We live in the belief that when a film arrives in the cinema it is the definitive version; the director has taken the cast and crew and crafted their own unique vision that's presented in its entirety on the screen for you to enjoy. Sadly that's not exactly true. Prepare to go down the rabbit hole kids. Be it studios wanting to maximise profit or actors whose egos won't be tamed even the highest of auteurs is going to at some point or another buckle and compromise their picture. It's not just on high profile 'films by committee' either (think John Carter). Even films that are unquestionably brilliant have probably been altered in some form to make it as broadly appealing as possible. Then you have the test audiences. Regular people brought in by the studio to preview the film and give their thoughts on the product. It sounds like a solid idea - get a window into what the audience actually wants and all that - but actually leads to a small few who aren't totally representative of the public getting to shape the film to their own personal tastes. What they says tends to be taken as gospel and films can be crippled because of it. Production issues are just one of many ways the movie you get to see in the cinema may actually be a watered down copy of the real version. Lost scenes and censor interference all build to us never sure how complete a finished film is. Here are nine such films that for whatever reason you had to see in the incorrect form.
Honourable Mention - That Time A Cinema Showed Paranormal Activity Instead Of Madagascar
You'd think given that you're paying through the nose to sit in a slightly too cold auditorium and smell the nachos belonging to the guy two rows over that cinemas would try their best to make sure you at least got the film viewing experience you wanted. Well no; on top of dodgy sound and lights glaring on the screen, they sometimes go as far to show the wrong movie. Easy enough with modern digital projectors (its a case hitting play on the wrong file), the funniest/worst case has to be when Cineworld Nottingham showed Paranormal Activity 4 instead of Madagascar 3, leading to a lot of upset children. We understand; it is a really bad film.
