History Main / ReCut

* Discussed in ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'''s ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz92prJ3XlM&feature=relmfu Re-Revisit]] in the style of the infamous "Han shot first" scene.

* When Universal was preparing a theatrical release for Spielberg's ''[[Film/Duel Duel]]'', the studio realized the film was too short (without commercials it ran 74 minutes). As such, the studio recruited Spielberg and star Dennis Weaver to shoot new footage to bring the film to feature-length. The 16 minutes of new footage included Weaver talking to his wife on a pay phone, an encounter with a stranded school bus, and the truck pushing Weaver's car towards a passing train.

->''Ah yes, the snake. One of the legendary bad effects of ''[[{{Recap/DoctorWhos19E3Kinda}} Doctor Who]]'' - one so bad that they redid it in CGI for the DVD. Surely by 2011, when the DVD came out, we can simply be at peace with the fact that ''Doctor Who'' had some crap effects in its time. I mean, let’s CGI out [[TheScrappy Matthew Waterhouse]] while we’re at it.''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' will be re-released in a new "Signature Edition" featuring two deleted scenes.

* The ''Film/{{Dune}}'' movie. The 1984 theatrical version was not director DavidLynch's Director's Cut--the producers not only made him cut a lot of material from his script, they also cut a lot of scenes that had been shot out as well--but it's the only one he's very happy with. Then in 1988, an Extended Cut was made to be shown on TV. It used deleted scenes, but reused more footage than ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Classic}}''. David Lynch hated it, demanding his name be removed from the writer and director credit (this version has since been referred to as "The AlanSmithee Cut"). ''Then'', in 1992, a San Francisco TV station made a mix of a cut between the original theatrical version of the movie and the Alan Smithee cut, which kept the new scenes but also put the violence back in. Finally, a cut known as the Extended Edition came out on DVD, which was a 177-minute edit of the Alan Smithee version. David Lynch is now a bitter arthouse director. Go figure.

* The original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Classic}}'' PilotMovie was first shown as a film in Canada to raise capital for the series. This version is trimmed. Then, it was subsequently released as a three-part episode for re-runs. The full, uncut pilot is available on the DVD set, as are a slew of deleted scenes from ''every single episode'' of the series.

* [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion Made infamous]] by GeorgeLucas reworking the original ''StarWars'' trilogy, resulting in [[TheDogShotFirst the "Han Shot First" campaign]]. He also did this to ''Film/THX1138''. His Director's Cut is the ''only'' version available on DVD.

* Spielberg later caught some flack from his re-cut of ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', which like the ''StarWars'' special editions, have redone special effects (mostly CG expressions added to the E.T. puppet) and some cut scenes. Fans were especially upset that the FBI agents [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms had their guns replaced with walkie-talkies]], an obvious difference made all the more obvious by the FBI agents holding their walkie-talkies in both hands... with their index fingers extended. With the Blu-Ray, Spielberg has gone in the opposite direction, only releasing the original version. He's changed the stance to an "anti-Lucas" feeling old films should be left alone as they were.

* MichaelMann released Director's Cuts for ''Film/MiamiVice'', ''Film/{{Ali}}'', ''Film/TheLastOfTheMohicans'' and ''Film/{{Manhunter}}'', but all of his films were re-cut in some way following their theatrical runs for DVD release. The changes are minor, and are rarely more than slight changes in dialogue scenes.

** Three episodes of Series VII had 'Xtended' versions released on VHS (as a separate release to the as-broadcast episodes - the later DVD releases included both the broadcast and extended episodes). As Series VII was the only series not filmed in front of a studio audience, but had the finished cuts shown to an audience later on, these episodes also had no laugh track (as it would have been awkward to have no laugh track over the new material).

** Three episodes of Series VII had 'Xtended' versions released on VHS (as a separate release to the as-broadcast episodes). As Series VII was the only series not filmed in front of a studio audience, but had the finished cuts shown to an audience later on, these episodes also had no laugh track.
** The opening story of Series VIII, ''Back in the Red'', had a notoriously troubled production; it was intended to be a 60-minute special but ended up as three 30-minute episodes, with a considerable amount of the latter two parts just being padding to bulk it out as a result of the change. The DVD release included the originally broadcast episodes, plus a new feature-length edit of the entire story with some of the worst 'filler' being cut out and some deleted scenes reinstated.

* The DVD version of ''GrizzlyMan'' removed Timothy Treadwell's interview with David Letterman (where [[FunnyAneurysmMoment Letterman joked that Timothy would be eaten by the bears]]), allegedly at Letterman's request. The TV version, however, retained the scene.
* ''Film/DawnOfTheDead'' is another legendary example of this. There are three "official" cuts of the film: the Romero-cut, the Argento-cut and the so-called Director's Cut. The Romero-cut was prepared for the American and UK theatrical releases by director George A. Romero himself. It has some comedic elements and an ironic, "comic-book like" feel. It uses a combination of soundtrack produced by the band Goblins and royalty-free library music. Romero censured a lot of gore he believed to be superfluous from this version. It is Romero's final and preferred cut of the film. The Argento-cut (sometimes referred to as Zombi after it's Italian title) was edited by Creator/DarioArgento for the mainland European theatrical releases. Compered to Romero's cut it is grimmer with a more serious mood. Argento made it shorter than Romero's cut to be more action oriented and have tighter pacing, but also lost a lot of character development in the proses. The gore however is left intact.[[note]]It does however not future the infamous chopper scene that the two other cuts have. Probably because of the scene's humors undertones.[[/note]] It uses the Goblins score through-out, utilizing none of the library music. The Director's Cut (sometimes refereed to as the Cannes-cut or the extended cut) is usually assumed to be the cut that Romero prepared for film's screening at Cannes. It is similar to Romero's final cut, but have uncensored gore and is even longer. Because of this it have the most content of any of the cuts, but also is the one with the worst pacing. Furthermore it completely lacks the Goblins score and use only the library music. As none of these cuts were created from any of the other cuts, but rather made (to some degree) independently, each version have unique scenes and they sometimes use different shots of the same scene. Of these three cut fans usually prefer the cut they watched first. In addition there are many cuts produced for more specific international screenings, TV and home releases based on these three cuts. Most of these was made for censorship, but some merge content from two or more of the "official" cuts or add scenes to explain the source of the zombie outbreak and there is even one version that [[CompressedAdaptation cuts the film down to only 48 minutes.]] There's a box set going by the name of "Dawn of the Dead, The Ultimate Edition" which features the three "official" cuts described above (Romero-cut, Argento-cut and the "Director's Cut").

