Director's cut

In public use, a director's cut is the director's preferred version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, commercial, etc.). It is generally considered a marketing term to represent the version of a film the director prefers, and is usually used in contrast to a theatrical release of that film where the director did not have final cut privilege and did not agree with what was released. The word "cut" is used in this context as a synecdoche to refer to the entire film editing process and the resulting product. Traditionally, films were edited by literally cutting strips of film and splicing them together.

Most of the time, film directors do not have the "final cut" (final say on the version released to the public). Those with money invested in the film, such as the production companies, distributors, or studios, may make changes intended to make the film more profitable at the box office. In extreme cases that can sometimes mean a different ending, less ambiguity, or excluding scenes that would earn a more audience-restricting rating, but more often means that the film is simply shortened to provide more screenings per day.

With the rise of home video, the phrase became more generically used as a marketing term to communicate to consumers that this is the director's preferred edit of a film, and it implies the director was not happy with the version that was originally released. Sometimes there are big disagreements between the director's vision and the producer's vision, and the director's preferred edit is sought after by fans (for example Terry Gilliam's Brazil).

Not all films have separate "director's cuts" (often the director is happy with the theatrical release, even if they didn't have final cut privilege), and sometimes separate versions of films are released as "director's cuts" even if the director doesn't prefer them. One example is Ridley Scott's Alien, which had a "director's cut" released in 2003, even though the director said it was purely for "marketing purposes" and didn't represent his preferred vision for the film.

Sometimes alternate edits are released, which are not necessarily director's preferred cuts, but which showcase different visions for the project for fans to enjoy. Examples include James Cameron's Avatar, which was released as both a "Special Edition" and "Extended" cuts, and Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, which were released on home video as "Extended Editions". These versions do not represent the director's preferred visions.

The term since expanded to include media such as video games, comic books and music albums (the latter two of which don't actually have directors).

Within the industry itself, a "director's cut" refers to a stage in the editing process, and is not usually what a director wants to release to the public, due to the fact it is unfinished. The editing process of a film is broken into stages: First is the assembly/rough cut, where all selected takes are put together in the order in which they should appear in the film. Next, the editor's cut is reduced from the rough cut; the editor may be guided by their own choices or following notes from the director or producers. Eventually is the final cut, which actually gets released or broadcast. In between the editor's cut and the final cut can come any number of fine cuts, including the director's cut. The director's cut may include unsatisfactory takes, a preliminary soundtrack, a lack of desired pick-up shots etc., which the director would not like to be shown but uses as a placeholder until satisfactory replacements can be inserted. This is still how the term is used within the film industry, as well as commercials, television, and music videos.

The trend of releasing alternate cuts of films for artistic reasons became prominent in the 1970s; in 1974, the "director's cut" of The Wild Bunch was shown theatrically in Los Angeles to sold-out audiences. The theatrical release of the film had cut 10 minutes to get an R rating, but this cut was hailed as superior and has now become the definitive one. Other early examples include George Lucas's first two films being re-released following the success of Star Wars, in cuts which more closely resembled his vision, or Peter Bogdanovich re-cutting The Last Picture Show several times. Charlie Chaplin also re-released all of his films in the 1970s, several of which were re-cut. A theatrical re-release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind used the phrase "Special Edition" to describe a cut which was closer to Spielberg's intent but had a compromised ending demanded by the studio.