Making movies is a difficult task, and it can sometimes take years to produce the films we all love and enjoy. Directors dedicate months of their lives in pre-production, during filming, and sometimes editing to ensure their vision of their films reaches our screens. It is not uncommon for a movie to experience difficulties during production. When a disagreement arises between a director and the studio producing a film, we often hear the term “creative differences.”

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Occasionally, a studio may decide to re-edit a film for network television. These films need to fit into neat slots interspersed with advertising segments. In many cases, that means the film has to be trimmed down, with entire scenes lost on the cutting room floor. Understandably, directors may choose to distance themselves from these edits. They may feel that it ruins their creative vision or the story which they painstakingly pieced together.

8 Rudy (1993), Directed By David Anspaugh

Sean Astin and Jon Favreau in Rudy

The film features a star-studded cast, including Sean Astin in the lead role as Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, a fresh-faced Jon Favreau, and Vince Vaughn in his first credited role. Often voted amongst the most inspiring films of all time, Rudy is a genuinely heartwarming sports biopic. It tells the story of a man who overcomes incredible odds to play football for the University of Notre Dame.

Due to its popularity and feel-good nature, the television edit provides ample opportunity for ad spots. The heavy-handed revision of the television version of Rudy drastically alters the context of Ruettiger’s story. Because of this, Anspaugh decided to remove his name from the film. All other versions appropriately credit the director.

7 The Guardian (1990), Directed By William Friedkin

Jenny Seagrove in The Guardian

Spooky supernatural horror, The Guardian, flopped hard when it was released back in 1990. Genre icon Sam Raimi was initially attached to direct, however, he chose to direct Darkman instead. Production issues plagued the film, and script rewrites were ongoing well into filming. After The Exorcist turned into a massive success, marketing billed The Guardian as Friedkin’s return to the horror.

When the edited version of The Guardian made it to cable television, it was a completely different film. New scenes were added, some sequences were replaced entirely, and the ending is altogether different.

6 The Insider (1999), Directed By Michael Mann

Al Pacino and Russell Crowe in The Insider

When production of The Outsider began, director Michael Mann started to collect vast amounts of legal research surrounding the events of a 60 Minutes piece concerning the tobacco industry. Weighing in at a whopping 158 minutes, the film was met with mediocre box office success but went on to receive seven Academy Award nominations.

Mann supervised the television edit himself. This extended cut features more and longer scenes, padding out the already lengthy runtime. As a result, he chose to use the Alan Smithee pseudonym rather than be credited as the director due to the television cut running for over two days.

5 Heat (1995), Directed By Michael Mann

Al Pacino and Robert de Niro in Heat

The first film to bring together Hollywood heavyweights Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, Heat remains a fan favorite. Fans of the movie even include real-life criminals who imitated the film's heists and shootouts in numerous countries. The two leads exploded onto the screen in a film praised in equal measure for its drama and intense action.

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This stunning film runs for a total of 170 minutes. Mann offered to edit the film for television by reinstating 17 minutes of footage to fill a four-hour timeslot. However, when NBC aired the movie on their network, they instead chose to cut an entire 40 minutes to fit a three-hour timeslot. Mann has subsequently disowned this version of the film.

4 Scent of A Woman (1994), Directed By Martin Brest

Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell in Scent Of A Woman

A remake of the Italian film Profumo di Donna, Scent Of A Woman, afforded Al Pacino his only Oscar win. In the movie, he plays a blind man army veteran alongside Chris O’Donnell, who plays his newly hired assistant. Pacino spent time with New York’s Associated Blind learning techniques for moving around like a blind person to prepare for the role.

Brest’s original cut came in at 160 minutes, but both he and Pacino pushed for an extended theatrical cut. After trimming 3 minutes, the studio was pleased with test screenings yielding positive responses. The television edit cuts much more from the film, and Brest has completely disowned this version.

3 Meet Joe Black (1998), Directed By Martin Brest

Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black

The second of Brest’s films to use the Alan Smithee moniker for its television directorial credit, Meet Joe Black, received mixed reviews upon release. With a theatrical running time of 181 minutes, it is one of the longest films here. The television edit was shortened by a full hour, making for a much more agreeable watch.

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Anthony Hopkins received universal praise for his performance. Unfortunately, the cut scenes mainly relate to his character, Bill Parrish, a billionaire deciding on a merger for his business. His castmates Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani did not fair as well in reviews. Thankfully the television cut keeps the most crucial scene in this box office bomb: the infamous car accident.

2 Showgirls (1995) Directed By Paul Verhoeven

Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls

While a monumental critical and box office failure, Showgirls became a massive hit on the home video circuit. Home video rentals helped the film turn a tidy profit after its theatrical run failed to make back its budget. In recent years the movie has even gained cult status, with some even considering it a modern satirical masterpiece.

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Verhoeven created a cut that removed 3 minutes of more graphic scenes for the Blockbuster R-rated version. VH1 further pulled entire scenes for their television edit and had any remaining nudity painted over digitally. The studio went so far as to hire a completely different actress to redub some dialogue after refusing to pay Elizabeth Berkley’s fee to return. Verhoeven used the name Jan Jansen for this release of the film.

1 Dune (1984), Directed By David Lynch

Kyle MacLachlan, Patrick Stewart and Sting in Dune

Dune may be the most re-edited film in history, with numerous versions pieced together from the five hours of shot footage. Many fans of the seminal auteur believe that a six-hour director’s cut of Dune exists in a Universal Pictures vault. While Lynch had intended to create a three-hour epic, his final cut for the theatrical release rounded out at just 137 minutes. The film features a stellar turn from Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides.

A combination of deleted scenes, test footage, and even additional footage with incomplete visual effects brings the television edit up to 186 minutes. A new recording describing the setting and story replaced the introductory monologue. Lynch has completely disowned this version of the film and still refuses to answer questions regarding Dune.

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