* The French 1980s art-house classic, ''Betty Blue'' was re-released in 1991 in a Director's Cut that added over ''one hour'' of additional footage to the film. While this may seem excessive (for a film that already seemed to revel in excess), the extra scenes shed considerable light on various plot points; Betty's descent into madness, for example, is better contextualised in this new version.

* When [[Creator/TerryPratchett Sir Terry Pratchett's]] publishers finally got fed up of sending out thousands of letters saying there was no demand for a reprint of ''Literature/TheCarpetPeople'' (his first novel and bordering on OldShame), it was only after Pratchett rewrote substantial amounts of the novel. Part of this was to correct what he saw as simple poor writing by his younger self, but he also felt the need to change the political messages of the novel from the original's simplistic HighFantasy monarchism to reflect his grown-up respect for democracy.

* ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead: 30th Anniversary Edition'', which is often regarded as inferior to the original due to an obnoxious soundtrack and badly spliced in new scenes.

** He has also done this to his remake of ''Film/KingKong''.

** ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers'' has the most stunning example of this. Apparently, the film ran over time and budget, so [[ExecutiveMeddling the suits decided to take it over to see how they could screw it up]]. Their version is the Theatrical Cut. When the film was shown on TV, someone got a hold of the now infamous Producer's Cut. While the violence and cursing were trimmed, an ''assload'' of alternate takes and different opening narration were shown, and the entire last 20 minutes of the film is RADICALLY different from the Theatrical Cut. The main change is that the explanation for Michael's killing ways is altered: The Theatrical version offered a scientific reason, but the Producer's Cut says the reason is supernatural (which also explains why Michael is also growing bigger in each previous film. It's because his power is growing). It also shows a final scene with Dr. Loomis realizing that he has been cursed by Thorn. This was likely altered when Donald Pleasance died. An early trailer showed that the film was originally going to called "Halloween 666: The Curse of Michael Myers." This version is only available through bootleg video releases.

[[folder:Film]]

* The ''Highlander'' film series:
** Film/{{Highlander}} has a director's cut that adds some cut material back in-like the Kurgan licking the priest's arm, which had been cut in the US for being potentially offensive, and the World War 2 scene showing Rachel's origin.

* The films ''Planet Terror'' and ''Death Proof'' were filmed with the specific purpose of cutting large chunks out of them, and were in their theatrical release bundled as the [[AffectionateParody faux]] BMovie feature ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}''. The DVD releases restore (most) of the scenes cut for the theatrical version. ''Death Proof'' in particular actually suffers from this, because the theatrical release takes a good 40 minutes before anything interesting happens. In the extended cut, it's a ''full hour'' before it picks up. And the lap dance doesn't count. It was [[TakeOurWordForIt much more interesting when you didn't see it]]. Plus, the original theatrical cut of ''[=Grindhouse=]'' [[NoExportForYou wasn't released overseas, and is only on DVD in Japan]] (it was released on Blu-Ray in America, though); the intermission's trailer spoofs (save ''Machete'') were dropped in the process. However, in the U.S. the pay-cable Encore movie networks have shown this cut.

* Vincent Gallo's infamous film ''The Brown Bunny'' debuted at the Cannes Film Festival to much disdain; RogerEbert called it "the worst film in the history of Cannes."[[note]]This later led to a (highly entertaining) feud between Ebert and Gallo.[[/note]] Later, when the film appeared in United States theaters, it had been re-edited, removing 26 minutes from what had been a 118 minute film, and Ebert gave the new version three out of four stars, saying that it was amazing how much of a difference the editing made.[[note]]To understand how much of a difference: the Cannes-cut apparently was ''Padding: TheMovie'' with long sequences of the main character driving with bugs clashing against the windshield and when he did something like changing his shirt, critics started cheering.[[/note]]

* In the theatrical version of ''TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'' "Fuck You" is embroidered across the back of Freddy's jacket. In order to be able to show the movie on television, scenes were reshot with a jacket that reads "[[LampshadeHanging Television Version]]."
* ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' was first conceived by Creator/RichardWilliams (who would eventually become animation director of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'') in 1964, but spent almost 30 years in DevelopmentHell. Williams eventually signed a deal with WarnerBros. in 1990 to release the film, but they had no faith in it since the film took way too long to release, plus Disney was about to come out with their version of ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', so they pulled out. Then, the Completion Bond Company bought the rights to it in 1992, and a year later, producer Fred Calvert with Majestic Films released it in South Africa and Australia as ''The Princess and the Cobbler''. Many of the scenes from Williams' workprint were cut, plus new dialogue, songs, voices ([[SuddenlyVoiced where there really weren't any before]]), and scenes ([[OffModel poorly]] [[ArtShift animated]] by various companies and freelance artists across the world) were hastily added in. In 1995, it would be released in the U.S. by Miramax as ''Arabian Knight'' (later under the original title), where even more was butchered. An unofficial "Recobbled Cut" was made by a fan in 2006 that restored Williams' original vision as much as possible, but Williams has since [[CreatorBacklash disowned the film]] regardless.

