marioxb

OK. With all these director's cuts and special editions, I'm just curious what DVDs are out there that we can't yet get the US theatrical cut on DVD? Aliens used to be one of those, until the Quadrilogy came out. Here are some I can think of:

Superman (Director's Cut only)
Supergirl (Director's Cut and International only)
Blade Runner (Director's Cut only)
Pitch Black (don't know for sure?)

I'm sure there are others...

Chew

Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek VI. But, I doubt you'll find many complaints about either.

D-Ball

The Blues Brothers
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

aam1

This list could go on for ever. . .

Blues Brothers
Raiders of the lost Ark (Well kind of)
Kingpin
Dumb and Dumber

I believe you are mistaken about Pitch Black though.

Mike Lowrey

With regards to ST:TMP, that can be argued that there was never really an official version. A theatrical version yes, but it's had so many different incarnations over the years, that who knows which is the intended cut.

Each version, save the Director's Editon DVD (with its all new CG shots), has had some footage trimmed and/or reinserted through-out the thing. First there was the theatrical, then the (I believe) ABC TV version, then there was the VHS version and original DVD, and now we've got the DE DVD version.

Hell, if I didn't know any better, I'd say we need a Broomstick version of ST:TMP.

Admiral7

JFK
Nixon
Any Given Sunday
THX-1138

Drexl

This can get quite complicated, depending on exactly what you mean by "original theatrical version."

For example, there are some movies that were slightly altered for home video for various reasons:

Aladdin had a line changed in a song for political correctness.
The Program had a scene that some stupid kids imitated, so it was removed for video releases.
Wonder Boys had a line removed about Alan Ladd's alleged suicide because his family objected to it.
The Lion King had some minor animation changes for the IMAX version that is on the DVD, such as the crocodiles.

I'm sure there are many others, but these are just off the top of my head.

Do you want to count theatrical cuts of movies that were available on DVD, but are now OOP and only available in a longer version? The theatrical cut of Dances With Wolves is OOP, but a longer version is now available from MGM. I don't remember if the original OOP flipper version of JFK was the longer director's cut or not, but I think it was. You can definitely add that title to your list if so.

If you really want to nitpick:

The WS Old School DVD is only the unrated version. After all, can we really count a FF version as the "theatrical?"

Although this change was done by the cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, both versions of Apocalypse Now (including the Redux version) and Tucker: the Man and his Dream have had the aspect ratio cropped to 2:1 for DVD, so they do not have the full width of the 2.35:1 theatrical AR. Throw in the Stanley Kubrick films that have his preferred OAR of the camera negative as opposed to the matted theatrical aspect ratio too.

Some films have had special effects cleaned up, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark as mentioned above.

Finally, many films have had their sound mixes redone (usually in 5.1 Dolby Digital) and are not available on DVD with the original sound mix. Jaws is perhaps the most infamous example of this.

Count de Monet

1941
Swamp Thing
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (sort of)
Blood Simple
Last of the Mohicans
Thief

Also, I would like to have the theatrical versions of both Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek VI. A shame that they aren't included on the Collector's Edition DVDs.

Count de Monet

I think the new 5.1 mix for Superman The Movie is far more infamous, and more destructive to the original mix, than Jaws.

focker

Blade Runner is the first one that came to mind for me when I saw the title, and I see it's listed in your first post. There are tons of films with slight alterations, but the changes are pretty major here. I've never even gotten to see the theatrical cut (or the international theatrical cut) and I'd really like to. One of these days I may be getting an LD player.

The Valeyard

Battlefield Earth.


Andrew

ShagMan

THX-1138 and Star Wars are the two that jump out at me for this topic...

marioxb

I thought I might be, as I only have the old non-Chronicles Unrated Director's Cut version

I guess go ahead and list all of these, just for completions sake or whatever. I don't know, if it's just cleaned up picture or the sound mix is just better, not necessarily different, if that makes any sense, maybe that doesn't matter as much.

And then if I could just quote you again, I could probably add The Santa Clause and Bruce Almighty to that list as they both had phone numbers changed or removed from the theatrical versions. And no, don't list Roger Rabbit or anything else that had a single frame or two of animation removed that you couldn't see without freeze frame anyway.

Anyway go ahead and list everything that comes to mind, but I'm mostly looking for director's cut only type of deals.

PopcornTreeCt

Isn't Aliens only the Cameron's director's cut?

The Big Blue

Cartload

The Aliens theatrical version was released last year with the Quadrilogy set. It's also available on its own.

I don' think the theatrical version of The Godfather Part III has ever been released on any home video format.

Joe Molotov

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

ianholm

Ransom?

Jeff McKay

A few more...

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
ONE FROM THE HEART
MS. 45

Then there's probably tons of titles where music was changed, such as:

LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

bboisvert

I'd call it a tie. They're both pretty radically different, and it's a travesty that neither one of these great films have the original mix with original sound effects.

marioxb

What exactly has been changed on the sound mixes from Jaws and Superman?

Count de Monet

There a plenty of little changes throughout both films but the biggest instant turn-off for me are the new sound effects during the opening titles to Superman, as each credit flies into frame. What was once an elegant icy hiss has now become a gurgly-turbo-whoosh. And Donner's credit, which always had the most aggressive icy hiss, now has what sounds like the low end clank of a jail cell slamming closed as the gurgly-turbo-whoosh happens. It's all rather tacky. YMMV.

Rizor

I don't think the American theatrical version of Brazil has been released yet. I know the Criterion edition includes the director's cut as well as a studio edit, but not the theatrical. The Universal edition also was labeled as the theatrical, but was actually the director's cut.

bboisvert

I'm sure there is a web site that explains this in more detail (I'm 99% certain there's one for Superman). But, basically, both films had their sound (foley) effects re-recorded for the 5.1 mix. And it creates some radically different sounds for both films. Things that used to hum now buzz. Things that used to whosh now clunk. Things that used to explode now EXPLODE!

In general this is bad, but for films like Jaws and Superman -- that many people know by heart -- it is *very* jarring.

cupcake jesus

Good post, but wasn't the Wonder Boys line removed for the theatrical rerelease?

Also, I think that Touch of Evil is only available in the "close-to-what-we-think-Welles-might-have-wanted" cut.

Cheers.

- the Jesus

Simpson Purist

Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in America