Watched both versions in the Ultimate Edition Blu Ray

In my honest opinion, there is no major contest. The Director's Cut is, hands down, the better version of the two.

That said, the Director's Cut isn't flawless by any means; it suffers from pacing issues and a fair amount of slow spots. The plot needed more oomph from the start; but that was a flaw that couldn't really be fixed no matter how short the American cut turned out to be. But it's much more fleshed out and its fairy tale essence is enhanced beautifully by Jerry Goldsmith's music. This is the sort of film that required a deeply rich symphonic score, and the late Goldsmith supplied it impeccably. His music is just so perfect for the setting.

The theatrical cut on the other hand… it's riddled with all sorts of problems. It's poorly edited, and loses a lot of the depth and complexity that the DC offers. And unfortunately, a lot of the cuts also cast Cruise's performance in a weak light. His character comes across as mono dimensional and uninteresting, not to mention remotely unbelievable. To be fair, in the DC his performance, too, is the weakest of the cast, but even then, his role is far more fleshed out. Having a kissing scene between Jack and Lilli in the opening scenes was clearly a mistake; it goes against the fairy tale innocence of the original. Even with the argument that both characters are innocents who are tempted with corruption, this change was still a grave mistake. The fairy scenes are also rushed, and the Meg Knucklebones bit comes across as so brief that he comes across as a wasted character. The DC does a far better job fleshing him out.

Also, as far as the Tangerine Dream score goes, sorry, but I'm putting my foot down. It is THE crippling blow for the American cut. Not only does the electronic-synthesized and occasional rock and roll not suit the fairy tale atmosphere of the film, it, like the cuts, comes across as rather reckless in its approach. Now there are occasions where providing a movie with an alternate score can actually be beneficial (Hayao Miyazaki's Laputa, for instance, had an arguably superior score for the Disney dubbed version, done by the original composer, upgraded from synthesizer to full orchestra. Longer though it may be, it is still a breathtaking and arguably more fitting accompaniment to what is essentially an action adventure tale), but in this case, the new score is distractingly out of place and feels rushed. Apparantly it was done at less than three weeks, which probably explains the haphazard approach. It's especially disjointing in the dress dance scene. The cuts made to that scene are bad enough, but Tangerine Dream's cue for that scene is badly timed to the choreography and is devoid of any genuine passion and intrigue. On that level, Goldsmith's score excels. The dance was clearly written to be set to Goldsmith's version. Simply put, it's mismatched.

Likewise, the pop song in the final scene was a mistake. "Loved by the Sun" may not be a bad song, per say, but it simply doesn't fit with the atmosphere of the story. Likewise, the rock and roll song over the closing credits was also a serious blunder. Again, it doesn't suit the nature of the story. So in the case of Legend, I say that the decision for Tangerine Dream's score not only reeks of corporate stupidity, but isn't a particularly well thought out or executed change to begin with, period. The added in songs only made it worse. Now I know some people have issues with Lilli singing in the DC, but frankly, I find that more fitting than those two songs.

The only bits of the TC that I thought were intriguing were the additional shots of Darkness in his chair. The restoration of the unicorn's alicorn was also nice to see. On the flip side, however, I think Ridley's decision to keep Darkness shrouded up until the dance scene is over makes his appearance more impactful, and having the restoration of the unicorn implied instead of shown makes an interesting case of "show and don't tell".

I understand that some people prefer the TC, but to me when I first saw the movie in that form, I found it to be a brilliant to look at but very confusing and choppy film with slapdash editing. For me, the DC enhanced Legend and arguably made it a heck of a better movie. To this day, I find it difficult to even watch the TC OR listen to the Dream score because of all the ineptness involved with it.

I like the theatrical version more. The pacing, music, and ending were better. Most of the added scenes in the Director's Cut felt like filler and didn't provide much more depth to the characters.