* The original release of ''[[Film/AustinPowers Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery]]'' had two scenes replaced for later DVD versions.

* One of JackieChan's early forays into Hollywood, ''The Protector'', didn't meet with Chan's approval, so he made a re-cut version for the Hong Kong market, re-shooting fight scenes in his own style, cutting out/replacing gratuitous nudity, and adding a subplot featuring Cantopop singer and actress, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Yeh Sally Yeh]].

* ''YellowSubmarine'' came out on DVD in 1999 with the "Hey Bulldog" segment (which was not in the original release) added. The 2012 re-release is virtually identical save for it came out on Blu-Ray as well. Added goodies were included with the 2012 re-release.

* Reruns of [[TransformersGeneration1 the original Transformers cartoon]] were rebranded ''Transformers Generation Two'', with the addition of a "Cybernet Space Cube" that provided new IdiosyncraticWipes.
* Whenever ''[[Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians 101 Dalmatians: The Series]]'' is aired on Disney Cinemagic in the U.K., some lines were cut out to add more commercial time.

** Some of the re-added scenes in the Director's Cut of ''Film/{{Superman}}'' expand on the Kryptonian stuff in the film, as well a scene featuring little Lois seeing little Clark running at superspeed. Her parents [[RemakeCameo are played by the actors from the original TV series]].

* The films directed by OrsonWelles post-''Film/CitizenKane'' were a magnet for ExecutiveMeddling, and as such can be found in several different cuts on home video. The official DVD releases of ''TouchOfEvil'' and ''Mr. Arkadin'', for instance, each have three different cuts in the set. A similar release is allegedly planned for his ''Theatre/{{Othello}}''.

* The ''{{Dune}}'' movie. The 1984 theatrical version was not director DavidLynch's Director's Cut--the producers not only made him cut a lot of material from his script, they also cut a lot of scenes that had been shot out as well--but it's the only one he's very happy with. Then in 1988, an Extended Cut was made to be shown on TV. It used deleted scenes, but reused more footage than ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Classic}}''. David Lynch hated it, demanding his name be removed from the writer and director credit (this version has since been referred to as "The AlanSmithee Cut"). ''Then'', in 1992, a San Francisco TV station made a mix of a cut between the original theatrical version of the movie and the Alan Smithee cut, which kept the new scenes but also put the violence back in. Finally, a cut known as the Extended Edition came out on DVD, which was a 177-minute edit of the Alan Smithee version. David Lynch is now a bitter arthouse director. Go figure.

** Varying releases of ''Film/BladeRunner'' over the years have resulted in ''five'' distinct versions: The original Domestic cut (which includes a Raymond Chandler-style voiceover, and a happy ending, which used footage left over from Film/TheShining); An International Cut (which is the same as the Domestic version save for some additional gore during a particularly violent scene near the end); A Workprint Version (a rough cut which preceded the theatrical cuts, notably put together before scoring, which started being shown clandestinely at sci-fi conventions in the 90's); A so-called Director's Cut (released on DVD in 1998, which removed the voice-over and ending, which was more to Scott's liking, but was not created with his actual involvement); And lastly, the Final Cut, released in 2008 for the film's 25th anniversary, which Scott shot new footage featuring actress Joanna Cassidy and Benjamin Ford (Harrison's son) that was digitally superimposed into existing scenes of the film (the cut itself is very similar to the 1998 version), along with giving the print an a extensive restoration since this was first time it was released on high-def formats. It's these 5 cuts that were released together in boxsets on DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray in 2008, and then re-released on DVD & Blu-Ray in 2013 for the film's 30th anniversary.

* ''Anime/DragonBallKai'' is a rare case of a recut of an entire televised series (in this case, ''Manga/{{DragonBall}}Z''), cutting away the filler, remastering the show in HD and rerecording the dialogue with as many of the original voice actors as possible.

** ''Extended Cut'': Identical to the Director's Cut, except not necessarily by the director, and not necessarily the director's original vision. Example: Creator/PeterJackson considers the theatrical ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' movies to be his director's cuts, but the Extended Editions were created (by him) to restore deleted scenes to the movie and develop [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkien's]] world more on screen.
* ''TV Cut'': An edited version of the film. Basically, every movie shown on TV has been changed slightly (every time there's an ad break, the film fades to black) but often there are more significant changes. For instance, violence is often cut, swear words are either bleeped, silenced out, or their scenes altered, and nudity may be removed. (See any ''Film/DieHard'' movie.) As well, they may be edited for time.
** Before HD television they were also converted to pan-and-scan format from letterbox if such a version didn't exist.
* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion: Instead of working with footage made during the original production the filmmaker creates new footage/audio/FX to be spliced in long after the original release. This changes it from an "original vision" into more of a completely new product based on the original.

