FINAL CUT

A brief history of directors retooling their movies

The Gold Rush

So often an innovator in cinema, Charlie Chaplin was also responsible for one of the first director’s cuts when he went back to 1925 silent classic The Gold Rush. The 1942 re-release featured new music, a new edit and even a voiceover from its famous director.

Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut

Arguably the king of director’s cuts, it was this 1992 update that earned Ridley Scott’s movie a place at the top table of sci-fi. Ditching Ford’s world-weary voiceover and adding a more satisfyingly ambiguous ending, it was the definitive version of 2019 LA – until Scott tinkered again with 2007’s Final Cut.

The Lord Of The Rings: Extended Editions

Condensing J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic into a trilogy of movies was always going to be an epic undertaking. Peter Jackson’s extended editions were an ingenious solution, packed with Middle-earth deep cuts – does anyone still watch the theatrical versions?

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Christopher Reeve’s first two Superman outings were filmed back-to-back, but original director Richard Donner was replaced by Richard Lester before the sequel was complete. Donner’s radically different Superman II – featuring lost footage of Marlon Brando, and a screen test of Reeve and Margot Kidder – was released on DVD in 2006.

The Godfather: Coda

The Godfather: Part III is widely regarded as the place Francis Ford Coppola’s previously flawless mafia saga went off the rails. The director says his 2020 redo is closer to what he and author Mario Puzo had originally planned, and a more fitting epilogue to the story. Star Al Pacino approves.