10 Movies That Were Re-Edited After Release (And Why)
2. The Shining
Kubrick was at it again with 1980's The Shining, tweaking his film after it had already begun playing in cinemas.
Shortly after it began playing in the U.S., the director opted to cut a brief two-minute scene from the end of the film. The scene showed Wendy Torrance chatting with hotel manager Mr. Ullman, who explains that no supernatural evidence was found to support her story. Ullman then gave young Danny Torrance a yellow tennis ball, the same one from earlier in the film.
The scene was removed from all prints of the movie at the suggestion of distributor Warner Bros, bringing its runtime from 146 minutes down to 144 minutes. Kubrick reportedly liked the scene because it informed the audience that Wendy and Danny were okay, but for viewers, Ullman giving Danny the tennis ball was just confusing - was Ullman a ghost? Was anything real? What just happened?!
Kubrick's edits didn't stop there, either: for the film's European release, over 20 minutes were cut. Despite being revered today, The Shining was a tough sell at the time, so Kubrick decided to make the film shorter so it was more digestible and less ambiguous.