Beyond that, things can get very confusing. The inclusion of one or more Recuts is often one of the selling points of a LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition.

* ''DragonBallKai'' is a rare case of a recut of an entire televised series (in this case, ''Manga/DragonBall Z''), cutting away the filler, remastering the show in HD and rerecording the dialogue with as many of the original voice actors as possible.

* When MarvelComics reprinted the original series of ''ElfQuest'' new pages had to be added by Wendy Pini to fit the total page count. Some of these were new episode titles and recaps, while others were new or expanded story pages. Most of the latter were included in subsequent reprints; due to ArtEvolution it's usually not too hard to tell which. A few of the new episode titles were also included, causing some disruption to the original chaptering. Controversially, the series was also re-lettered with bigger ballons which obscured more of the original art and removed some special formatting. This was not corrected until the art was finally "remastered" with computer lettering and coloring, which is the version currently available on the official website.
** Another reformatting took place when DCComics reprinted the series in {{Manga}}-style volumes, requiring Pini to expand, contract or extend existing comic panels to fit the new page size. This version also included most of the additional art drawn for the Marvel version.
* Anniversery trade paperbacks of famous series (ex. ''Watchmen'', ''Dark Knight Returns'', etc.) will on occasion have extra content in them, or edits to the story itself. For example, ''Batman: The Long Halloween'', included a scene that was cut from the original story due to page constraints. ''The Killing Joke'' was recolored, making the scenes darker and more muted, in contrast to its original, more garish colors.

* ''{{Supernova}}'' had an R-rated version released on video that was more violent and made the bad guy even worse. These scenes can be viewed on the DVD in the DeletedScene section.

* The horror film ''NeedfulThings'' was shown on TBS some years back with a sizeable chunk of added footage, most adding depth to the characters. This version has yet to be released in any format.

* Another Costner film that got this treatment was ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves''. Not much is added, but the connection between the Sheriff and the old crone is explained, and it is ''gross''. This has also been released on DVD.
** It's also the version available on the Netflix streaming service. Really, a much better film than the original...
* [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion Made infamous]] by GeorgeLucas reworking the original ''StarWars'' trilogy, resulting in [[TheDogShotFirst the "Han Shot First" campaign]].
** He also did this to ''Film/THX1138''. His Director's Cut is the ''only'' version available on DVD.
* Creator/PeterJackson also has done this. In ''Film/TheFrighteners'', he removed some scenes to avoid an R-rating. It didn't work. One scene featured Johnny Bartlett's ghost and his AxCrazy live girlfriend engaging in what can only be described as the ''weirdest'' foreplay ''ever''. It features her [[spoiler: stabbing his ectoplasmic chest with a butcher knife and him acting like he's having sex]]. Another scene features a more family-friendly death scene for Jeffrey Combs' character that has been shown in the airline and television versions of the film. Both versions have been released on DVD, but the Director's Cut has a behind-the-scenes special that's actually ''longer'' than the film.

* Varying releases of ''Film/BladeRunner'' over the years have resulted in ''five'' distinct versions: The original Domestic cut (which includes a Raymond Chandler-style voiceover, and a happy ending, which used footage left over from Film/TheShining); An International Cut (which is the same as the Domestic version save for some additional gore during a particularly violent scene near the end); A Workprint Version (a rough cut which preceded the theatrical cuts, notably put together before scoring, which started being shown clandestinely at sci-fi conventions in the 90's); A so-called Director's Cut (released on DVD in 1998, which removed the voice-over and ending, which was more to Creator/RidleyScott's liking, but was not created with his actual involvement); And lastly, the Final Cut, released in 2008 for the film's 25th anniversary, which Scott shot new footage featuring actress Joanna Cassidy and Benjamin Ford (Harrison's son) that was digitally superimposed into existing scenes of the film (the cut itself is very similar to the 1998 version), along with giving the print an a extensive restoration since this was first time it was released on high-def formats. It's these 5 cuts that were released together in boxsets on DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray in 2008, and then re-released on DVD & Blu-Ray in 2013 for the film's 30th anniversary.
** While we're on Creator/RidleyScott, his film ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' was released in its theatrical cut (which he hated), and in a multi-disc Director's Cut, with which director, film critics, and many viewers were much happier.
*** Specifically, the director's cut was over an hour longer and included a whole cut storyline, and several important pieces of character development.

** Another case of a Creator/RidleyScott Recut is ''Film/{{Alien}}''. When Fox requested a "Director's Cut" for the Special Edition release, Scott felt that an extended cut would ruin the film's pacing, and instead opted for an alternate cut using several deleted scenes. The end result was a "Director's Cut" that was actually two minutes shorter than the original film.
*** He specifically mentions in his introduction of the DVD that it's not a Director's Cut, seeing how he was and still is perfectly happy with the original theatrical cut, but can be seen as simply an alternate version only created because Fox asked him to.
** Creator/RidleyScott's ''[[Film/RobinHood2010 Robin Hood]]'' lost at least twenty minutes of footage before its theatrical release, including a scene that created a major plot hole. The Director's Cut DVD release restores it all.
* After nearly finishing production on ''Film/SupermanII'', director Richard Donner was fired and replaced with Richard Lester, who reshot much of the film. The original theatrical cut is about 35% Donner footage and 65% Lester footage. In 2006, Richard Donner released his own cut of the film on DVD, which is composed of about 90% of his material, and makes use of rehearsal footage and screen tests to make up the parts he never got a chance to film properly.
** Speaking of Franchise/{{Superman}} and Richard Donner, the Director's Cut of [[Film/{{Superman}} the original film]] has ''also'' been released on DVD. This version adds some verisimilitude (sorry, couldn't resist) as well as some new scenes to the cut. Some of these scenes expand on the Kryptonian stuff in the film, as well a scene featuring little Lois seeing little Clark running at superspeed. Her parents are played by the actors from the original TV series.

