A director's cut of a movie can sometimes change a movie entirely, or make an okay movie into a great one. It's expected that Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League will do just that, but that director's cut will only have taken four years to be released. Some director's cuts take much longer. This article will list the ones that have taken the longest.
There are director's cuts that had official releases a long time after the film's original debut, but that had existed already or been shown widely enough within a few years of release. So, those movies won't be included here. Other films had a long gap between the theatrical and director's cuts, but not as long as these films. So, here are 10 films with director's cuts years after their release.
The Original Star Wars Trilogy (14-20 Years)
The original Star Wars trilogy was re-released in 1997. While controversial among fans, George Lucas has claimed that these versions of the films are what he originally intended. Included in these editions were additional and altered scenes or shots and some newer visual effects. Lucas updated the films again in 2004 and once more in 2011. Recently, all three films saw minor adjustments when added to Disney Plus in 2019.
While some changes are still debated by fans today (Han Shot First, right?), some changes fixed certain continuity issues and were more accepted. These include correcting Luke's lightsaber to blue on the Millennium Falcon, and Ian McDiarmid filming as the Emperor for the hologram conversation with Darth Vader.
The Leopard (20 Years)
The Leopard was directed by Luchino Visconti. Released in 1963, the film's original cut was 3 hours and 25 minutes, but Visconti decided that it was too long. He cut it by 20 minutes for theaters. But in America, the film was cut to 2 hours and 41 minutes, and all Italian and French dialogue was dubbed over in English. Visconti didn't like the cuts or dubbing.
The film was originally not well-received in America. In 1983, the 3 hour and 5-minute version with the original Italian and French dialogue was finally released in America. Some critics have pointed out what a difference a director's cut like this can make to a film, with many now calling it a great movie.
Apocalypse Now (22 Years)
Apocalypse Now was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and originally released in 1979. Ford himself debuted Apocalypse Now Redux in 2001, even showing it in theaters. This took the film from 2 and a half hours to nearly 3 and a half, restoring many scenes from Coppola's initial cut.
In 2019, Coppola released the Final Cut of the film. This version is shorter than Redux. While Coppola has said this is his preferred version of the film, Redux counts as the entry for this article because Coppola himself oversaw it.
Blade Runner (25 Years)
Blade Runner debuted in 1982. An original workprint was shown to test audiences, and a one-time showing after that added a couple of scenes, including the forced "happy ending" that the studio wanted to tack on to the original ambiguous ending. The theatrical cut removed the new scenes, except the "happy ending," and added narration from Harrison Ford. An international cut added additional violence.
A 1986 television version changed the opening text. In 1992, a "Director's Cut" was released that had no involvement from Ridley Scott. While the narration and "happy ending" were removed, Scott didn't like the editing of the film. "The Final Cut" was released in 2007, which kept out the narration and "happy ending." It also added the violence from the international cut. Most importantly, it added a full version of the unicorn dream sequence, which makes the ending take on an entirely different meaning.
Superman II (25 Years)
Superman II was released in 1981 and was credited to director Richard Lester. Richard Donner was filming the first two films simultaneously, and 75% of the second film was shot. Donner was fired and replaced by Lester. Lester reshot a lot of the film, but some cast and crew refused to return without Donner.
When a large amount of Donner's footage was found years later, the possibility arose to finish his cut. Donner had moved on from the experience and chose not to be a part of the reassembled cut. However, it was still mostly his footage used in the cut. Because he hadn't finished filming the sequel, there is some Lester footage in the Donner Cut. It was finally released in 2006.
Once Upon A Time In America (28 Years)
Once Upon a Time in America was directed by Sergio Leone and released in 1984. Originally, the film ran at almost 4 hours in Europe. In America, the film was reduced to 2 hours and 19 minutes. Leone's original cut was to be 4 hours and 29 minutes. But the current most-complete version available was first shown in 2011, at 4 hours and 11 minutes.
Martin Scorsese often works to preserve and restore films, and has promised to help Leone's family secure the rights to the remaining footage that wasn't in the 2011 cut. The footage is the subject of rights issues, so the current cut is as long as it can be at the moment.
Touch of Evil (40 Years)
Touch of Evil was directed by Orson Welles and released in 1958, clocking in at 1 hour and 33 minutes. Welles' original version of the film was released in 1998, more than 10 years after his death. This version was 1 hour and 51 minutes. Reshoots had been done with another director. Welles claimed that this happened without his knowledge.
After the screening of the cut with the reshoots, Welles had written a length memo to Universal on what needed to be changed, but they didn't act upon it. When the 1998 cut was assembled, editors followed Welles' memo and used as much of his footage as they could.
Napoleon (73 Years)
The 1927 film Napoleon was directed by Abel Gance. The film first showed in 1927, with one cut at 4 hours and another at over 9. It also saw various releases of between 3 and 7 hours. When the film came to America, it was cut to a mere 1 hour and 51 minutes.
Multiple attempts were made to restore the film, with 1980 having a 4 hour cut from Francis Ford Coppola and a 4 hour and 50 minute cut from Kevin Brownlow. In 1983, Brownlow was able to release a 5 hour and 13-minute cut. The most definitive version of the film today is Brownlow's 2000 cut, which comes in at 5 hours and 30 minutes, three times the length of the original American cut.
Greed (75 Years)
The 1924 film Greed, directed by Erich von Stroheim, had an original cut of over 9 hours. Stroheim cut the film at the request of studio executives but reached a point where he said he couldn't cut anymore. The executives instructed him to cut more anyway. He hired an editor to cut more of the film, but the studio then took control and had it cut further. Its initial release was 2 hours and 20 minutes long. Stroheim claimed it destroyed his masterpiece.
Turner Entertainment set out to restore the original version as much as possible in 1999. This included using many still shots of lost scenes and following Stroheim's original outline for the film. This resulted in a 4-hour cut that showed audiences the truest version of Stroheim's original film.
Metropolis (83 Years)
Metropolis premiered in 1927, directed by Fritz Lang. The film debuted in with a cut of 2 hours and 33 minutes. The story was rewritten in America to be shorter but also fit existing footage, resulting in a 2-hour movie. It was cut in England as well. Even screenings in were replaced with a cut of 2 hours. Nazi censors demanded more cuts because of Lang's political themes, and the movie was reduced to a very short 1 hour and 31 minutes. This became the most common version of the film for many years.
Various attempts were made to restore the film, slowly adding footage back in. By 2001, a 2 hour and 4-minute cut had been restored and screened. Then, a negative of the original version of the film was found in an archive in a museum in Argentina. It needed a lot of restoration, but most of the original film was finally released in 2010. This 2 hour and 28-minute cut contained scenes that hadn't been seen since 1927 and made the story make much more sense.
