Director's Cut
The Director's Cut [ dɪrektəz 'kʌt ] is the cut version of a movie with which the film director (Engl. Director ) his personal artistic intention converts. If unused film material is taken into account, a director's cut is also referred to as a redux , e.g. B. Apocalypse Now Redux .
Characteristic
Often a film is re-cut based on tested audience reactions during pre-screenings. This is the case if the test audience does not have the desired effect or if it turns out differently, as individual scenes or storylines in the version shown are incomprehensible. This can especially affect the end of the film. This recut can lead to considerable changes in the message of a film. For example, the Director's Cut of Blade Runner has an open ending in contrast to the original theatrical version. He is also missing the voice-over comment from the main actor. Salieri , the narrator and Mozart's opponent in the film Amadeus , is shown in the Director's Cut even blacker and more profound, while the professional killer in the Director's Cut of Léon - The Professional has taken on more human features. Sometimes the sheer length is a reason for cuts: Films that are well over two hours long are often shortened in order to enable two screenings in one evening; this improves the market opportunities for rental.
Unlike in Europe, the director of Hollywood films is often not present when editing. Only a few influential directors are contractually granted the right to the final cut . This is the final version of the film as it will be delivered to the film distributor after production has been completed. The film editor instead cuts the film mostly alone and keeps only after consultation with the Director. This then blesses the cut presented to him or suggests further changes.
When a film is edited for subsequent marketing ( video , DVD , television), the director often steps behind the editing desk himself and produces a version he prefers, which often contains some additional scenes that were not yet available in the original theatrical version were. That's why a Director's Cut is often considerably longer (for example, almost 47 minutes longer on Apocalypse Now Redux ). But it also happens that a director's cut is even shorter than the first version (examples: Blood Simple by director Joel Coen ).
In addition to the Director's Cut, there are sometimes other post-processed versions of movies. These versions may be produced without the director's intervention and sometimes even against his will. Examples are the long versions of Der Wüstenplanet by director David Lynch and Der Schuh des Manitu by Michael Herbig .