Movie Editing

I'm watching The Man in the Iron Mask on TV right now. This version is much different from the theatrical release and the VHS version. (I used to show it for my History class so I am quite familar with it)

This version is much better in many ways. The additional scenes add depth to some characters and improve the plot.

One thing many people don't realize, or at least don't think about, is that every movie has extra scenes that don't make the final version of the movie. Sometimes some of these scenes are used to create a director's cut, and often some are used to turn an R rated movie into something that can be show on TV. (Sometimes this can be a disaster. Take Cheech & Chong's Next Movie, the TV version exchanges diamonds for marijuana, and so mangles the movie it literally makes no sense. I have never understood whey they tried to show it on TV.)

With the coming of age of DVDs, and especially special edition DVDs, I'd like to see most movies released on DVD in three versions in the same package: the theatrical release, the director's cut, and a version with as many of the scenes included as possible.

This way we preserve the historical version, we allow the director to put forth his vision, and we provide fans with as much as the story and film as possible.