* A similar thing was done in 2009 for the reissue of the ''Series/StargateSG1'' PilotMovie, "Children of the Gods". Not only did the revised version clear up some at-the-time unfixed plot points (like how Apophis and his Jaffa departed through the Stargate in the beginning) and the motivation for Teal'c's MookFaceTurn, but also removed such cringe-inducing moments like the nudity scene or Carter's infamous "[[DorkAge reproductive organs]]" line. This came about from series creator Brad Wright's growing dissatisfaction with the original version, particularly with the full frontal nudity which was rumored to have been forced on him by then-series owners {{Showtime}}.

** During the filming of [[Film/HalloweenII1981 the first sequel]], Creator/JohnCarpenter shot more scenes for the ABC broadcast of [[Film/{{Halloween 1978}} the original]] to help it pad out the alotted time. These scenes don't do much; most of the added scenes occur at the beginning, with Loomis warning a board of health about Michael. One scene does manage to add something - Loomis and the hospital staff examine Michael's old room, where he has written the word "sister" on the wall, presumably in blood. This actually [[spoiler: helps establish the twist in part 2, that Laurie is Michael's biological sister.]]

* Another victim of ExecutiveMeddling was ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening''. When it ran over time and budget, [[ExecutiveMeddling the suits]] just couldn't ''wait'' to screw ''this'' pooch. The main difference between the Theatrical Cut and the Renegade Cut is that the immortals are NOT from freakin' space, but from the ancient past and predate humanity. The planet Zeist plotline was so clumsily added that it created one massive logic hole concerning [=MacLeod's=] reactivation of his immortal nature. This was handled in the Theatrical Cut with what had to be the ''worst'' explanation scene ever. Both have since been released on DVD.
** [[Film/{{Highlander}} The original film]] also has a director's cut that adds some cut material back in-like the Kurgan licking the priest's arm, which had been cut in the US for being potentially offensive and the World War 2 scene showing Rachel's origin.

* Spielberg later caught some flack from his re-cut of ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', which like the ''StarWars'' special editions, have redone special effects (mostly CG expressions added to the E.T. puppet) and some cut scenes. Fans were especially upset that the FBI agents [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms had their guns replaced with walkie-talkies]], an obvious difference made all the more obvious by the FBI agents holding their walkie-talkies in both hands... with their index fingers extended.
** With the Blu-Ray, Spielberg has gone in the opposite direction, only releasing the original version. He's changed the stance to an "anti-Lucas" feeling old films should be left alone as they were.
* Disney made Special Editions of both ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' and ''Disney/TheLionKing'' for IMAX theaters (and prepared ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''). Along with remastering the films for the larger IMAX format, each film got an additional musical number; in both cases the songs were taken from the stage versions, although ''Beauty'''s "Human Again" was really a CutSong from the movie. Unlike ''Franchise/StarWars'', Disney had the foresight of making both the original and special editions included on the DVD releases, although neither "original" one was the original animation. (In the case of ''Beauty and the Beast'', a third version was added, a work-in-progress print shown on the New York Film Festival prior to the film's release, previously available as a separate laserdisc.)
** ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'' also had a special edition, although it was not released theatrically. It added "If I Never Knew You", a CutSong that did poorly in test screenings but better-establishes the lovers' relationship as the film's climax approaches.

* Terry Jones was never happy with the original version of ''Film/ErikTheViking''. Some years later he supervised a re-edit that was carried out by his son, referred to as the "Director's Son's Cut". However, the quality of the recut is up for debate among fans, many of whom consider the recut to mangle the film and remove most of the funny non sequiter scenes. Definitely a YMMV.

* The Director's Cut of ''TheButterflyEffect'' has additional scenes and a ''much'' darker ending: [[spoiler:'''pre-natal suicide''']].
* Vincent Gallo's infamous film ''The Brown Bunny'' debuted at the Cannes Film Festival to much disdain; RogerEbert called it "the worst film in the history of Cannes."[[note]]This later led to a (highly entertaining) feud between Ebert and Gallo.[[/note]] Later, when the film appeared in United States theaters, it had been re-edited, removing 26 minutes from what had been a 118 minute film, and Ebert gave the new version three out of four stars, saying that it was amazing how much of a difference the editing made.
** To understand how much of a difference: the Cannes-cut apparently was ''Padding: TheMovie'' with long sequences of the main character driving with bugs clashing against the windshield and when he did something like changing his shirt, critics started cheering.

* In 2001 ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' was re-edited by Creator/FrancisFordCoppola into a new extended version titled ''Apocalypse Now Redux'', which adds almost an hour of additional footage and is regarded by the director as an entirely different film (however opinions with critics and viewers are mixed to whether it is superior to the original, Redux adds context and makes the editing and the story more smooth but slows down the pace of an otherwise long movie).
** Strangely, the DVD of the original movie received an "18" (years and over) rating in Britain, while ''Redux'' only got a "15" despite including ''all'' of the language and violence from the original. Possibly the censors felt the violence was less concentrated in the longer version.
* Every ''Franchise/KamenRider'' movie since ''[[Series/KamenRiderAgito Project G4]]'' has had a Director's Cut released, adding at least a bit of new footage. In the case of ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO I'm Born!]]'', it also added new songs for both hero and villain.

