10 Director's Cuts That Changed Your Mind About Bad Movies

Kevin Costner's hubris-induced 1995 tentpole Waterworld is best remembered for being the most expensive box office bomb ever at the time of its release.

Everyone remembers the bit where Kev has a wee into a water-purifying cup, but beyond that and some undeniably snazzy visuals, Waterworld's pretty leaden in the character and storytelling stakes.

The primary issue, if director Kevin Reynolds can be believed, is that Costner kept second-guessing his direction and offering his own unsolicited input on almost every scene.

With Reynolds and Costner coming to blows over the length of the movie in post-production, Costner dismissed Reynolds and cut together a studio-friendly version far away from Reynolds' original vision.

Reynolds' extended cut was aired on TV and eventually released on DVD in 2008, restoring over 40 minutes of excised footage.

Though his version sadly features a more toned-down urination scene, the character motivations and relationships nevertheless have far greater clarity, as does the overall mythology of the movie's world, while glaring plot holes are even sealed up.

Costner and the studio's concern was primarily with recouping their wildly over-budget costs, something a 3-hour film would've made more difficult. Ironically however, by butchering the film into a scattered, barebones mess, they ended up totally playing themselves.