Extended Versions vs Theatrical Versions

[llc]

Usually, am not a big fan of the Extended Cuts put onto DVDs. Usually, I feel like they were cut for a reason and shorter is better. I especially dislike Apocalypse Now's (I'm not the biggest fan of that movie, but I dislike the longer version) and I hate the uncensored 40 Year Old Virgin because the timing is off.

That said, I just finished watching the extended cut of That Thing You Do (yes, Tom Hanks comedy from the 90s-I really, really like that movie). The original is I believe is about 90-100 minutes. The extended cut is more than 2 1/2 hours long. And I prefer this version to the original. Yes, it is much slower, but I like spending time with the characters and the extra scenes before Tom Hanks really work. And yes, there is way more Charlize Theron and the ending is different as well.

What other extended cuts are better than original. It is hard to tell which version it is, but I like the longer version of Magnificent Ambersons that plays on TCM and will always pick a foreign cut over the Americanized version but are there any good extended cuts to be aware of.

[Pitdoc]

I tend to believe that any movie you truly love is helped by more movie.. My examples

Lord of the Rings.. As someone who read the books 10 times before the movies came out,, the extra 30 minutes for each movie just gave me more of what I love

Lawrence of Arabia..Probably my best movie of all..The reissue inthe 80s put in about 5 min more,, Not adding as much as enhancing

The Godfather.. I've only really seen it once..but they pieced all the Godfather movies together for TV,,and it had a scene where Michael gets revenge on the guy that got his first wife blown up .. He was in America,,and I think running a pizzaria,,and he got garroted in a car.. A small thing, but something you KNOW Michael would have taken care of

[Gerald]

Aliens & The Abyss both benefitted greatly from the resinsertion of excised material. After seeing their extended cuts, the original versions effectively ceased to exist.

Also, even though the dvd presentation was choppy as hell, the assembly cut of Alien 3 cues you in a little about the aspirations Fincher had for the project (which unfortunately were undermined by studio tampering and a chaotic production).

[pennington]

the ending is different as well.

How is the ending different?

Back to topic, there was an extended VHS version of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" that restored some, but not all, of the scenes that were cut from the premiere edition (some scenes are apparently lost forever). The movie was shortened so it could play more times per day in theaters. It's a better version, too bad they used the old theatrical version for the DVD.

[furie]

i prefer the extended version of Dune.

[llc]

How is the ending different?

SPOILER!






It is a minor difference but in the original the band breaks up and guy seems to record a song with his idol and Guy gets Fay.

In the longer version Fay has to go back home on a bus and is walking away without anything of her own after spending months with these guys. Guy records the song and then gets a job with Clint Howards character on the radio when he records hours of interviews with Dell Paxton and his friends (those are the records he's carrying back to the hotel when he finds out Fay is leaving). Howards character says I can't pay much but you can have the job. So Fay and Guy end up together but we know there will be some struggles in their marriage.

Its subtle but I like this ending more because it has a little more depth (rather than being just the ending of a romantic comedy).

[StanUpshaw]

Does anyone have a favorite version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Some joker put up 3 different cuts, and I don't know which to grab.

[HBox]

I like the extended versions of the LOTR trilogy but I guess you need to be a pretty big fan to get into them simply because of the length.

[S0S]

Does anyone have a favorite version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Some joker put up 3 different cuts, and I don't know which to grab.

The box set has all three versions. I would get the director's cut.