MovieChat Forums > Legend (1986) Discussion > Directors Cut vs Theatrical cut

Directors Cut vs Theatrical cut


which cut do you like better?

im split on both versions:

i like the Theatrical release because it has the awesome "Loved by the sun" song in it and Jack and Lily run off together in the end.

on the other hand i like the Directors cut because it has better character development, the suspense of finding out what Darkness really looks like is kept hidden til the last 20 minutes of the film the score is really creepy in most scenes as well.

so if i had to pick i'd say the Directors cut

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I grew up on the theatrical version and I still prefer the original song that plays at the end. Other than that, I don't really feel any difference in the score.

I like the added scenes. This film was way too short. It presents a charming story with some interesting characters and a stellar villain. But 90 minutes?? The film needed more scenes, more character development and especially more scenes with Blix.

So I guess I prefer the DC, e3xcept for one major thing: The DC ending SUCKS! Jack and Lily going their separate ways instead of living happily ever after? And they cut the scene where Jack and Gump reattach the unicorn's horn. That was kinda important.

So give me the DC with the original ending spliced back in, please.

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[deleted]

I really enjoy Tangerine Dream's score but the actual theatrical cut of the film is too sloppy and haphazardly spliced together.

The director's cut (soundtrack and all) feels more like an old, elegant fairy tale. With more character moments, more lush cinematography and an all around more epic feel. The film feels like it has more room to breath and thrive.

Even though I grew up with the theatrical cut, I haven't gone back to watch it once ever since the Director's Cut came out on DVD about 10 years ago. Thankfully the Blu Ray release includes the entire Tangerine Dream soundtrack as a special feature... so I can listen to it and get all nostalgic without actually having to subject myself to the theatrical cut of the film.

Pretentious Pseudo-Intellectual Hipster TorturePorn: www.imdb.com/user/ur5570856/lists

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Like most I grew up with the theatrical cut and liked it (I was a kid). However, when I finally watched the director's cut i was taken aback by how different it felt. Yes, it's still wildly flawed, but no doubt a superior film. The theatrical cut feels like a trailer at times. It's edited with a chainsaw.

By the way, I read a version of the script that was talked about by Ridley in the making-of and had they actually shot THAT script, this sucker would have been an all time classic.

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Theatrical, hands down. I was really looking forward to the DC and was really disappointed. I found the extended scenes had really awkward dialogue, JG's score were a huge distraction for me, overemphasizing certain minor parts and ignoring things that needed it to be much more powerful.

I loved the script, just not a fan of the DC :(


<---- You know what it is

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I was never a big fan of Legend when only having the theatrical cut. I hate how it starts off with this long scroll to read through, and I hate the was Darkness is introduced in his neon layer early on. It was badly edited and highly flawed. Ridley says on the DVD supplements how he panicked at the last minute and cut the film down. That was a huge mistake. When the Director's Cut came out, I was curious to revisit the film and bought the DVD. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the Director's Cut. It feels like a complete film and I really like Goldsmith's strange score. I like Tangerine Dream's surreal score too, but the version for me will always be the director's cut. It's the real vision of the director before he panicked over having made a fantasy film with too much fantasy elements that he was afraid would cause it to be hated. The theatrical cut was born of last minute changes, heavy editing, and fear. Since the theatrical cut is also on my DVD set, I rewatched it and still feel the same about it as I did back in the day. It's a clunky version of the film saved only by Tangerine Dream.

- - - - - - -
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

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So I just watched Legend for the first time in a LONG while. I watched it 3 times within the past 24 hours, starting with the Directors Cut, which I thought was terrible. Then I watched Ridley's commentary to hear his thoughts behind the Directors Cut. Then I watched the Theatrical Version to see if the movie was actually good as I remembered it. It was. I enjoyed it, the third time I watched it (theatrical version).

Everything that was cut from the Directors Cut for the theatrical release was a wise choice in my opinion. The cut dialogue was unneeded dialogue anyway, and sometimes cheesy. The singing definitely needed to go as well. The score was terrible. It was loud, over the top, obnoxious, grating, distracting, and very dated. And by dated I mean it sounds like its from a 60s movie, not like its from medieval times. Its kind of weird to say, but the 80s synth score feels less dated and jarring for this film. Its also more subdued and lets the characters' lines breathe. With the cut dialogue and the more ambient music, the film plays more like a music video, or a collection of images augmented by sound. Which I enjoy. The Directors Cut hammers you over the head with a loud obtrusive soundtrack and uninteresting added dialogue. The cuts and soundtrack change also got rid of the Disney-esqe vibe that Ridley was originally going for. An improvement for me.

The theatrical cut is much tighter, much more atmospheric, much more enjoyable. EXCEPT for that goofy cheesy "loved by the sun" song at the end. I've always hated the end of the movie. That is the only negative for me with the theatrical version.

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"With the cut dialogue and the more ambient music, the film plays more like a music video, or a collection of images augmented by sound. "

Since that is exactly what the execs at Universal were looking for, then it looks like they succeeded.

"Thus, we began our longest journey together.";
Adult Scout, "To Kill A Mockingbird"

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I think it's wonderful that two drastically different versions are now available. That said, I greatly prefer the American theatrical cut.

Jerry Goldsmith is a fine composer and his score from "Psycho II" remains one of my all-time favorite scores ever, but his "Legend" score just doesn't work for me (and yes, I see the irony that part of the "Psycho II" score is utilized in the "Legend" director's cut -- where it really doesn't belong!). It's too classical, heavy-handed and sometimes outright obtrusive. The whole film is otherworldly, and Tangerine Dream's strange ethereal score fits it better, in my opinion. Yes, it's synth, but it doesn't feel particularly '80s.

As to the rest of the director's cut... I understand why Darkness was obscured from view until the end -- but for anyone who's seen the trailers/poster/VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray cover, you already know what he looks like. By cutting around his face, you miss out on Curry's phenomenal performance. The additional dialogue is mostly clunky and the additional scenes aren't really necessary to tell the story. The only big upside I see to the director's cut is the extra footage of Picardo's Meg Mucklebones, a character whose scenes never should've been whittled down to nothing.

Of course, at the end of the day, both versions of the film are director's cuts. This isn't a case like "Blade Runner" where the studio meddled and bastardized the movie; Ridley Scott did it himself. Which probably explains why there are defenders of both versions.

And as a p.s. I absolutely do not mourn the loss of the lost Faerie Dance sequence. If the photos/audio are any indication, it was thoroughly, annoyingly unnecessary.

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[deleted]

i like both pretty equally

the dc was longer, better edited and didn't show darkness too early

the theatrical had for the most part a better score, darkness' opening speech was much better, better ending, the removal and later reattachment of the unicorn's horn, and i liked the inclusion of the added monsters that attacked jack and gump



Come on Bancini, where the f-ck you goin' at?

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The European cut is the best.

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I dig the extra bits in the Director's Cut, but to me it absolutely spoils the entire movie with the symphonic score. The synth score by Tangerine Dream is what makes this movie as memorable as it is. Wish there was a version of the longer cut with the synth score...

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