10 Movies That Were Massively Improved By A Director's Cut

6. The Abyss (1989)

James Cameron doesn't make movies the easy way, and The Abyss was no different. Going over-budget, over-schedule and overworking his cast and crew, 25 years later Ed Harris still won't talk about it. The end result is an ambitious, visually stunning and solidly acted sci-fi adventure that often suffers from a convoluted plot and an ending that almost derails the entire movie.

However, the Special Edition added 30 minutes of new footage and offers a much better movie that is more in keeping with the director's vision than the theatrical release. The most notable improvement in the Special Edition comes with the ending, the inclusion of the tidal wave sequence that didn't make the theatrical cut offering a much more satisfying conclusion that plays up Cameron's recurring theme of environmentalism, as well as offering a better explanation of the NTI's (non-terrestrial intelligence) motivations.

The extra footage also plays up the potential World War III element and the tensions between the United States and the Soviets, as well as adding numerous scenes that deepen the characterization of the ensemble cast. While The Abyss is by no means a bad movie in its theatrical form, the Special Edition's more complex and layered narrative results in a much better final product.