* In the theatrical version of ''TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'' "Fuck You" is embroidered across the back of Freddy's jacket. In order to be able to show the movie on television, scenes were reshot with a jacket that reads "Television Version."
* ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' was first conceived by Creator/RichardWilliams (who would eventually become animation director of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'') in 1964, but spent almost 30 years in DevelopmentHell. Williams eventually signed a deal with WarnerBros. in 1990 to release the film, but they had no faith in it since the film took way too long to release, plus Disney was about to come out with their version of ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', so they pulled out. Then, the Completion Bond Company bought the rights to it in 1992, and a year later, producer Fred Calvert with Majestic Films released it in South Africa and Australia as ''The Princess and the Cobbler''. Many of the scenes from Williams' workprint were cut, plus new dialogue, songs, voices ([[SuddenlyVoiced where there really weren't any before]]), and scenes ([[OffModel poorly]] [[ArtShift animated]] by various companies and freelance artists across the world) were hastily added in. In 1995, it would be released in the U.S. by {{Miramax}} as ''Arabian Knight'' (later under the original title), where even more was butchered. An unofficial "Recobbled Cut" was made by a fan in 2006 that restored Williams' original vision as much as possible, but Williams has since [[CreatorBacklash disowned the film]] regardless.

* ''{{Salt}}'' saw two additional cuts on DVD, both with different endings that cut the SequelHook: a [[http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=117156 Director's Cut]] (where [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins]]) and an [[http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=54639 Extended Cut]] (where [[spoiler:Salt goes to Russia]]).
* The film version of ''TheOutsiders'' was re-released as ''The Outsiders: The Complete Novel'' - deleted scenes that were in the book but not the original film were added back in, and more licensed music from the time period was added.
* The American release version of ''TheManWhoFellToEarth'' was cut by about twenty minutes; this was partially to avoid an X rating for its graphic sexual content. Other scenes were reordered (this movie is not ''quite'' linear). Eventually the original cut was made available in the U.S., and it's this one that appears in TheCriterionCollection.
* ''Film/TheProfessional / Leon'' exists in two different versions. ''The Professional'' is the American cut; ''Leon'' is the international cut (sometimes called ''version integrale''.) The American version is edited down mainly to remove any [[GreyandGrayMorality moral quandaries]] about Matilda's actions - in the longer international version her crush on Leon is not so innocent, and more training scenes show her assisting with actual hits.
* While nowadays considered the FranchiseKiller prequel to ''{{Gettysburg}}'', ''GodsAndGenerals'' actually received a standing ovation at its first pre-release screening. However, it ran for almost 5 hours. The studio's solution: cut it down to a more managable 3 1/2. This theatrical version, while shorter, didn't have a central theme or even much of a narrative structure. It was subsequently lambasted by critics, ignored by audiences (although many who actually bothered to see it claimed to enjoy it), and wound up being such a financial bomb that the studio didn't even bother releasing the original cut until 8 years later in 2011. Among other things, the longer version edits out some of the religious preaching, adds a subplot with a young John Wilkes Booth, and includes the Battle of Antietam. So far, several people have said that this new cut fixes most (if not all) of the theatrical cut's main problems.
* ''TheGrudge'' Director's Cut features several new and extended scenes, serving to add more depth to the characters, depict more explicit violence and [[GrossUpCloseUp grisly imagery]] (such as the Saeki murders being shown in more detail - the theatrical version barely shows any of it - and explaining Kayako's death rattle and her unsettling, jerky movement, as well as longer shots of [[spoiler:Yoko's disembodied jaw and, later, her mutilated face]]), and to add to the feel and atmosphere. Also, Susan's vignette is switched around.
* The original release of ''[[AustinPowers Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery]]'' had two scenes replaced for later DVD versions. In the original theatrical and VHS versions, in the scene where the unfrozen Dr. Evil proposes a plan, after unsuccessfully suggesting to blackmail the royal family by revealing that Prince Charles had an affair and would have to divorce (Number Two reveals that Prince Charles already had an affair and is divorced), Dr. Evil proposes to use a laser to make a hole in the ozone layer to increase the risk of skin cancer, unless the world pays him a "hefty ransom." Number Two says, "That also has already been done." However, in latest DVD releases, Number Two says, "That also already has happened." Both clips were probably filmed on the same day, and one of them was used in the original release before replacing it with the other.
** The initial release of the film was after the fatal car accident of Princess Diana (the one Prince Charles divorced), so they eliminated the "blackmailing the Royal Family" plot and probably made Dr. Evil just attempt to plan to shoot a laser in the ozone layer and tweak it enough for Number Two to say "That has already been done," minus the "also."
** The other scene is when Austin is in the bathroom looking for Number Two, who has set a trap for him. Austin sits on the toilet and is attacked in a compartment by Dr. Evil's Irish assassin Paddy O'Brien. Austin grunts as he fights with O'Brien, and a Texan (Tom Arnold) is in another compartment thinking Austin is crapping. Austin groans "DO...YOU...WORK...FOR...NUMBER TWO!! DO...YOU...WORK...FOR...NUMBER TWO!!", prompting the Texan to respond "You show that turd who's boss!" In the later versions, the "DO YOU WORK FOR NUMBER TWO!" take is replaced by a take filmed around the time of the originally released clip, but this time it's "WHO...DOES...NUMBER...TWO...WORK...FOR! WHO...DOES...NUMBER...TWO...WORK...FOR!" The reason for all these minor edits is unclear.
* MichaelMann released Director's Cuts for ''MiamiVice'', ''{{Ali}}'', ''Film/TheLastOfTheMohicans'' and ''Film/{{Manhunter}}'', but all of his films were re-cut in some way following their theatrical runs for DVD release. The changes are minor, and are rarely more than slight changes in dialogue scenes.

