James Luckard
Second Unit
I'm the person begging for the theatrical cut. 
The disc will certainly have the Director's Cut, there's no question of that.
The Director's Cut is the version that has been released all over the world on BD, from numerous distributors. Most are OOP, I believe, but then lots of BDs are OOP at this point.
The theatrical cut has only been released twice on BD, to my knowledge. Once along with the DC in Germany, with only German subtitles, and once on a super rare Brazilian disc, with English subtitles. I've never been able to track down the Brazilian disc.
So far, there has been no mention from Shout of a new transfer, it's entirely possible the main feature on the disc will be the same HD transfer of the DC used in every other market.
I have the UK BD. I bought it thinking it was the original French/US theatrical cut. At the time I did not realize there was an entirely different UK theatrical/home video cut. The UK cut is a hybrid of the French/US theatrical cut and the DC. It includes scenes from the DC, but also deletes a major subplot that's present in both other versions.
It's fiendishly difficult to compare versions by running time, because it's a European film, so many DVDs of it have PAL speedup, and the running times are close enough to get them confused.
Other than Shoult's listed running time, which matches the DC, they haven't said a word about which cuts they plan to include.
An absolutely definitive set would include all three cuts, but they may not be able to license the UK cut, and it's no great loss, because it doesn't have any unique material.
I hope with all my heart they include both the DC and the theatrical cut, because there's a scene in the DC that absolutely ruins the heart of the film, to me.
The disc will certainly have the Director's Cut, there's no question of that.The Director's Cut is the version that has been released all over the world on BD, from numerous distributors. Most are OOP, I believe, but then lots of BDs are OOP at this point.
The theatrical cut has only been released twice on BD, to my knowledge. Once along with the DC in Germany, with only German subtitles, and once on a super rare Brazilian disc, with English subtitles. I've never been able to track down the Brazilian disc.
So far, there has been no mention from Shout of a new transfer, it's entirely possible the main feature on the disc will be the same HD transfer of the DC used in every other market.
I have the UK BD. I bought it thinking it was the original French/US theatrical cut. At the time I did not realize there was an entirely different UK theatrical/home video cut. The UK cut is a hybrid of the French/US theatrical cut and the DC. It includes scenes from the DC, but also deletes a major subplot that's present in both other versions.
It's fiendishly difficult to compare versions by running time, because it's a European film, so many DVDs of it have PAL speedup, and the running times are close enough to get them confused.
Other than Shoult's listed running time, which matches the DC, they haven't said a word about which cuts they plan to include.
An absolutely definitive set would include all three cuts, but they may not be able to license the UK cut, and it's no great loss, because it doesn't have any unique material.
I hope with all my heart they include both the DC and the theatrical cut, because there's a scene in the DC that absolutely ruins the heart of the film, to me.
In the theatrical cut, the hero, Fronsac is convinced by the Royal Huntsman to abandon the town, go back to Paris and pretend the wolf they stuffed is the monster. He is torn about this, and after another girl is killed in the town, he returns.
In the DC, he does not return purely for noble reasons, he returns because of an additional scene, where he is about to sail off on a scientific expedition, and receives a letter from the girl he fell in love with in the town, saying she still loves him, and asking him to come back. It's a much more selfish motivation, and lessens his character enormously.
The UK cut removes the entire subplot of the Royal Huntsman, further ruining the middle of the film. The UK theatrical cut was created after the French theatrical cut, as I understand it. The removal of that subplot was a mistake and the DC wisely reinstated that subplot.
In the DC, he does not return purely for noble reasons, he returns because of an additional scene, where he is about to sail off on a scientific expedition, and receives a letter from the girl he fell in love with in the town, saying she still loves him, and asking him to come back. It's a much more selfish motivation, and lessens his character enormously.
The UK cut removes the entire subplot of the Royal Huntsman, further ruining the middle of the film. The UK theatrical cut was created after the French theatrical cut, as I understand it. The removal of that subplot was a mistake and the DC wisely reinstated that subplot.
Last edited:
