Alternate cuts of classic movies that are finally seeing the light of day on Blu-ray

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Rocker, Mar 4, 2017.

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  1. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Aside from the improvement in picture quality, one of the factors that convinced me to finally pick up a Blu-ray player is the growing number of alternate cuts of classic movies being made available, many of which have been previously unreleased on any home video format. The differences between various versions of a movie is always something I find very interesting, and I'm really looking forward to checking out some of the alternate cuts that I've never seen before.

    Here are just a few examples:

    Bad Moon (1996) - director's cut
    Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) - unrated version
    Death Wish II (1982) - unrated version
    The Exorcist III (1990) - reconstructed original director's version ("Legion")
    The House That Screamed (1970) - extended version
    Nightbreed (1990) - director's cut
    Raising Cain (1992) - director's cut
    Body Bags (1993) - uncut version
    Breaking the Waves (1996) - uncensored version
    It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) - extended version
    Manaic Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993) - unrated version
    Red Scorpion (1989) - uncut version


    What are some Blu-ray discs you've picked up that contain unique and/or previously unavailable alternate cuts? Discuss 'em here! :)
     
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  2. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    Nothing to add to the list, but I can't believe how much better the original Conquest/Apes is. I guess it had aired on tv prior to the blu-ray release but I hadn't so much as heard of it until the disc came out. I was sitting there watching and then suddenly, Boom! An ending that made sense!
     
  3. "Alien" and "Aliens" (although the latter was available on DVD before the Blu release.
    "Blade Runner" (again DVD and theatrical release prior to blu but the current blu features the original theatrical, director's cut and the version that played on cable with more violence).
    "The Shining" (featuring the European cut although that's only available overseas).
    "Exorcist III: Legion" which is an alternate cut reassembled from surviving footage for "The Exorcist III"put together from William Peter Blatty's notes before his death.
    "Lawrence of Arabia".

    So in summary:
    "Alien"
    "Aliens"
    "Blade Runner"
    "Legend" (Ridley Scott film but, again, this was released on DVD first. We get the alternate original soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith and a slightly different edit of the film)
    "Exorcist III"
    "The Exorcist: The Beginning" (which was partially reshot and credits two different directors)
    "Lawrence of Arabia"
    "The Shining" (the shorter European version vs. the U.S. longer cut)
    "Heaven's Gate" (both the longer director's edit exists along with the shorter version--the former has helped revitalize the reputation of the film and the late Michael Cimino).
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2017
  4. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Apparently the Blu-ray of 1988's "Colors" that comes out next week has a new unrated cut...
     
  5. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    All DVD and BR editions are the same version of the film, as far as I know.
     
  6. As I recall they restored a number of scenes from the roadshow version that had been thought to be lost. The result is a long lost alternate version of the film that didn't play in general release (non roadshow).

    Edit:

    "Originally released at 222 minutes. Shortly after its premiere, David Lean, reportedly under the orders of producer Sam Spiegel, cut 20 minutes from the film. The 1971 re-release cut the film further to 187 minutes. The film was restored in 1988 at 216 minutes. This version, supervised by Lean, was advertised as a Director's Cut."
     
  7. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Okay, but the restored version has still been available for quite some time... the subject of this thread is about versions of films that have only been released relatively recently, i.e. within the past few years on Blu Ray.
     
  8. minerwerks

    minerwerks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
     
  9. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    The "alternate version" of "Lawrence" has been around longer than the time between the film's original release and the "alternate" one's release! :eek:
     
  10. Benno123

    Benno123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    I thought the DVD and Blu-ray of "A Star in Born" with Judy Garland was from an extended cut or preview cut?
     
  11. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    The 176-minute cut does represent a restored version, but this restoration took place in 1983 so isn't what the OP wants for the thread...
     
  12. charlie W

    charlie W EMA Level 10

    Location:
    Area Code 254
    Close Encounters Of The Third Kind has the theatrical and longer broadcast editions.
     
  13. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    I was absolutely compelled to get the "Mad World" set to get the "road show" restoration. Still a bit mind blowing to think that entire pieces of a huge big-budget film, scenes that were actually IN the movie when audiences were watching it just 50+ years ago, are gone forever. And one of them being a scene between two iconic actors - Tracy and Keaton. That being said, I'm happy to have every little scrap, and to find out little details (like the fact that the car that Sylvester Marcus drives to "save mama" is not his own).
     
  14. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA


     
  15. charlie W

    charlie W EMA Level 10

    Location:
    Area Code 254
    Superman II-the Richard Donner Cut. Does that qualify?:sigh:
     
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  16. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    That might be a stretch, considering it was released back in 2006...
    ....but since technically that was the first-ever release of that version, and it was on Blu-ray, I'll let it slide. ;)
     
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  17. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    The Lawnmower Man - Director's Cut - arrives on Blu-ray in June, courtesy of Shout Factory!!

    I always thought this was one of the most inexplicable "missing-in-action" titles, especially since it's such a mainstream Hollywood film. The 108-minute theatrical version was released on DVD way back in 1997, but the 140-minute director's cut was only ever available on VHS and never saw the light of day on DVD at all. But at last, after all these years, we're finally getting a Blu-ray edition that contains both versions! :)
     
  18. Slappy9001

    Slappy9001 Senior Member

    Location:
    Kingston, PA
    The director's cut of Lawnmower man was also released on laserdisc.
     
  19. Technically it did receive a DVD release about 7 years ago but that was in the UK.
     
  20. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Yeah, everything I've mentioned so far has been in terms of R1 releases. :)
     
  21. Matt Richardson

    Matt Richardson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suburban Chicago
    Amadeus - includes director approved nude scene of Mozart's wife. Was that in the dvd?
     
  22. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    There is a "director's cut" of "Saturday Night Fever" due out soon (not the PG version)

    [​IMG]
     
  23. TheVU

    TheVU Forum Resident

    I hope they put the laserdisc directors cut of T2 on blu-ray.

    I'm interested in seeing that Deathwish 2. I'm a big fan.

    I'd also like to see Corrupt/Cop Killer/Order Of Death make a directors cut appearance on blu.
     
  24. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    The original DVD from 1997 is the theatrical cut, but the 2002 Director's Cut includes the nude scene.

    The 2002 DVD and the Blu-ray offer the same version of the film...
     
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