* ''NightOfTheLivingDead: 30th Anniversary Edition'', which is often regarded as inferior to the original due to an obnoxious soundtrack and badly spliced in new scenes.

* ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' has gone through a few editions. Director Creator/RobertWise considered the original theatrical release a "rough cut", due to it being rushed to meet Creator/{{Paramount}}'s premiere date (to the point where the film reels were still wet from developing when they were shipped out). An extended cut appeared on Creator/{{ABC}} and was released on [=VHS=] as a "Special Longer Edition" in 1983, though there were issues with some of the added footage, some of which was from the original version of the "Spock Walk" with different spacesuits (with one shot of Kirk featuring a very visible sound stage). Wise would later revisit the work, supervising the "Special Director's Edition" [=DVD=] release in 2001, which allowed him to complete the film closer to what he had intended in 1979, had he had more time. Interestingly enough, the first Blu-Ray release of ''The Motion Picture'' is the theatrical cut, and as of early 2014, the Director's Edition has yet to be released on Blu-Ray.

* ''[[Film/DawnOfTheDead Dawn of the Dead]]'' is another legendary example of this. There are three "official" cuts of the film: the Romero-cut, the Argento-cut and the so-called Director's Cut. The Romero-cut was prepared for the American and UK theatrical releases by director George A. Romero himself. It has some comedic elements and an ironic, "comic-book like" feel. It uses a combination of soundtrack produced by the band Goblins and royalty-free library music. Romero censured a lot of gore he believed to be superfluous from this version. It is Romero's final and preferred cut of the film. The Argento-cut (sometimes referred to as Zombi after it's Italian title) was edited by Creator/DarioArgento for the mainland European theatrical releases. Compered to Romero's cut it is grimmer with a more serious mood. Argento made it shorter than Romero's cut to be more action oriented and have tighter pacing, but also lost a lot of character development in the proses. The gore however is left intact.[[note]]It does however not future the infamous chopper scene that the two other cuts have. Probably because of the scene's humors undertones.[[/note]] It uses the Goblins score through-out, utilizing none of the library music. The Director's Cut (sometimes refereed to as the Cannes-cut or the extended cut) is usually assumed to be the cut that Romero prepared for film's screening at Cannes. It is similar to Romero's final cut, but have uncensored gore and is even longer. Because of this it have the most content of any of the cuts, but also is the one with the worst pacing. Furthermore it completely lacks the Goblins score and use only the library music. As none of these cuts were created from any of the other cuts, but rather made (to some degree) independently, each version have unique scenes and they sometimes use different shots of the same scene. Of these three cut fans usually prefer the cut they watched first. In addition there are many cuts produced for more specific international screenings, TV and home releases based on these three cuts. Most of these was made for censorship, but some merge content from two or more of the "official" cuts or add scenes to explain the source of the zombie outbreak and there is even one version that [[CompressedAdaptation cuts the film down to only 48 minutes.]] There's a box set going by the name of "Dawn of the Dead, The Ultimate Edition" which features the three "official" cuts described above (Romero-cut, Argento-cut and the "Director's Cut").
* The TV version of ''HappyGilmore'' had Happy confronting the orderly who has been enslaving old ladies including his grandmother and punching him out ther window. The theatrical and DVD versions cut this scene, making the orderly a KarmaHoudini and [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse left that subplot unresolved]]. One DVD release does feature this scene (among others) as a Deleted Scene in the Special Features.
* The French 1980s art-house classic, ''Film/BettyBlue'' was re-released in 1991 in a Director's Cut that added over ''one hour'' of additional footage to the film. While this may seem excessive (for a film that already seemed to revel in excess), the extra scenes shed considerable light on various plot points; Betty's descent into madness, for example, is better contextualised in this new version.

* ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral'' has a particularly complex range of alternate versions. Many versions, especially the UK one, were heavily cut to censor the graphic violence and torture scenes. Unconnectedly, the film's producers added additional scenes, in particular to certain European releases, featuring sex and nudity between Hopkins's henchmen and bar girls, which the director, Michael Reeves, was very unhappy with. Reeves's early death meant that he wasn't around in the home video age to advise on an official "director's cut". There are a number of quite different versions circulating that have been released for home video, screened in cinemas, or broadcast, some of which contain both the violence and the sex, some of which contain only one of them, and some of which have neither.
* {{Underworld}} has an Extended Cut. Director Len Wiseman makes it very clear in the commentary that he does not consider either the theatrical or extended cuts his true vision, but seems to understand the reasoning behind both; the theatrical cut having been cut down for time, and the extended cut having a mixture of scenes he wanted to add back in, and extra footage he regarded as useless, [[ViewersAreMorons so that the studio could lure in as many repeat buyers as possible by bragging about the number of minutes added back in]].

