Director cuts are not a new invention. It's thanks to directors getting the chance to produce their preferred cuts of their films that viewers have received some of the greatest cinematic experiences of the last half-century. Blade Runner and The Lord of the Rings are superior in the director's preferred cuts of the film, with elements being omitted and added to create a perfect whole.

Zack Snyder is no stranger to the benefits of director cuts. His extended versions of Watchmen and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice are undeniably superior to the theatrical versions of the same films. Many expect the legendary Snyder Cut of Justice League to follow suit, improving upon the disappointing theatrical cut. However, with this long-hoped-for cut finally being completed, perhaps we ought to see the future release of other legendary, unseen director cuts.

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Event Horizon

 Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne in Event Horizon

After making Mortal Kombat, Paul W.S. Anderson had free reign to make whatever he wanted, so he created what many consider to be the greatest unofficial Warhammer 40K film/Hellraiser sequel ever made, Event Horizon. However, while Event Horizon is well-regarded by genre fans to this day as a fun, albeit not very deep, sci-fi horror film where a ship goes to Hell and back, the film could have been so much more intense.

A 130-minute version of the film exists, with a lot more gore, carnage, and visions of Hell. However, test audiences were deeply disturbed, so a new cut was released of the film. The cut footage has been partially recovered from a salt mine in Transylvania, but the footage is so far damaged beyond repair. However, there's still a chance that someone, someday might be able to salvage it into a pseudo-director's cut, because the footage that has leaked online is brutal.

Suicide Squad

Harley Quinn holding her mallet in Suicide Squad

Much like Snyder's DC films, Warner Bros executives meddled extensively with Suicide Squad. The film was recut to match the popular trailer released, which ultimately resulted in multiple scenes being reshuffled and re-edited extensively. Of note, most of the scenes involving the Joker, many of which were scene in trailers, were not included in the film proper.

While an extended cut was released, director David Ayer's original cut was never released. However, there is now a possibility it might come to fruition should the Snyder Cut be successful.

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The Devils

1971's The Devils is one of the most studied films that no one has really seen the entirety of. There have been multiple cuts of the film over the years, owing in great part to the highly controversial subject matter of Ken Russell's film. The film is a historical drama about a coven of nuns who pretend to be possessed by demons in order to frame a rather boisterous, lewd priest of witchcraft.

The film initially came out with an X rating, but had to cut multiple scenes in order to reach an R rating. These scenes, which include the infamous "Rape of Christ" scene and a moment where the main antagonist uses a charred bone in a highly inappropriate way. While various, less-censored cuts have come out, the movie has never been released entirely uncensored as per the director's original vision. With WB releasing Justice League uncut, perhaps it could also release The Devils.

The Crow: City of Angels

One of the most tragic examples of executive re-meddling comes thanks to Harvey Weinstein. The Crow is a cult classic adaptation of the classic dark fantasy comic of the same name. When the film was a hit, a sequel was given the green light immediately. Director Tim Pope and writer David S. Goyer, hoping not to just create a rehash of the prior film, created a moving emotional film dealing with loss.

But then the Weinsteins got a hold of this over two-hour epic film dealing with loss with a lot of weighty plot lines, and cut it down to under 90 minutes to make it more like the first film. This meant reshooting the entire ending, eradicating plot threads and emotional through-lines, honing in almost exclusively on the revenge aspect without any weight to it. This re-cut version of The Crow: City of Angels killed public interest in the franchise after only two films. An extended cut was later released, but it's just the theatrical cut with a few new scenes added in, not the original film the Weinsteins chopped up.

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Revenge of the Sith: Extended Cut

Star Wars is one of the great examples of why it's sometimes a bad idea for directors to recut their films. The Special Editions are widely derided by fans. However, Revenge of the Sith is an odd case, since the original film was closer to three or four hours in length as opposed to the two-and-a-half-hour version fans saw in theaters.

While some scenes, like Shaak Ti's death at the hand of General Grievous, now contradicts Star Wars canon under Disney, many elements, like Padme's prominent role in forming the basis of the Rebellion, offers the film a great deal of compelling weight, giving her more to do than just being pregnant.

The Magnificent Ambersons

magnificent ambersons

One of the legendary director's cuts that no longer exists, this 1942 film by the legendary Orson Welles is notorious for almost an hour of the film being cut and re-edited when RKO took control of the film out of Welles's hands to rework it. The film was given a far happier ending while removing many of its weighty scenes.

Regardless, The Magnificent Ambersons is regarded by many to be one of the greatest films of all time. The footage no longer exists, which means, unlike many of these other director's cuts, there is simply no way this film will ever be released.

Greed

Of all the films here, Greed is the most haunting example of a director's cut ever made. The nearly 100-year-old film is regarded as one of the greatest films of the silent era, being a parable about human selfishness and cruelty. The first cut of the film to be released was 90 minutes in length, before later being restored to 140 minutes. Turner Classic Movies released a fuller 239-minute cut, but even that's barely a fraction of the whole film.

Director Erich von Stroheim's director's cut of Greed stretched over 42 reels of footage, equaling over eight hours in length. The few who saw the film regarded it as the greatest film ever created. It, like so many other films, is lost to time like tears in rain.

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