I would be surprised if The Keep actually attained a 3.5 hour run time on its initial cut. From years of researching this elusive cut, a maximum run time of between 2.5hrs and 3hrs is probably more realistic. The problem then is the death of SFX maestro Wally Veevers during the production. This resulted in a lot of SFX scenes not being finished. Therefore, whatever material is left in Paramount's vaults will be a mix of complete and incomplete, and if a Director's Cut is ever to emerge, then Michael Mann's co-operation and a lot of time and patience will be required.
A look at the alternate ending footage earlier in this thread gives an indication as to how much was chopped out and even this was not the original ending... The treatment of The Keep by the studio at the time remains one of the most infuriating cock ups within Hollywood's long list of clangers frankly.
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