments, exploring the inner motivations of Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago, and cutting some of the goofier elements that haven’t aged as well, including Paulie’s robot servant.
10. Daredevil
20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett CollectionThe R-rated director’s cut of Daredevil is not only a bloodier and hard-hitting affair, but it puts a substantial spotlight on Matt Murdock, which offers Ben Affleck a better opportunity to display the character further ruminating over his Catholic guilt and exploring his legal prowess at greater depth.
11. Superman II
Courtesy Everett Collection / WARNER BROS / DC COMICS / Ronald Grant Archive / Mary EvansRichard Donner’s unceremonious expulsion from Superman II mere weeks prior to completion was rectified when the famed director was invited to restore his original vision for the film in 2006, expelling Richard Lester’s tonally conflicted reshoots and reinstating Marlon Brando’s role as Jor-El, Superman’s father.
12. Apocalypse Now: Final Cut
Paramount Pictures / American Zoetrope / AlamyThe debate between movie buffs between Apocalypse Now and its extended cut, Redux, has waged on for years, but it has become apparent that Francis Ford Coppola’s Final Cut from 2019 has become the definitive cut of the film, as its not as expansive (or painfully slow) as Redux while still compounding upon the madness and mystery of the original film.
13. Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett CollectionRidley Scott makes his third appearance on this list with his most famous director’s cut: Blade Runner, whose 2007 Final Cut finds the sweet spot between visually dazzling style and riveting substance to somehow improve on a dreamlike sci-fi masterpiece.
14. Heat
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett CollectionThough some director’s cuts will add new scenes or reshape the narrative structure, Michael Mann took a different approach to his 2017 “Definitive Director’s Edition,” which the director utilized to modernize the film’s color timing and contrast while containing the minor trims made to the previous 2009 home video release.
15. Once Upon a Time in America
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett CollectionRunning over four hours in length, Sergio Leone’s epic gangster tale has essentially replaced the critically reviled original cut in every sense, especially when it comes to the film’s third act when the film doubles down on the inevitable corruption that accompanies greed and power.
16. Nightbreed
20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett CollectionAfter existing only in the form of a low-quality bootleg known as “The Cabal Cut,” Scream Factory and Clive Barker miraculously discovered the lost footage for this cult classic, adding 40 minutes of excised and alternate scenes including an incredible new ending that posited a completely different future for the characters in a potential (yet never realized) sequel.
17. Troy
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett CollectionWarner Bros. spent another $1 million to restore more than 30 minutes of extra footage for Wolfgang Petersen’s exemplary director’s cut of Troy, which alters the score, provides audiences with more complete and fully fleshed character arcs, and even makes the violence feel more brutal and heartless as opposed to glorified and fantastical.
18. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Tristar Pictures / Courtesy Everett CollectionNot to be confused with the Extended Cut, which is ultimately a preferred version by many fans thanks largely to the restoration of the deleted Michael Biehn cameo, James Cameron’s 2017 cut for Terminator 2‘s 3D re-release saw the filmmaker utilize modern technology to improve upon technical gaffs from the film’s initial release, including digital face replacement for stuntmen and fixing continuity errors while amending the film’s color scheme to make the film brighter to compensate for light loss for potential 3D projection.
19. Watchmen
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett CollectionZack Snyder’s 186-minute director’s cut for Watchmen is a vast improvement over the pisive theatrical cut, mostly as the film utilizes the time for both spectacle and increasing the emotional potency of the drama, including the heartbreaking death scene of the original Night Owl that was previously left on the cutting room floor.
20. That Thing You Do!
20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett CollectionTom Hanks’ extended cut of That Thing You Do! adds nearly 40 minutes to the esteemed film’s runtime, but changes the film in a number of critical ways, from cementing Hanks’ character’s formerly ambiguous sexuality to even providing more solid ground on which they leave their main character.
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