I'll go for branching too.....but if it's a choice,well depends what those scenes are and how pivotal they are to the film.

The branching option does seem the most popular.

it really does depend on what is actually in the scenes.

If its a murder or a critical piece of dialogue for example then it HAS to be in the film.

If its just a car driving away, or a door closing etc then i guess the scenes could be left out.

A tough call to make without more info of the scenes.

Since they're "short scenes" I'd rather have them as extras.

I would prefer the branching option, so that people could choose between a complete cut with varying quality, or a slightly abridged cut in full HD. As stated, Lionsgate did the same thing to good effect with their release of My Bloody Valentine.

Would need to at least see some screen caps of how poor the quality actually is, I think. And I'm not goofing just to get a peek, I'm serious. Are they actually from VHS or are they just scratched up (green lines, etc)?

As far as I know it's just damaged footage from the original that they had to leave out when they had a HD master made.

As for all the comments about a "branching option" - it's not actually an option at this stage because Shameless haven't given it to me as an option to present to you. It may be something they'll consider after seeing these comments but for now the only two options are leaving the footage in, or taking it out and including it as an extra.

I'll see if Shameless can give me more details on what the scenes consist of, but I doubt I'll be able to get screenshots of the quality as the guys there are super-busy at the moment!

Just had a wee bit more info from Shameless.

Firstly, they are looking into branching but it could be too costly for them to do so at the moment it's just not an option. It's that old production costs vs. sales issue that rears its ugly head quite regularly for small companies like Shameless.

They're super-busy at the moment so I couldn't get specifics as to where the scenes come in the film but they could tell be that half of the damage looks like reel-change-damage and therefore half of the damaged scenes/sequences are not really consequential to the flow of the film.

However, the other half of the sequences/scenes may be relevant to the scene immediately following (so, I would imagine, establishing shots and the like).

So... Leave them in or take them out and include them as extras? It's a tough decision which is why Shameless are interested in the opinions of you guys!

Then leave them in. on my shitty tv itl make no difference anyway haha. seriously though, retain the film as a whole please.

Originally I would have said have them as extras but thinking about it more it may be best to keep them in, this way you can market the film as being the most complete cut available (which will be a real must buy for Argento fans). I guess Shameless could have a pre warning comment come up at the beginning to state that the film contains scenes that drop in image quality, or something along those lines.
It will definitely be a 'completist' release for some people who'd want the full directors intended version of the film.
Just my thoughts!

On hearing the updated information from Shameless, I would be another who is now swaying towards leaving them in (if branching is not possible), rather than including them as extras.

Establishing shots would definitely look better as part of the film in my opinion, and may look slightly odd as stand-alone scenes presented in the extras.