10 Unreleased Cuts Of Movies That Are Probably Terrible
1. Spike Lee's Oldboy: The 3-Hour Cut
Spike Lee's remake of the fantastic South Korean thriller Oldboy remains one of the weirdest and most unnecessary remakes of the last decade - a bafflingly uninspired retelling which lacks Lee's typically singular storytelling voice.
It feels like a remake assembled by any competent journeyman director, and tellingly Lee was vocal about the end product being manipulated out of his control.
Varying reports suggest that Lee's original cut ran anywhere from 140 to 180 minutes, but the studio cut it down to a svelte 104, prompting Lee to replace his trademark "A Spike Lee Joint" credit with "A Spike Lee Film" instead.
Lee has stated that his longer version retained crucial character development and story build-up, while prior to the film's release star Josh Brolin publicly stated that he preferred Lee's cut, saying it was "both quieter and filled with more character-centric moments."
While there's no reason to dismiss Brolin's opinion here, is 35-75 minutes of added material really likely to transform a mediocre, forgettable remake nobody really wanted into something truly worthwhile? It's tough to believe.
Given Lee's penchant for excess - as brilliant a filmmaker as he is - it's far more likely that his complete version is a stamina-obliterating grind.