Quote:
Originally Posted by fuzzymctiger  I think if the cut version is a theatrical cut or uses alternate shots/takes it should definitely be preserved and is worth having.
Cut for home video? Pointless to preserve |
My policy is that if a cut version is likely to be very familiar to a lot of potential customers, there's a good case for retaining it if only for nostalgia reasons - unless of course it's been butchered to the point of incomprehensibility, when it's a waste of disc space.
A case in point: the upcoming
Crimes of Passion. There are three cuts of this film - the R-rated US one, which is worthless (and director-disowned), the 107-minute international theatrical cut (which we know that Ken Russell personally signed off on) and a 112-minute "extended cut", whose bona fides are unclear. So while Arrow isn't bothering with the R-rated cut, they are including both of the others.
There may also be a more practical reason for including two versions - sometimes "uncut" versions have to be reassembled by splicing in footage of noticeably subpar quality which viewers may find distracting (
Hellraiser 3 and
Pray for Death are recent examples), so the R-rated versions are included because they offer an uninterrupted viewing experience at optimum technical quality. Come to think of it, the 112-minute version of
Crimes of Passion may well be a similar situation, as I don't know if 35mm materials for the offcuts still survive.