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

2. Kingdom Of Heaven (2005)

Ed Norton Kingdom Of Heaven
20th Century Fox

After the critical and commercial success that followed Gladiator, Ridley Scott returned to the genre with this $130m historical epic set against the backdrop of the Crusades. Even though it ran to 144 minutes, the theatrical version of Kingdom of Heaven still felt hugely underdeveloped, and was sorely lacking in characterization and depth.

Thankfully, Scott's vision was realized when the Director's Cut was made available, with the end result an epic of increased complexity than ranks among the very best efforts in the genre. Unsurprisingly, it turned out that the studio were confused by the philosophical and political emphasis in the script, as they were surely expecting something more along the lines of the action-packed Gladiator, which Kingdom of Heaven decidedly was not.

With over 45 minutes of additional footage, the narrative is given much-needed room to breathe and is all the better for it. While Orlando Bloom's central performance remains painfully two-dimensional, the Director's Cut establishes him as a more well-rounded character with actual motivations, with the supporting cast also benefiting from greater characterization.

The additional scenes provide a great deal more substance to the undoubted style, complementing the stunning cinematography, grand production design and spectacular battle scenes to create a suitably epic Director's Cut that sees the theatrical version pale in comparison.

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