* When [[Creator/TerryPratchett Sir Terry Pratchett's]] publishers finally got fed up of sending out thousands of letters saying there was no demand for a reprint of ''TheCarpetPeople'' (his first novel and bordering on OldShame), it was only after Pratchett rewrote substantial amounts of the novel. Part of this was to correct what he saw as simple poor writing by his younger self, but he also felt the need to change the political messages of the novel from the original's simplistic HighFantasy monarchism to reflect his grown-up respect for democracy.
* Doubleday Publishers thought Stephen King's ''TheStand'' was too big, so the original edition had about 500 pages trimmed. Twelve years, later they released the Complete and Uncut edition, with the pages restored and some updating by King.

* ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''{{QI}}'' have extended versions of their shows, broadcast the following night: ''Have I Got A Bit More News For You'' and ''QI XL'' respectively. However, some of these were not shown on Creator/TheBBC for various reasons (The next night having sport on instead, and sometimes due to sensitivity of the material.) These episodes tend to get their first airing on ''Dave''.

** Similarly, when it premiered after the Kids Choice Awards, {{Victorious}} aired its first episode as an extended version with three minutes of added footage. It has not aired again since but can be downloaded on iTunes.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'': The first season (1993) was eight episodes long, and succeeded by five "special" half-hours made over the span of three years (1991-1993). These were used to fill out the first season, and therefore had the opening credits sequence edited in. Mike Maronna, Big Pete's actor, had gone through puberty in between the first special and first season, meaning that the theme song depicted him as much taller and more-mature looking than he was in the actual episode. Vey jarring.

* Network reruns of ''SaturdayNightLive'' sometimes differ greatly from the originally aired live show; this can range from minor fixes of technical glitches and removal of promotions for the next live show (especially common when Don Pardo announced them over the end credits), to changes in the running order, to even the removal of controversial or poorly received material, replaced by sketches from other shows or unaired material. Since 1985, the dress rehearsal is recorded for all shows, and the rerun version may either use the dress take or a combination of scenes from dress and air.

[[folder:Videogames]]
* VideoGame/TheWitcher2 received a free Enhanced edition that added cutscenes between acts, adds new major sidequests in the third act (one for the Roche path and one for Iorveth's path), as well as enhanced the ending, showing more of the results of your actions and adding an outro scene.
* VideoGame/MassEffect3 recieved a free Extended Cut (as downloadable content) in response to the poor reception [[BrokenBase of its ending]]. It extends the original ending by approximately ten minutes of new content, fixes several plot holes, retcons the status of the Mass Relays, and adds slideshows representing the result of multiple plotlines.
* The first two ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'' games each have a Director's Cut in most recent ports. Most notable is the sequel, ''Time Warp'', in which a special brief scene plays the first time you grab each one of the treasures; and once you collect all of the treasures, it triggers a short, alternate Level 7 [[spoiler:in which, after Dirk [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throws the sword at Mordroc]] as the wizard places the Death Ring on Daphne's finger, instead of being turned into a monster like in the original, she suddenly falls in a deathly faint and vanishes, leaving the ring lying on the floor; and you suddenly find her lying on her bed after defeating him. This kinda counts as either FridgeBrilliance or FridgeLogic]].
* VideoGame/ResidentEvil games 1 and 2 both feature directors cuts. They each add a bit more content, re-arrange a few items and enemies, and feature improved music. They didn't change the voice acting, though ([[NarmCharm Thank God]]).
[[/folder]]

* WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} had this indignity foisted on it with its PilotMovie. According to WordOfGod, it was originally aired as a five-parter, this was trimmed into ''much'' shorter version to be shown in conjunction with a Disneyland ''Gargoyles'' ride. When the House of Mouse decided to release it on videocassette, they chose the shorter version because it had already been cleaned up. The longer has since been released on DVD.

* David Morgan-Mar edited and resubmitted one of the ''IrregularWebcomic'' podcasts to add some missing sound effects and commented that he had "done a GeorgeLucas".
** He's also gone back and edited an earlier strip (Strip #1639), which featured an appearance by ThePope, because someone sent him a customized Lego Pope figure and he wanted to include it in place of his own version.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' was first conceived by RichardWilliams (who would eventually become animation director of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'') in 1964, but spent almost 30 years in DevelopmentHell. Williams eventually signed a deal with WarnerBros. in 1990 to release the film, but they had no faith in it since the film took way too long to release, plus Disney was about to come out with their version of ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', so they pulled out. Then, the Completion Bond Company bought the rights to it in 1992, and a year later, producer Fred Calvert with Majestic Films released it in South Africa and Australia as ''The Princess and the Cobbler''. Many of the scenes from Williams' workprint were cut, plus new dialogue, songs, voices ([[SuddenlyVoiced where there really weren't any before]]), and scenes ([[OffModel poorly]] [[ArtShift animated]] by various companies and freelance artists across the world) were hastily added in. In 1995, it would be released in the U.S. by {{Miramax}} as ''Arabian Knight'' (later under the original title), where even more was butchered. An unofficial "Recobbled Cut" was made by a fan in 2006 that restored Williams' original vision as much as possible, but Williams has since [[CreatorBacklash disowned the film]] regardless.

* In 2001 ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' was re-edited by Creator/FrancisFordCoppola into a new extended version titled ''Apocalypse Now Redux'', which adds almost an hour of additional footage and is regarded by the director as an entirely different film (and held by most viewers and critics to be inferior to the original).

* ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''{{QI}}'' have extended versions of their shows, broadcast the following night: ''Have I Got A Bit More News For You'' and ''QI XL'' respectively. However, some of these were not shown on TheBBC for various reasons (The next night having sport on instead, and sometimes due to sensitivity of the material.) These episodes tend to get their first airing on ''Dave''.