Theatrical versus Special Edition Releases

[Truth66]

If this topic has been covered before, my appologies.
A buddy of mine and I are usually attracted to buying movies that are released on DVD/Bluray that are ones that have extra footage that was not in the original theatrical release.
Personally after I watch a movie that has the extra footage, I rarely watch the theatrical version ever again because I feel that I'm being short changed by parts of the story taken out.
When the original cast Star Trek movies were released on Bluray, I was quickly upset. These movies were the original theatrical releases and not the ones that were released containing the extra footage. Most of us know that Star Trek the Motion Picture was redone with an upgrade of the special effects when it was released on DVD, yet this was not released on Bluray. Star Treks 2 & 6 both have extra footage in the 2 disk DVD realeases, but not the Bluray versions. Needless to say I've never watched the Blurays since.
One of my all time favourite SciFi/Horror films is Aliens. As many recall that there was a Special Edition released on DVD with loads of extra footage. Now I'm not aware of this movie being out on Bluray. But, I can guarantee that if it's not the special edition version, I'm not buying it.
What versions of films do others prefer & why?

[SmileOfTheShadow]

Interesting, obviously with Star Wars I prefer the originals. I don't want a bunch of gunk in my backgrounds.

Lord of the Rings is a key one where special editions not in theatres are important. There's nearly hours of extra scenes in there.

There's not many movies where I honestly have seen them enough to tell the difference, honestly.

[Jonas]

With many movies, I prefer the extended/updated/director's cut versions (including Star Wars), but there are some exceptions: the director's cut of Dark City is actually inferior to the original, because the added scenes harm the pacing of the movie, and I think the extended edition of The Return of the King makes a bad movie worse (attack of the rolling skulls anyone?).

Best extended edition of a movie I've ever seen is Untitled, the extended version of Almost Famous. It adds great material and really makes the journey of the characters more detailed and more complete.

[Truth66]

What Irony. I just came across this site which has two videos about the pending release of the Alien movies on Bluray. Obviously my question would be, which versions?

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/45972

[vakie]

I agree with Jonas, it's not always so obvious that the extended/special version is better, so I wouldn't automatically buy or not buy something based on that. If a scene is cut from the movie, there usually is a good reason for it, be it pacing or some other problems it creates. It may be interesting for fans of the film to see the scene, but it may actually make the film worse than improve it.

For Star Wars, I like the originals, but for different reasons the special editions as well. LOTR, I usually prefer the extended ones, but the theatrical cuts work too.

A recent example where I thought the theatrical cut was better: Watchmen. I felt some of the extra scenes added didn't really add anything important, or just felt wrong. It was obvious why they were taken out: they just didn't work.

So for me, I'll take the version that works best.

[Zoltan]

Kingdom of Heaven is a good example, as it makes more sense in the director's cut version (45 minutes longer) and adds another level of richness to the characters' motivations.

I'm curious about the director's cut of Alexander since the theatrical version was indeed confusing sometimes.

Otherwise I like extended (or even only deleted scenes) because they're often character moments which give more background information and thus better understanding to the most important question: "why?".

[Jonas]

I'm curious about the director's cut of Alexander since the theatrical version was indeed confusing sometimes.

As far as I know, the director's cut of Alexander is actually shorter. There is also an extended edition, though.

[DGTWoodward]

One of my all time favourite SciFi/Horror films is Aliens. As many recall that there was a Special Edition released on DVD with loads of extra footage. Now I'm not aware of this movie being out on Bluray. But, I can guarantee that if it's not the special edition version, I'm not buying it.
What versions of films do others prefer & why?

for USA fans...

http://www.dvdworldusa.com/shopexd.asp?id=74872

for UK fans

http://www.play.com/DVD/Blu-ray/4-/15844567/Alien-Anthology-Limited-Edition-Collector-Set-With-Illuminated-Egg-Statue/Product.html

[Garibaldi's Hair]

Here is an EMpire article on special editions that you guys might find interesting ... both the films you just mentioned are in it.

Click Me ...