10 Movies That Were Re-Edited After Release (And Why)

Terry Gilliam's original cut of his 1985 dystopian sci-fi flick ran for 142 minutes, and was released internationally by 20th Century Fox. This version ended on a rather bleak note: protagonist Sam Lowry manages to escape the city with love interest Jill, but it's then revealed that this is all in his head, and he's actually been captured.

But Brazil's U.S. release didn't go as smoothly. Universal was set to take care of U.S. distribution, but studio chairman Sid Sheinberg wasn't happy with that dark ending. He wanted it to be happier, and so suggested removing the reveal that Sam's escape was all in his head. To Gilliam's chagrin, Sheinberg put this cut together, which prompted the director to take out a full-page ad in Variety, asking Sheinberg to release the film as he originally intended it.

In the end, the two parties managed to compromise, coming together to craft an altered 132-minute version. As we mentioned, the original 142-minute cut released internationally in February 1985, but because of all this extensive editing work (and the disagreement between Gilliam and Sheinberg), the 132-minute cut didn't come out in the U.S. until December of that same year.