Take the director out of the director’s cut
It used to be that when you bought a copy of a movie you loved, you got exactly what you saw in the theaters. Occasionally, directors would bring out “director’s cuts” of their movies - new edits that present the movie the way the director had originally intended the movie to be. That’s great when the theatrical release was butchered by studio politics.
Lucas took it a step further by updating a much loved film, Star Wars, each time it was issued in a new medium. Spielberg followed suit with a remixed version of ET, with a new computer-generated alien. Peter Jackson built his remix into the filmmaking process, creating a monster 12+ hour version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in addition to the theatrical version. These remixes and director’s cuts are interesting curiosities, but are they really worthwhile?
Directors must make tough decisions throughout the process of making a movie, balancing realities like budget, pacing, performance, etc. Spend a ton more money to make the effects better? Keep that amazingly acted and shot scene you love, even though it’s a bit of a distraction? Great movies materialize when the director’s decisions sacrifices in favor of the story. William Faulkner said, “filmmaking is the process of murdering your children.” By being forced to sacrifice favorite scenes, effects, and performances in service of telling a story, the director gradually releases their own ego. All that remains is the story. It’s the eastern ideal of surrendering your own intent to reach a higher state of artistry.
By it’s very name, a director’s cut is the reinsertion of the director’s ego into the picture. They solve their pet peeve problems that nobody else saw (thus drawing attention to them). They reinsert needless scenes. They make the film for themselves. In the ET bonus materials, Spielberg talks about why he reworked the 20th anniversary edition: “Wouldn’t it be great to re-issue it? … To bring it back out again, with a couple of enhancements to sort of please the perfectionist inside myself.”
Revisiting old work is a great way to measure how you’ve grown and to try new ideas in old stories. Just remember that it’s for yourself, your own study. If you told the story well in the first place, and people loved it, it doesn’t matter if the creature looked plastic. Movies that stay true to the story will always be remembered far more than any remix.
